Combat Engagements - November 1944
Sinking IJN cruiser Kumano - 25 November
Kumano (熊野) was one of four Mogami class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy, serving in World War II. She was named after the Kumano River Kii Peninsula on the island of Honshu in central Japan.
While undergoing repairs in Santa Cruz on 25 November, Kumano came under attack by aircraft launched by the carrier USS Ticonderoga. She was hit by five torpedoes and four 500 lb (230 kg) bombs, and at 15:15 she rolled over and sank in about 31 m (102 ft) of water.
Of her crew at the time, 497 - including Captain Soichiro Hitomi and Executive Officer Captain Yuji Sanada - were lost with the ship and 636 were rescued. She was removed from the navy list on 20 January 1945.
Admiral William "Bull" Halsey reportedly once remarked that "if there was a Japanese ship I could feel sorry for at all, it would be the Kumano."
