The Second and Third Fleets, which set out from Staring-baai, entered the Indian Ocean on April 1, 1942. Several orders were given to the Second and Third Fleets, but the most important among them was the seizure of maritime supremacy in the Indian Ocean and the elimination of enemy forces for that purpose. In other words, it was the annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet.
Second Fleet
- Heavy cruisers Atago, Takao, Maya, Myōkō, Haguro, Nachi
- Heavy cruiser Furutaka
- Destroyers Umikaze, Yamakaze, Kawakaze, Suzukaze, Murasame, Yūdachi, Harusame, Samidare
- Heavy cruiser Kako
- Destroyers Shiratsuyu, Shigure, Hatsuharu, Nenohi, Wakaba, Hatsushimo, Ariake, Yūgure
- Battleships Nagato, Mutsu, Ise, Hyūga, Yamashiro, Fusō *Support from the First Fleet
Third Fleet
- Sōryū (24 × A6Ms, 33 × B5Ns)
- Hiryū (24 × A6Ms, 33 × B5Ns)
- Ryūjō (24 × A6Ms, 9 × B5Ns)
- Zuihō (24 × A6Ms, 3 × B5Ns)
- Shōhō (24 × A6Ms, 3 × B5Ns)
- Heavy cruisers Tone, Chikuma
- Destroyers Kagerō, Shiranui, Kasumi, Arare, Asagumo, Yamagumo, Natsugumo, Minegumo, Akigumo
The Second Fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondō, consisted mainly of heavy cruisers such as the Takao-class from the 4th Cruiser Division or the Myōkō-class from the 5th Cruiser Division. While this fleet was formidable, it lacked the firepower to contend with the battleships deployed in the Eastern Fleet.
To address this, the Combined Fleet extracted the 2nd Battleship Division from the First Fleet and temporarily incorporated it into the Second Fleet. The 2nd Battleship Division, consisting of three sections, included the first section with the Nagato and Mutsu armed with 41 cm guns, the second section with the Ise and Hyūga equipped with 36 cm guns, and the third section with the Yamashiro and Fusō, also armed with 36 cm guns.
The 1st Battleship Division, with four Yamato-class battleships, could not be deployed to the Indian Ocean as they were still undergoing familiarization training after repairs, and the 3rd Battleship Division's Hiei, Kirishima, Kongō, and Haruna, could not be sent to the Indian Ocean until the 1st Battleship Division is back in the order of battle in preparation for the rapidly increasing Pacific Fleet.
On the other hand, as the Southern Operation progressed beyond expectations, the six battleships of the 2nd Battleship Division were undergoing overhauls in rotation. This made all the ships available for the Indian Ocean operation. Regarding aircraft carriers, Kaga and Akagi were not participating because repairs to the damage sustained during the Battle of the Marshall Islands were not yet complete. In Japan, where repair facilities were limited, the Imperial Navy prioritized battleship repairs, placing carriers and cruisers in a secondary position. To partially compensate for this, the Combined Fleet temporarily included the light carriers Ryūjō and Zuihō, as well as the newly added Shōhō, and some crew members from Kaga and Akagi were temporarily transferred to these carriers.
With 5 carriers, 6 battleships, 10 heavy cruisers, and 25 destroyers, the two fleets were already in combat readiness. From the Third Fleet's Sōryū and Hiryū, six B5N torpedo bombers each took off before dawn. Additionally, from the Ryūjō, eight aircraft, and from the Zuihō and Shōhō, two each, totaling twelve aircraft, followed to form a reconnaissance line from northwest to southwest.
The expected strength of the Eastern Fleet was 5 battleships, 3 aircraft carriers, several cruisers, and more than ten destroyers. Given Britain's expertise in information warfare, they likely already knew the presence of powerful assets such as the Yamato-class battleships or carriers like Kaga and Akagi near the Japanese mainland. Nevertheless, although the Eastern Fleet was inferior in terms of firepower when combining the Second and Third Fleets, this difference could be sufficiently compensated for through tactics.
Therefore, the Eastern Fleet was certain to appear before the Second and Third Fleets. Britain, with the vital artery of the Indian Ocean as its economic lifeline, would never allow Japan's fleet to act freely. Both Vice Admiral Kondō of the Second Fleet and Vice Admiral Ozawa of the Third Fleet were well aware of this. There was no room for complacency for the two admirals who had gained combat experience in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
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Big-Ship Big-Gun Combined Fleet
Historical Fiction「Sink those huge battleships! We will not win unless we destroy them!」 "The United States defeated Japan, but the United States Navy lost to the Japanese Navy." The Imperial Navy enacted a grand performance that would make even American historians s...
