Location
The Battle of the Malacca Strait (Battle off Penang, Sinking of Haguro) happened in the Malacca Strait (Strait of Malacca).
Wartime History
On May 16, 1945 after midnight Royal Navy 26th Destroyer Flotilla under Captain Manley Power were ordered to intercept including HMS Saumarez (G12), HMS Verulam (R28), HMS Vigilant (R93), HMS Venus (R50) and HMS Virago (R75). At 11:40pm during a heavy storms the destroyers make radar contact with the Japanese warships Haguro and Kamikaze at a distance of 39 miles and begin to close the distance.
At 1:14am the destroyers open fire and release Mark IX torpedoes. Haguro returns fire straddling HMS Saumarez (G12) twice with main gun shells and claims a hit. At 1:20am hit by a torpedo that floods the forward generator room and causes fires in fuel cargo on deck and lost speed and develops a 15° list to port. Aboard, the forward magazine was flooded and generates smoke while fuel drums are tossed overboard.
At 1:35am a second torpedo hits the port flooding the forward engine room and causes the list to increase to 35° and dead in the water with anti-aircraft guns on the port side unable to fire due to the list angle.
Aboard the bridge, Vice Admiral Hashimoto and other senior officers are killed and Captain Ono is injured by gunfire. The main guns are disabled from the power outage while a few anti-aircraft guns on the starboard side continue to return fire. Counter flooding is ordered to flood the starboard engine room. Another torpedo hit the forward section causing more damage. At 2:02am the British cease fire. At 2:32am, Haguro sank bow first at approximately Lat 4° 49' N Long 99° 42' E roughly 55 miles west-southwest of Penang. This was the the last destroyer action of World War II.
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Last Updated
May 17, 2025
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