Japanese cruiser Tone
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | December 1, 1934 |
| Launched: | November 21, 1937 |
| Commissioned: | November 20, 1938 |
| Fate: | Sunk by air attack in Hiroshima Bay on 24 July 1945. |
| Struck: | 20 November 1945 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 15,200 tons |
| Length: | 649 ft 7 in (197.99 m) |
| Beam: | 60 ft 8 in (18.49 m) |
| Draught: | 21 ft 3 in (6.48 m) |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 35 knots (65 km/h) |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 850 |
| Armament: | Eight 8 inch (200 mm) guns Eight 5 inch (130 mm) guns Up to fifty-seven 25 mm anti-aircraft guns Twelve 24 inch (610 mm) torpedo tubes |
| Aircraft: | Aichi E13A and Nakajima E8N reconnaissance flying boats. |
Tone was a heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the lead ship of her class. She had one sister ship, Chikuma. Tone was named after a river in the Kanto region of Japan.
In World War II she was initially commanded by Captain Okadu Tantsugu. In the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and the invasion of Wake Island her seaplanes acted as scouts for the striking force.
In January 1942 Tone supported the attacks on Rabual and New Guinea and in February she supported the attack on Darwin, Australia and the invasion of Java.
On on 1 March 1942 she took part in the battle of the Java Sea, intercepting the Dutch freighter Modjokerto.
In April 1942 she took part in the Indian Ocean raids, her reconnaissance planes spotting Cornwall and Dorsetshire, which were then sunk by planes from Akagi, Hiryu and Soryu.
In June 1942 she took part in the battle of Midway, coming under aerial attack but sustaining no damage. One of her reconnaissance planes spotted a group of American ships at 07:28 on 4 June 1942 but cruicially failed to identify them as a carrier group. Following Midway, she supported the invasion of the Aleutian Islands.
In July 1942 Captain Okada was appointed to Junyo and Captain Kobe Yuji succeeded him as captain of Tone.
In August 1942 Tone took part in naval operations around Guadalcanal. She was attacked by American torpedo planes in the battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942.
In 1943 she operated in the Marshall and Caroline Islands, based at Truk. For most of 1944, she operated in the Philippines, based at Lingga near Singapore. She took part in the battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944.
In October 1944 Tone took part in Operation Shō-1. On 22 October 1944 she sortied from Brunei as part of Vice Admiral Shiraishi Kazutaka's Cruiser Division 7, together with Chikuma, Kumano and Suzuya. Cruiser Division 7 was part of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force. On 24 October 1944, in the battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Center Force suffered eleven raids by planes from the carriers American Task Group 38.2, and Tone was hit by bombs. The next day she was present in the battle off Samar, where she engaged the American destroyer Heermann but was driven away by air attack. She escaped back through the San Bernardino Strait without further damage.
In November 1945 she went into dry dock at Maizuru for repairs; more anti-aircraft guns were fitted, and her radar was upgraded. In January 1945 Capatin Okada Yusaku was appointed to the command of Tone. In harbour at Kure she came under air attack from American Task Force 58 on 19 March 1945. 69 men were killed and 93 injured. She was attacked again on 24 July 1945 by Task Force 38 and hit by three bombs from planes from USS Monterey.Tone filled with water and settled on the bottom of the shallow Hiroshima Bay. Her wreck was attacked again on 28 July by planes from USS Wasp and Ticonderoga.
Tone's wreck was scapped in 1948.
References
Categories: Tone class cruisers