Attacks on Kure and the Inland Sea (July 1945)

Attacks on Kure and the Inland Sea
Part of the Pacific theatre of World War II
Japanese battleship Haruna under attack on 28 July
Date 24–28 July 1945 Location Kure and Seto Inland Sea, Japan 34°14′N 132°33′E / 34.23°N 132.55°E / 34.23; 132.55 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United States  United Kingdom	Japan
Commanders and leaders
William Halsey	Kanazawa Masao
Units involved
Third Fleet Task Force 37 Task Force 38	Combined Fleet
Casualties and losses
102 killed 133 aircraft destroyed[1]	1 fleet carrier sunk 3 battleships sunk 1 ex-battleship sunk 2 heavy cruisers sunk 1 light cruiser sunk 2 armored cruisers sunk 1 destroyer sunk 2 escort ships sunk 1 escort carrier grounded 306 aircraft destroyed 392 aircraft damaged[1]

The attacks on Kure and the Inland Sea by United States and British naval aircraft in late July 1945 sank most of the surviving large warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The United States Third Fleet's attacks on Kure Naval Arsenal and nearby ports on 24, 25, and 28 July sank an aircraft carrier, three battleships, five cruisers, and several smaller warships. During the same period the British Pacific Fleet attacked other targets in the Inland Sea region and sank two escort ships and several smaller vessels as well as damaging an escort carrier.