IJN Chokai - Was Not Sunk By Her Own Torpedoes

When studying history, you will quickly learn that it's an ever-evolving subject. Strange to think about something explicitly looking at the past, but new information is constantly coming to light.
Such is the case with the Japanese cruiser, Chokai. For decades, it was commonly accepted that USS White Plains landed a hit that detonated her torpedoes. Books and articles propagated this, because there were no survivors from her crew to dispute the point.
So it remained, until 2019 when RV Petrel discovered her wreck. And found...no evidence of exploding torpedoes.
Just because something is accepted history, doesn't mean it will always be correct.
Further Reading:
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[@canuckster24]

Chokai was supposed to put in for the same refit as Maya got, but was cancelled due to lack of materials.

[@metaknight115]

YES, been waiting for a video on this ship for a long time, Chokai is very underrated, like most cruisers of the 2nd World War. I even edited her Wiki page to go into more detail on her participation in the battle of Savo Island. Thanks for covering. Another Japanese heavy cruiser worth covering is the Myoko class cruiser Haguro. Edited her Wiki page as well.

[@HACM-mk3qx]

She was flagship of the force that delivered the worst defeat to the USN during the war. She alone accounted for one of the 3 sunk cruisers and played a role in another's sinking. Luck, right decisions by Mikawa and skilled night lookouts aided by bad luck for the USN, poor communication and wrong decisions. She was lucky not be picked by radar on Prince of Wales Dec.9. Repulse or P of W would have decimated her. The flare caused both forces to turn away or they would have run into each other. If their long lances didn't strike force Z would have the upper hand. She is by far the most successful of her class.

[@m.steward9146]

Thank you for your Wiki contribution.

[@jamesm3471]

If someone told me they actually named the volcano in Japan Chōkai after the heavy cruiser’s mountain of a superstructure, I might’ve believed them.

[@patrickcannady2066]

Japanese cruisers, battlecruisers, and battleships had such elegant, sharp lines. They remind me of Kaiju monsters

[@sebastian-FX357Z1]

Japanese heavy-cruisers look quite cool but many of their light-cruisers look like pieces of crap.

[@patrickcannady2066]

@@sebastian-FX357Z1 The older ones did for sure. Those built just prior to WW2 were sleek elegant vessels, if a bit too lightly built for their job.

[@jasonsmith1143]

the superstructure of IJN Chokai class was really cool

[@iamrichrocker]

when these intrepid sunken ship hunters view a ship appearing out of the pitch black must be a surreal vision...haunting..and so many questions to ponder about the fates of the lost souls..thx Sky..i really enjoy these videos..

[@HighlanderNorth1]

✔️ Yes, it truly is...... Why, it seems like just yesterday that I was out canoeing in the Atlantic, when I became the first person to ever discover the Bismarck's wreck while snorkeling. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to spend more than 15 mins investigating her wreck, since I can only hold my breath for an hour, and it took 45 mins to swim down to the wreck and back up to the surface again. I'm going to snorkel the Challenger Deep next week. 😉

[@JamesSavik]

The Takao class cruisers were tough customers and smart-looking ships.

[@PaulP999]

No doubt but being sooo much over the treaty limits they almost become baby battlecruisers?

[@bkjeong4302]

@@PaulP999 They broke treaty limits but not by THAT much (once the Japanese got around to strengthening their hulls due to how overarmed they were, the ships were 2,000 tons heavier than they were supposed to be). You’re thinking of the hilariously inefficient Hippers from Germany.

[@PaulP999]

@@bkjeong4302 I have seen figures that give closer to 3,000 but even 2,000 is a destroyer! I did consider mentioning the Hippers as a further example, especially as some of the five turret 6" jap cruisers turned to ten 8" guns at the last minute. (must admit, it could be the 3,000 figure might have been late war with so much added?)

[@jerryle379]

​@@PaulP99912k ton is not that much bigger then most CA that time , unlike the German ça that are over 14k -15k ton 😬 with a weaker fire power then most CA that weight less then it

[@Poppi-G]

Thought I was already subbed. I am now. You do good work bro.

[@DardanellesBy108]

I think many IJN ship classes look good. I’m not so crazy about their destroyers but the larger ships look good to me. Thanks for another great video. Maybe you n Drach will do a colab someday???

[@jerryle379]

They dd do look nice tho

[@nathansullivan4433]

@@jerryle379Agreed, the Shimakaze in particular with her quintuple torpedo tubes was a particularly interesting and cool design

[@richardcutts196]

I've always thought that, because the third mount has such a limited firing arc, if they'd gone with 2x3 in front and 2x2 in back instead of 5x2 they'd have been better off without losing any guns.

[@anxiousbottle]

what an end for one of the more experienced cruisers of the IJN and my personal favourite

[@bkjeong4302]

Lundgren’s Samar analysis actually pointed out that there are American primary sources indicating she was lost to air attack, as well as a few Japanese sources. The latter wouldn’t have been available to earlier historians but it’s frustrating that older works on Samar didn’t look at all available American primary sources and gave a distorted picture of what went down (looking at you, Hornsfischer). There’s also a Japanese report that Kongo actually fired on her, which if true would make Kongo the worst-performing Japanese capital ship present (especially since almost all her supposed hits on Taffy 3 likely never happened due to her not having been shooting at any vessels when said hits happened).

[@Bandog23]

Splendid timing on the upload, i was just watching you HMS Erebus and HMS Terror video!

[@jacktyler2880]

I read long ago in a 1970s reference book that Chokai was considered "choice duty," and that sailors would vie for the privilege of serving aboard her. I've never heard this anywhere else and wonder if you have. This could account for her having "one of the best crews in the Japanese navy."

[@alexbenis4726]

Thanks for this.

[@scotfield3950]

Idea for another would be comparing torpedoes of all combatants with shortcomings/strengths

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Additional comment for clarification: USS Darter and USS Dace were Gato-class submarines.

[@princessofthecape2078]

Repulse was so damned beautiful.

[@RICHARDSIMMONS.tRICKy]

It's tRICKy, but I must say I enjoy your work! However, on a story about one of those five centreline turrets, twin barrel layouts, why have you put, near the start, a three barrel turret? This sort of thing does occur somewhat too often. Otherwise, well done, good work!

[@Ace-rp7vr]

Well atleast her sister ship Takao got to go down fighting Godzilla in 1947

[@suspiciousminds1750]

You used that before, right? 😉

[@brownwrench]

I wonder if there were consequences for that patrol plane pilot.

[@clmk28]

These ships were beautiful

[@bobbyb.6644]

A lonely end ? 😢

[@takashitamagawa5881]

The Japanese wasted so much fuel oil on the Midway and Aleutians operations, sending almost their whole navy out including CHOKAI just to have so many ships turn around and go home without having done anything.

[@scottmcdonald5237]

😢

[@walterathow5988]

👍👏

[@aquilarossa5191]

Japan did build very good looking heavy cruisers. Their cruiser tactics gave the USA a very nasty surprise too. They absolutely slaughtered a US/UK cruiser force at Savo Island. It's a pity that engineering and design skill is tainted by the millions who died due to Japan's imperial ambitions in China.* *China lost about 20 million during WWII; with lots of them being civilians. China's WWII ran from 1937-1945, or until 1950 if you count the civil war where the Soviet backed reds beat the US backed nationalists who retreated to Taiwan; where the USA protects them to this day kind of like a government in exile. That's even though the USA recognizes Taiwan is part of China, as does the administration in Taiwan itself. -- Just saying, because the consequences of what happened back then are still with us today, so people need to know the history and outcomes etc (Taiwan had been occupied by Japan until 1945 and then by the defeated Chinese nationalist forces until the present).

[@shoominati23]

If the Germans built their heavy cruisers\ pocket battleships \ battlecruisers \ I need a drink to something more like the Kongo or Takao class, instead of the Deutschland or Scharnhorst class : with enough guns front and rear to be able to effectively split the batteries up ,and a 32+ knot top speed to be able to book it out of dodge if things got a just a little too hellacious. As such, they probably would have been better off spending the time and treasure building multiple heavy destroyers..

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

They were lost not because ships were bad, quite the opposite actually. All of them held that long only because they were well-build, a japanese, american or, god forbid, british ship wouldnt even hold half as much, if they were just as stupid.

[@garygriffiths2911]

Force Z was of course a British squadron, so that would be pronounced Force 'Zed' (as in bed) rather than the Americanised 'Zee' (as in bee) please!

[@Poppi-G]

Yeah well, you overspelled my name…

[@genericpersonx333]

Well said! 😄@@Poppi-G

[@jackdaniel7465]

Who cares, seriously,who does, always nit picking for revelance......Typical.

[@garygriffiths2911]

@@jackdaniel7465 I care because it is incorrect pronunciation, and if no one ever bothers to point out basic errors such as this then they are bound to be repeated don't you think?

[@jackdaniel7465]

@@garygriffiths2911 Stop your Nit picking, we took on and defeated the Japanese navy through many brutal battles in the Pacific, before you Brits even showed up in the late 1944, so it's safe to say, we can use whatever pronunciation that our language uses, we earned it.

[@issacfoster1113]

IJN Cruisers sure looks goofy a**

[@RicoJuan1998]

Dude jealous af