In early 1942, the Japanese invasion forces were on their way to the Dutch East Indies.
Fully aware that they had the upper hand against the Allies, they rushed to claim every inch
of the Pacific as soon as possible.
The Japanese were on a winning streak and not about to let that go, looking to continue
their imperialist invasion at all costs.
Thus, the invaders put together a massive attack before the American, British, Dutch,
and Australian forces could even coordinate a response.
Past noon on February 27, the 1920s heavy cruiser Nachi sent her reconnaissance floatplanes
to search for the enemy, and they soon spotted the Allied Combined Fleet.
Subsequently, Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi ordered his invading troops out of the area, as it
was about to become a battlefield.
The Battle of the Java Sea had just begun, and Nachi would soon prove her worth against
an unrelenting adversary…
Java
Going into 1942, the Allied control of the Dutch East Indies was in danger.
During the past few weeks, the Japanese had overtaken vast swathes of land and numerous
islands, and their next target was the Dutch Colonial capital of Java.
By late February, the island had become isolated, and the Japanese planned a strike before Allied
reinforcements could mobilize.
Still, the Allied commanders would not let Java fall without a fight.
The Japanese swiftly deployed two invasion convoys bound for the capital as early as
February 18 while the Allies prepared for the imminent engagement.
However, the Imperial Japanese Navy provided a massive naval force to oversee the invasion
and surrounded the island.
On the other hand, the Allied forces had taken a heavy toll in earlier encounters and were
considerably more limited than the Japanese.
What’s more, while operating under a unified control under Lieutenant Admiral Conrad Helfrich,
the American, British, Dutch, and Australian Command, or ABDACOM, was not as unified as
they would have expected, mostly due to language barriers and different interests.
As the Japanese neared the island, Helfrich put together a combined force under the command
of Rear Admiral Karel Doorman.
The fleet comprised two heavy cruisers, Houston and Exeter, and three light cruisers, Java,
Perth, and the flagship De Ruyter.
It also included three Dutch, four American, and three British destroyers.
Though decent in sheer force, the eclectic mixture of age, specification, and nationality
in the vessels would prove a disadvantage for the Allies, not to mention that they had
no experience fighting together.
Nevertheless, on the night of February 26, the combined force received orders to intercept
the Japanese troops led by Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi.
This invading fleet was crowned by the Myoko class sisters, Haguro and Nachi, which soon
launched their aircraft and spotted the Americans.
While the two parties were similar in size, the Japanese heavy cruisers were undoubtedly
superior in firepower, with ten 8-inch guns each, while the Americans only had 12 functioning
main battery guns between Exeter and Houston.
Still, on the morning of the 27th, they would have to go all out.
A New Era
As far back as the 1920s, the Imperial Japanese Navy had approved the construction of the
first heavy cruisers built within the design constraints imposed by the Washington Naval
Treaty.
Thus, the Myōkō class became the first of the 10,000-ton cruisers built by any nation
under the Fleet Modernization Program.
Nachi, the second of the four sisters, measured 203.8 meters in length and had a beam of 19.5
meters, while her draft was 6.36 meters long.
The class had a displacement of 13,500 tons, and their hull design was based on an enlarged
version of the Aoba-class cruisers.
Regarding propulsion, 12 Kampon boilers drove four sets of single-impulse geared turbine
engines, and four shafts turned three-bladed propellers, which amounted to a speed of 35.5
knots.
Nachi had an armored side belt of 102 millimeters, while her deck was 35 millimeters thick.
However, her bridge was not armored at all.
Still, the heavy cruiser received the heaviest armament of any ship of her kind: a main battery
of ten 20-centimeter/50 3rd Year Type naval guns.
Additionally, five turrets mounted each pair.
The ship also featured eight 12-centimeter/45 10th Year Type naval guns as secondary armament,
positioned in four twin mounts on each side.
Notably, Nachi implemented twelve Type 93 Long Lance torpedoes in four triple launchers
below the aircraft deck - a secret weapon that would wreak havoc in the early years
of the Pacific campaign.
In addition, she was also equipped with an aircraft catapult and would carry up to three
floatplanes for scouting missions, as well as a complement of 773.
Laid down in 1924, she was not launched and named until 1927 and subsequently commissioned
in late 1928, long before the outbreak of World War 2.
However, the cruiser was far from complete.
Trickery
A political decision saw Nachi sent to Yokosuka for the Coronation Naval Review for Emperor
Hirohito on December 4, 1928.
The partially-completed cruiser then returned to Kure and was ready for service in the spring
of 1929.
Naval architect Vice Admiral Yuzuru Hiraga was able to keep the design functional against
ridiculous demands.
During the early years of her career, the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff kept
issuing requirements for additional equipment to the upper decks, which would have made
her excessively top-heavy.
But the astute Admiral knew better and kept rejecting them.
Nevertheless, Nachi underwent several modifications and even rebuildings in the 1930s, which eventually
led to the augmentation of her displacement to roughly 16,000 tons.
Indeed, it was significantly above the limits stated by the treaty.
Along with her sisters, Nachi was assigned to the Sasebo Naval District and formed the
Sentai-4 of the 3rd Fleet.
However, in December of 1932, the Myōkō class was placed in reserve as the newer Takao
class was commissioned and took the spot as Sentai-4.
Thereafter, Nachi and her sisters became Sentai-5, and she served as a training unit throughout
the decade.
Between 1933 and 1935, Nachi and her entire class were retrofitted, and she had her triple
torpedo launchers replaced by two quadruple rotatable launchers.
Moreover, her secondary guns were upgraded to 12.7-centimeter/40 Type 89 naval guns.
Later in 1936, the heavy cruiser underwent her first modernization program at Sasebo
Naval Arsenal, and was ready for the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Then, in the summer of 1937, she served as an escort supporting the transports conveying
elements of the Imperial Japanese Army’s 3rd Division and 6th Infantry Regiment from
Nagoya to China.
By December, she was modernized for the second time and had her torpedoes doubled to 16.
Additionally, she received eight Type 96 25-millimeter anti-aircraft guns and bulges in her hull
to improve stability.
The vessel was upgraded several times throughout her career, and after her final refitting,
she carried an armament of 52 Type 96 25-millimeter AT/AA Gun guns and two Type 93 13-millimeter
anti-aircraft guns to counter the growing threat of airstrikes.
Open Fire
The Battle of the Java Sea started at 12:35pm when Nachi’s reconnaissance floatplanes
identified Doorman’s force heading south to Surabaja.
Takagi ordered the invasion ships to get out of harm’s way and confronted the Allies
head-on.
Both fleets sighted each other at 4:00pm and closed to firing range, with a poor demonstration
of gunnery and torpedo skills on both parts.
Exeter’s shells would not come anywhere near her targets, and Houston merely achieved
a straddle on one of the cruisers.
Exeter was then hit in the boiler room and forced to flee to Surabaja.
Immediately after, the Japanese launched two massive torpedo salvos, numbering 92 torpedoes,
but only the Kortenaer destroyer was sunk.
Trying to cover Exeter, Electra engaged Jintu and Asagumo and did not stop attacking until
a severe fire forced her crew to abandon the ship, but not before taking Asagumo out of
action.
By 6:00pm, the Allied fleet broke off and turned away behind the protection of a smokescreen.
Their torpedo attacks were still ineffective and out of range, and as they headed towards
the coast, they struggled to evade the escort group.
They then attacked the invasion convoy but were repelled by a superior enemy.
The fleets met again an hour before midnight and exchanged fire in the darkness.
But the long distances played against the Allies and favored the Japanese, who counted
on the Type 93 torpedo.
Nachi then sank Java, and her sister sank the flagship De Ruyter, effectively crippling
the Allied chain of command with the loss of the Combined Strike Force Commander.
Downfall
Honoring Doorman’s last orders, the remaining cruisers, Perth and Houston, withdrew from
the battle.
It had been an appalling defeat for the Allies, who had only managed to give the island defenders
a one-day respite.
In the meantime, Exeter underwent emergency repairs and sailed at dusk on February 28,
limping toward Sunda Strait.
Two destroyers escorted her, HMS Encounter and USS Pope.
On the morning of March 1, Nachi and Haguro intercepted the small fleet as they attempted
to leave the Java Sea.
This time, their sisters Myoko and Ashigara were with them, alongside several destroyers.
Together, they finished Exeter and Encounter; only Pope escaped, but was sunk hours later.
Nachi and her sisters were vital for the Japanese victory in the Java Sea, and the heavy cruiser
continued her service in northern waters until she was damaged in combat in 1943 and had
to undergo repairs.
It wasn’t until the summer of 1944 that she rejoined the war, and was deployed to
the Philippines.
Still, she collided with the cruiser Mogami during the Battle of Leyte Gulf and was forced
to take port in Manila for repair work.
Then, while moored at Manila that fall, she was strafed and bombed by US aircraft, but
remained seaworthy.
Not a week later, three aircraft waves from USS Lexington and Ticonderoga harassed her,
and while Nachi emerged unscathed from the first one, the second raid proved fatal, with
five bombs and three torpedoes hitting her while attempting to escape.
Another wave hit her five times with torpedoes in her port side, severing her bow and stern,
and an additional rain of twenty bombs and 16 rockets then poured on the cruiser as she
blew apart and sank 22 kilometers northeast of Corregidor.
American divers combed her wreck in the spring of 1945, and the equipment, codebooks, maps,
and documents found by USS Chanticleer provided the Americans with a major intelligence coup.
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