Imperial Cruisers

SOKO-JUNYOKAN!

(IJN IZUMO on the Huangpo, Shanghai in 1932 - digitally colorized by Irotooko, Jr)

IJN IZUMO: Tabular Record of Movement

© 2007-2020 Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp
Revision 8

14 May 1898:
Newcastle upon Tyne, Elswick, England. Laid down at Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Ltd's shipyard.
3 December 1898:
Captain (later Admiral) Misu Sotaro (5)(former CO of NANIWA) is appointed the Chief Equipping/Transfer Officer and travels to Great Britain.
19 September 1899:
Launched and named IZUMO.
29 September 1899:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Inoue Toshio (5)(former CO of CHIYODA) is appointed the Chief Equipping/Transfer Officer and travels to Great Britain.
14 March 1900:
Captain Inoue is appointed the CO.
25 September 1900:
Commissioned and attached to Sasebo Naval District. Captain Inoue Toshio is the CO.
2 October 1900:
IZUMO departs Britain for Yokosuka.
9 October 1900:
Reassigned to Standing Fleet.
8 December 1900:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
9 June 1901:
Numazu port, Honshu. Embarks Crown Prince Yoshihito (future Emperor Taisho) from the armored cruiser IWATE. Proceeds to Yokosuka via Tateyama, where the prince leaves the ship.
12 March 1902:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Miyaoka Naoki (6)(former CO of the Standing Fleet destroyer division) is appointed the CO.
26 September 1903:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Ijichi Suetaka (7)(former CO of NANIWA) is appointed the CO.
8 February 1904: The Russo-Japanese War:
IZUMO is the flagship of Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonojo's (4) Second Fleet.
16 April 1904:
Vice Admiral Kamimura's IZUMO departs Haeju, Korea, in company of the armored cruiser AZUMA and destroyer AKATSUKI to bombard the Russian subsidiary naval base at Vladivostok.
22 April 1904:
After a stop at Wonsan Kamimura's squadron departs for Vladivostok, but because of thick fog has to reverse course without reaching its target.
26 April 1904:
Arrives at Wonsan and lays over, departing again on 27 April.
28 May 1904:
Vice Admiral Kamimura's squadron shells Vladivostok.
14 August 1904: The Battle off Ulsan:
Participates in the battle as Vice Admiral Kamimura's flagship. Receives a total of 20 hits, causing moderate damage. Two sailors are KIA and 17 injured.
27-28 May 1905: The Battle of Tsushima:
Participates in the battle as Vice Admiral Kamimura's flagship. Receives 9 hits (five 12-in, one 10-in, three 6-in); 3 sailors are KIA and 27 injured.
2 November 1905:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Saito Koshi (7)(former Cos of the Third Fleet) is appointed the CO.
12 December 1905:
Captain (later Admiral, the Baron) Kato Sadakichi (10)(former CO of KASUGA) is appointed the CO.
2 February 1906:
Captain (later Admiral) Nawa Matahachiro (10)(formerly assigned to the Personnel Bureau) is appointed the CO.
5 October 1906:
Yokosuka. Participates in the naval review as the flagship of Vice Admiral Kataoka Shichiro's (3) First Fleet. Crown Prince Yoshihito briefly inspects the ship.
12 October 1906:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Okumiya Mamoru (10)(former CO of MATSUSHIMA) is appointed the CO.
10 July 1907:
Captain (later Admiral) Takeshita Isamu (15)(former CO of KASUGA) is appointed the CO.
5 August 1907:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Kamaya Tadamichi (11)(former CO of NISSHIN) is appointed the CO.
20 September 1907:
Departs Yokohama to visit six countries in the Americas and to attend the commemoration of the 140th anniversary of California in San Francisco.
11 October 1907:
Arrives at San Francisco Bay.
19-23 October 1907:
Participates in the festivities with 15 other warships.
24 October-6 November 1907:
Visits Monterey Bay, California.
11 November–4 December 1907:
Visits Santa Barbara and San Diego, California.
8 December 1907:
Departs Honolulu for Yokosuka.
20 February 1908:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Yajima Junkichi (12)(former CoS of the Ominato Guard District) is appointed the CO.
15 September 1908:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Sayama Toyonari (12)(former CO of CHITOSE) is appointed the CO.
22 May 1909:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Yamaguchi Kujuro (13)(former CO of HASHIDATE) is appointed the CO.
9 April 1910:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Akiyama Saneyuki (17)(former CO of HASHIDATE) is appointed the CO.
1 December 1910:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Sekino Kenkichi (13)(former ADC to the Emperor) is appointed the CO.
23 May 1911:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Tadokoro Hiromi (17)(former CO of TSUGARU) is appointed the CO.
1 December 1911-1 April 1912:
Captain Tadokoro is appointed the CO of HIZEN (ex-RETVIZAN) as additional duty.
1 December 1912:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Takeuchi Jiro (14)(former CO of TONE) is appointed the CO.
12 November 1913:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Moriyama Keizaburo (17)(former ADC to Minister of the Navy) is appointed the CO.
20 November 1913:
Departs Yokosuka to patrol the west coast of Mexico to safeguard Japanese interests and nationals during the Mexican Revolution.
25 August 1914:
Arrives at Esquimalt, Vancouver Island.
9 November 1914:
Appointed the flagship of Captain Moriyama's American Expeditionary Squadron with ASAMA and HIZEN (currently patrolling off Hawaii) to protect Allied shipping in the northeast Pacific.
22 November 1914:
Magdalena Bay, Baja California. IZUMO rendezvouses with ASAMA and HIZEN, then departs to patrol off the western coast of Central America, Mexican and U.S. waters.
25 January 1915:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Mimura Kinsaburo (18)(former CO of AZUMA) is appointed the CO.
12 February 1915:
Off Baja California. Assists the grounded ASAMA.
19 March 1915:
Relieved by TOKIWA. Departs Baja California for Yokosuka.
7 May 1915:
The American Expeditionary Squadron is disbanded.
13 December 1915:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Kawada Katsuji (17)(former member of the shipbuilding section of the Yokosuka Navy Yard) is appointed the CO.
6 November 1916:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Kobayashi Kenzo (19)(former CoS of the Ominato Guard District) is appointed the CO.
20 June 1917:
Malta, Mediterranean Sea. IZUMO arrives and relieves cruiser AKASHI as flagship of Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Admiral Sato Kozo's (18)(former CO of FUSO) Second Special Mission Squadron. Destroyers KASHI, HINOKI, MOMO and YANAGI also arrive to reinforce Sato's Squadron.
5 July 1918:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Masuda Koichi (23)(former ComDesDiv 14) is appointed the CO.
December 1918:
After the armistice, IZUMO and destroyers HINOKI and YANAGI depart Malta for Scapa Flow to help guard the German fleet and prepare for the voyage of seven surrendered German submarines to Japan.
5 January 1919:
Arrives at Portland, England.
March 1919:
IZUMO, HINOKI, YANAGI and the seven German U-boats arrive back at Malta. They are joined by destroyers UME and KUSUNOKI. Tender KWANTO services the U-boats, then joins cruiser NISSHIN and two destroyer flotillas in escorting the submarines to Japan. All arrive at Yokosuka on 18 June.
10 April 1919:
IZUMO departs Malta with the last destroyer detachment for various ports including Naples and Genoa, Italy and Marseilles, France.
5 May 1919:
Arrives back at Malta.
15 May 1919:
Departs Malta for Japan.
2 July 1919:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
9 July 1919: The 11th Naval Review:
Yokosuka. Emperor Taisho reviews 26 warships that participate in the review.
20 November 1919:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Miyamura Rekizo (27)(former CO of SUMA) is appointed the CO.
15 February 1921:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Koizumi Chikaharu (27)(current CO of HIZEN) is appointed the CO of IZUMO as additional duty.
14 April 1921:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Uemura Nobuo (26)(former chief of the Personnel Bureau's 2nd section) is appointed the CO.
20 August 1921:
Flagship of Vice Admiral Saito Hanroku's Training Fleet. Departs Yokosuka.
1 September 1921:
Rerated a first-class coast defense ship.
25 September 1921:
Flagship of the Training Squadron with YAKUMO.
15 October 1921:
Passes through the Panama Canal.
15 April 1922:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Hara Kanjiro (28)(former chief of the 1st section of the Navy Ministry's Naval Affairs Bureau) is appointed the CO.
26 June 1922:
IZUMO, IWATE, ASAMA and the Training Squadron depart Yokosuka with the 50th class of Etajima bound for Honolulu, Los Angeles, the Panama Canal, Rio de Janeiro (to attend a naval review commemorating the 100th anniversary of Brazil's independence), Buenos Aires, Argentina, Capetown and Durban, S Africa. Lays over at Colombo, Ceylon, Singapore and Hong Kong.
17 February 1923:
Arrives back at Yokosuka.
1 March 1923:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Shiraishi Nobunari (28)(former CO of ASAMA) is appointed the CO of IZUMO and TOKIWA as additional duty.
20 November 1923:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Shigeoka Nobujiro (30)(former member of the submarine section at the Kure Navy Yard) is appointed the CO.
15 April 1924:
Flagship of the Commander, Training Fleet, Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Hyakutake Saburo (19).
10 November 1924:
Departs Yokosuka for Acapulco, Balboa and Manzanillo, Mexico, San Francisco and Vancouver.
25 February–3 March 1924:
Visits Honolulu, Jaluit, Truk and Saipan in the Ogasawara (Bonins) archipelago.
3 March 1924:
Arrives at Yokosuka after steaming 20,231 miles.
10 November 1924:
Departs Yokosuka with ASAMA and YAKUMO for the North American continent with the cadets of the Naval Academy's 52nd class.
7 February 1925:
Vancouver, Canada. At night, while entering port, IZUMO's steam launch collides with a tugboat owned by the Canadian Pacific Ocean Railroad and sinks. Eleven POs and enlisted men are drowned.
4 April 1925:
Returns to Yokosuka.
2 July-25 August 1925:
Captain Shigeoka is appointed the CO of the light cruiser YURA as additional duty.
1 December 1925:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Inoue Tsugumatsu (32)(former instructor at Etajima Naval Academy) is appointed the CO.
1 December 1927:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Hirota Minoru (32)(former NGS staff officer) is appointed the CO.
30 November 1929:
Captain (Rear Admiral, posthumously) Kawana Takeo (34)(former CO of TATSUTA) is appointed the CO of YUBARI and IZUMO as additional duty.
5 February 1930:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Hoshino Shuichi (35)(former chief of the Naval Affairs Bureau's 2nd section) is appointed the CO.
1 June 1931:
Rerated a coast defense ship.
2 November 1931:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Matsuno Seizo (36)(former ComDesDiv 29) is appointed the CO.
2 February 1932:
The China Area Fleet's Third Fleet is reestablished under Vice Admiral (later Admiral, Ambassador to U.S.) Nomura Kichisaburo (26).
15 November 1932:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Nakamura Shigekazu (37)(former instructor at Etajima Naval Academy) is appointed the CO.
15 November 1933:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Takasu Sanjiro (37)(former CO of TOKIWA) is appointed the CO.
16 April-20 July 1934:
Sasebo Navy Yard. A catapult and the equipment for the Nakajima E4N2 Type 90 No. 2 Model 2 reconnaissance floatplane is installed.
1 November 1934:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Oshima Shiro (36)(former CO of TATSUTA) is appointed the CO.
10 July 1935:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Iwagoe Kanki (38)(former CO of NOJIMA) is appointed the CO.
16 November 1936:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Kamata Michiaki (39)(former CO of ONDO) is appointed the CO.
7 July 1937: The Marco Polo Bridge (The First "China") Incident:
Hun River, Lugouqiao, China. Japanese troops are on night maneuvers at the bridge. They fire blank cartridges. Chinese troops fire back, but do not cause injuries. Later, the Japanese discover a soldier missing and assume the Chinese captured him. They demand entry to Beijing to look for him, but the Chinese refuse. The Japanese shell the city and an undeclared war on China begins.
That same day, IZUMO is assigned as flagship of the 10th Squadron of Vice Admiral Hasegawa Kiyoshi's (31) Third Fleet and based at Mako, Pescadores.
11 July 1937:
Arrives at Shanghai. Moored at the Nippon Yusen Kaisha wharf in the Huangpu River, to the east of the Japanese Consulate.
14 July 1937:
IZUMO joins the French flagship in a searchlight display in honor of Bastille Day.
11 August 1937:
A 200-strong landing party is formed from the sailors of IZUMO to join the Special Naval Landing Force units ashore.
14 August 1937: "Bloody Saturday":
Shanghai. Flagship USS AUGUSTA (CA-31), carrying the CinC, U.S. Asiatic Fleet, Admiral Harry E. Yarnell (former CO of SARATOGA, CV-3), arrives from Tsingtao after battling a typhoon and anchors in the Whangpoa River.
That same day, the Chinese Air Force (CAF) under acting CO, retired Captain (later MajGen) Claire L. Chennault, launches six Northrop Gamma 2E attack planes to sink Vice Admiral Hasegawa's flagship IZUMO. The CAF mistakenly bombs the British cruiser HMS CUMBERLAND and USS AUGUSTA (CA-31), the flagship of the CinC, U.S. Asiatic Fleet, Admiral Harry E. Yarnell. AUGUSTA receives a near miss, killing one sailor and injuring 18. Other bombs kill some 1900 civilians and wound 2400 others.
A Nakajima E4N2 floatplane from IZUMO attacks the CAF 5th Pursuit Group formation and shoots down a Curtiss Hawk III fighter. A Nakajima E8N1 floatplane from light cruiser SENDAI shoots down another Chinese plane.
15 August 1937:
IZUMO is transferred to a new anchorage in the middle of the Huangpu River, east of the Garden Bridge.
16 August 1937:
Huangpu River. That same night, the Chinese Thornycroft CMB torpedo boat SHI-102 is crippled during a failed attempt to sink IZUMO and later scuttled by its crew.
20 August 1937:
Five Chinese aircraft attack IZUMO; all miss.
31 August 1937:
At 1100, Chinese aircraft launch six attacks on IZUMO, but miss.
25 September 1937:
Shanghai. Three Heinkel He-111s of the Chinese 19th Bomb Squadron (Heavy) and five Martin B-10s of the 10th and 30th Squadrons, escorted by seven Boeing fighters of the 17th Pursuit Squadron attack IJN warships in the Huangpu River including IZUMO. Two bombers are heavily damaged and crash. IZUMO is not damaged in the raid.
28 September 1937:
That night the ROCN divers attempt to blow up IZUMO, using floating mines. While trying to penetrate the anti-torpedo nets they are spotted and illuminated by searchlights. All three mines that are launched detonate prematurely; there is no damage.
20 October 1937:
Reassigned to China Area Fleet.
1 December 1937:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Oka Arata (40)(former member of the Cabinet Planning Board) is appointed the CO.
1 September 1938:
Captain (later Vice Admiral) Harada Seiichi (39)(former chief of the Imperial HQ's Navy Section's 3rd information bureau) is appointed the CO.
15 November 1939:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Yoshitomi Setsuzo (39)(former CO of KAGA) is appointed the CO.
1 November 1940:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Akiyama Katsuzo (40)(former CO of AOBA) is appointed the CO.
13 September 1941:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Uozumi Jisaku (42)(former CO of YURA) is appointed the CO.
8 December 1941:
Shanghai. Whangpoo (Huangpu) River. About 0400, a detachment of Special Naval Landing Force troops led by Cdr Otani Inao (51) boards the British river gunboat HMS PETEREL. Otani informs her CO, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve Lt Stephen Polkinghorn, that their countries are at war and demands the surrender of the ship. Polkinghorn refuses and orders the Japanese off at gunpoint. Illuminated by IZUMO's searchlights, gunboat TOBA and destroyer HASU then sink PETEREL by gunfire. Six of PETEREL's crew are lost, but Polkinghorn, although wounded, and the others survive and are made POWs.
31 December 1941:
Off Lingayen Gulf, Philippines. IZUMO hits a mine and is damaged.
4 February 1942:
Salvage vessel YUSHO MARU arrives at Lingayen from Hong Kong.
5 February 1942:
IZUMO departs Lingayen under tow by YUSHO MARU.
9 February 1942:
Arrives at Hong Kong. Later, IZUMO undergoes battle-damage repairs.
1 July 1942:
Rerated as a 1st class cruiser.
7 October 1942:
Captain Murayama Seiroku (42)(former CO of ABUKUMA) is appointed the CO.
12 September 1943:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Nishioka Shigeyasu (40)(former CO of NARUTO) is appointed the CO.
30 December 1943:
Captain (Rear Admiral, posthumously) Kato Yoshiro (43)(former CO of MAYA) is appointed the CO.
20 February 1944:
Attached to Kure Naval District. Assigned to Kure Training Squadron as a training and guard ship.
10 August 1944:
Captain (Reserve)(Vice Admiral, posthumously) Kusakawa Kiyoshi (38)(former CO of NAGOYA MARU) is appointed the CO.
1 March 1945:
Captain Shimazui Takemi (47)(former CO of TATSUTA) is appointed the CO.
March-April 1945:
IZUMO is moved to Imishima where she is drydocked. All main guns and the secondary batteries are replaced by four 127-mm Type 89 (in two twin mounts) and fourteen 25-mm Type 96 AA guns (two triple, two twin and four single mounts).
19 March 1945:
Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Marc A. Mitscher's (former CO of HORNET, CV-8) Task Force 58 carriers USS ESSEX (CV-9), INTREPID (CV-11), HORNET (CV-12), WASP (CV-18), HANCOCK (CV-19), BENNINGTON (CV-20) and BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24) make the first carrier attack on the Kure Naval Arsenal. More than 240 aircraft attack battleships HARUNA, YAMATO, ISE, HYUGA, carriers RYUHO, KAIYO, AMAGI, KATSURAGI and other ships.
The fleet is defended vigorously, but unsuccessfully, by 54 Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-Kai ("George") fighters of Captain (later General and CINC, JSDF) Genda Minoru's (of AKAGI at Pearl Harbor) 343rd NAG based at Matsuyama airfield. The 343rd NAG pilots claim 52 aircraft shot down against 16 losses.
IZUMO, standing off Etajima, is attacked by two aircraft that bomb and strafe the ship, but inflict no damage.
9 April 1945:
While returning to her former anchorage, IZUMO strikes a mine off Kurokami Shima (now Kurokami Jima) Island and receives minor damage. Moored in shallow water in Koyo Bight on the eastern shore of Etajima, some 3 miles NW of the Kure Naval Base.
10 July 1945:
Assigned to the Kure Naval District.
24 July 1945: The Final Destruction of the Imperial Japanese Navy:
Aircraft from Vice Admiral (later Admiral) John S. McCain's (former CO of RANGER, CV-4) Task Force 38 attack Kure. In their last major action, 343rd NAG "George" fighters attack the retiring American carrier planes over the Bungo Straits and claim 19 aircraft shot down against four losses.
Etajima. The heavily camouflaged IZUMO is not attacked. Task Force 38's aircraft concentrate their attacks on HARUNA.
28 July 1945:
From 0800 to 1700, Kure is attacked again by USS WASP's (CV-18) Air Group 86 and other aircraft from TF 38. IZUMO is attacked by 20 aircraft. They score three near misses with heavy bombs. The near misses cause underwater damage to the old ship's seams and plates. IZUMO takes on a 15-degree list to starboard and then starts to flood rapidly. About an hour after the attack, IZUMO capsizes and sinks in Koyo Bight, 34-14N, 132-30E. Three sailors are KIA.
15 August 1945:
Placed in fourth reserve.
20 November 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
1947:
Kure Dockyard. Dismantled and scrapped by Harima.

Authors' Note:
Thanks go to Fontessa-san of Japan and the late John Whitman for additional CO info.

- Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp.

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