Attacks on Kure and the Seto Inland Sea

In July 1945 the IJN's remaining large warships were concentrated near the major naval base of Kure. The ships were immobilized by fuel shortages and were being used only as stationary anti-aircraft batteries. Admiral John S. McCain Sr., the commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force, strongly opposed attacking Kure as he and his staff believed that the ships only posed a minor threat. In his memoirs Admiral Halsey gave four reasons for why he attacked Kure despite McCain's objections. First, he believed that the attack would boost US morale and retaliate for the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Second, it would ensure that the Japanese could not disrupt the planned Soviet invasion of Hokkaido. Third, it would prevent Japan from using its fleet as a bargaining point to secure better peace terms. Finally, he had been ordered to conduct the attack by his superior officer, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Participating in the attacks were Task Force 38 for the Americans and Task Force 37 for the British. Task Force 37 included the aircraft carriers HMS , , and . ==Battle==

The Third Fleet's attack against Kure began on 24 July. US carrier aircraft flew 1,747 sorties on this day against Japanese targets. The attacks sank the aircraft carrier and the cruiser , which was acting as the Combined Fleet's flagship. The battleships , , and , the heavy cruisers and , the outdated armored training cruisers and and the ex-battleship turned target ship were all heavily damaged and settled in shallow water. Allied losses included 102 aircrew and 133 planes lost in combat or accidents during the attacks. These losses were higher than those suffered by the Third Fleet in most of its operations, and were the result of the heavy anti-aircraft defences around Kure. ==Aftermath==

The Allied attacks on Kure and the inland sea left at Yokosuka as the only remaining operational capital ship in Japan's inventory. The destruction of the battleships and heavy cruisers at Kure was seen by British official historian Stephen Roskill as avenging the losses suffered by the United States at Pearl Harbor. The attacks allowed the Soviet Pacific Fleet to operate in the Sea of Japan without fear of attack by Japanese ships. Warships sunk or damaged At Kure Battleships • : Hit by a single bomb which caused light damage on 24 July, hit by eight bombs on 28 July, sunk at her moorings. • : Hit by ten bombs on 24 July, sunk in shallow waters. • : Damaged by bombs in an attack by 60 planes on 24 July, struck by sixteen bombs on 28 July, sunk in shallow waters. Aircraft carriers • : Hit by two bombs and received several near-misses on 24 July, hit several more times on 28 July, capsized. • : Hit by one bomb on 24 July which did little damage. Hit by one 2,000-pound bomb on 28 July which blew a large hole in the flight deck, moderately damaged. • : Slightly damaged by a single bomb or aerial rocket hit on 24 July. • : Already severely damaged in the March air raid on Kure, attacked again on 24 and 28 July but remained afloat. Cruisers • : Not hit by any bombs, but three near misses on 24 July caused Iwate to sink in shallow water the following day. • : Not hit by any bombs, but three near misses on 28 July caused Izumo to capsize. • : Bombed and sunk on 24 July, hit by four more bombs and caught fire on 28 July. • : Hit by three bombs and sunk on 24 July, attacked again on 28 July by rockets and bombs. • : Damaged by strafing on 24 July. • : Strafed and hit by five bombs on 24 July, near-missed by bombs on 28 July and capsized. • : Damaged and re-designated as a transport ship. Destroyers • : Slightly damaged on 24 July. • Nashi: Sunk on 28 July 1945. • : Damaged on 24 July. • Asagao: Damaged on 28 July. Unfinished ships • Aso: Unryū-class aircraft carrier, attacked on 24 July, caught fire. • I-404: I-400-class submarine, severely damaged on 28 July, scuttled. Warships attacked outside of Kure Naval Port • : Ex-battleship, grounded after one bomb hit and five near-misses on 24 July, hit by two bombs on 28 July. (Hiroshima Bay, Etajimacho Ozu) • : Escort carrier, attacked on 24 and 28 July, damaged and grounded. (Beppu Bay, Ōita) • : Submarine tender, attacked on 27 July and sunk in shallow water. (Owase Port, Mie) • I-205: Unfinished I-201-class submarine, sunk on 28 July. (Kurahashi Island) • Hagi: Matsu-class destroyer, damaged on 28 July. (south of Iwaishima, Yamaguchi) • : Moderately damaged on 24 July. (off the coast of Okayama) • Escort ship No. 4: Sunk on 28 July. (off the coast of Toba, Mie) • Escort ship No. 30: Sunk on 28 July. (off the coast of Yura, Wakayama) Gallery of major warships sunk in the attack File:IJN carrier Amagi capsized off Kure in 1946.jpg|Amagi capsized in Kure harbor, 1946 File:Piction (15321469815).jpg|Bombed out wreck of Hyūga sunk in shallow waters of Hiroshima Bay, 1945 File:80-G-351361 Japanese Battleship Ise.tiff|Ise, sunk in Ondo-no-seto strait, October 1945 File:Sunken Japanese battleship Haruna off Koyo, Etajima (Japan), on 8 October 1945 (80-G-351726).jpg|alt=a heavily damaged Haruna, having sunk from the stern, several days after coming under attack at her moorings|Heavily damaged Haruna sunk at her moorings in Kure harbor, October 1945. File:Settsu sunk at Kure.jpg|Settsu grounded at Etajima, October 1945 File:Oyodo cruiser capsized 1945.jpg|Ōyodo capsized in shallow waters, 28 July 1945 File:Japanese cruiser Aoba sunk at Kure, Japan, 9 October 1945 (80-G-351754).jpg|Aoba sunk in harbor, October 1945 File:The wreck of Tone in Kure (2).jpg|Tone sunk in Etajima Bay, 29 July 1945 File:The wreck of Izumo sunk after the attack on Kure.jpg|Capsized wreck of Izumo File:80-G-351365 Japanese Cruiser IWATE (cropped).tif|Iwate, sunk in shallow waters in Kure, October 1945 ==References==