The Wreck of IJN Chokai - Not Sunk by Her Own Torpedoes

[@robertf3479]

Because of the missing torpedoes and evidence of a stored oxygen fire I have to wonder if the 5" hit from USS White Plains triggered that fire and the gunners mistook the flare (bright and violent) for the detonation of a torpedo warhead. "Damnit! They're getting away!" - Anonymous CVE gunner overheard as the Japanese cruisers turned away when Admiral Kurita ordered them to rejoin his battleship formation. This guy might even have been the 5" mount Gun Captain on White Plains. Courage was not in short supply that day.

[@codyking4848]

It's interesting to see all of the hoses. Must have been quite the inferno on deck, and Chokai shows quite a lot of fire damage. Initial reports suggested her torpedoes went up and caused massive fires, but the torpedo launchers were found to be intact, and no torpedoes... .

[@HACM-mk3qx]

Accomplished the most in her class. Mikawa's flagship at Savo Island. Chokai alone accounted for one of the 4 cruisers sunk and assisted in the destruction of another. A shell hit Chokai's bridge on the chart room close to where he was. Guadacanal by R. Frank gives a good account of the battle.

[@kristoffermangila]

Of the four Takao-class cruisers, I liked Chokai the most, because she retained her three-level bridge superstructure, unlike her other three siblings, whose bridge superstructure were cut down one level. I did wished they upgraded her secondary guns to 12.7mm.

[@Sebastian-lk9xz]

Maya kept her original bridge too. Only Atago and Takao underwent this rebuild. Chokai and Maya were scheduled for this rebuild but then war broke out.

[@TropicTrdr]

Great video! I'd agree that the crew was fighting fires but I'd bet that those hoses, attached to the fire mains streamed off the deck on the way down. With a tall and confined space, I'd guess that one or more team was knocking the fire down and cooling the plating from the deck while another was working their way up the ladder inside; a tough assignment.

[@MomoKawashima5]

I love the Takao class heacy cruisers. Very neat and pretty ships

[@TiberiusMaximus]

loved the superstructure of these ships, beautiful!

[@PatrickTyrrell-jd5zy]

And topheavy!

[@benmiland5245]

​@PatrickTyrrell-jd5zy So top heavy, they never had any stability issues at all.

[@kevinstacey2231]

Beautiful lines

[@Constance_tinople]

@@benmiland5245this is patently untrue the Japanese had to revise their heavy cruisers several times to account for the numerous stability issues resulting from their lightly built design mixed with a rather high center of gravity

[@Sebastian-lk9xz]

@@Constance_tinople That's why Atago and Takao had their bridge structure rebuilt.

[@clmk28]

Chokai was a beautiful ship with a great career

[@Stellaris556]

Chokai got peppered hard not only by salvos of White Plains, Samuel B Roberts fired a lot until all shells depleted.

[@jessnalulila5552]

I believe Samuel B Roberts hit Chokai with a torpedo and the rain shells was against Chikuma

[@aslamnurfikri7640]

NGL I always liked Takao class' superstructures. They're somewhat aesthetically pleasing

[@andrewstackpool4911]

As I recall, the main batteries in IJN units were dual purpose as they fired a special AA round called I think "The Beehive", basically a large break--up shot. Yamato certainly used them on her final deployment

[@bkjeong4302]

They were dual purpose in theory, but for the cruisers and battleships they were useless for AA (too slow to turn and made it impossible to use the actual DP and AA weapons due to the blast pressure)

[@Sebastian-lk9xz]

The IJN itself dismissed that. Maya was fitted with newer turrets that did not support that hight elevation anymore.

[@bf61marc35]

Takao class heavy cruisers: Takao, Atago, Maya, Chokai. Most beautiful IJN heavy cruisers.

[@kay-torstenlistewnik4662]

think so too. too bad, takao was sunk by godzilla

[@kristoffermangila]

What are you talking about!? Takao was scuttled by the British after the war, after languishing at Singapore after being torpedoed by US subs prior to Leyte Gulf.

[@tenknifefoot3777]

@@kristoffermangila Godzilla minus one, Takao was sunk fighting Godzilla, Drach devoted a video to the battle. You should check it out.

[@nigelmorroll3343]

I just wondered. When USS whiteplans fired that shoot and it hit, it's probably the same time a dropped bomb or something else went off at the same time?

[@panzerdeal8727]

9.35. Something a lot of people miss..the Cruiser force set to meet up with the Battleships of the Southern pincer included Troop carrying destroyers, or APD's in US terminology. these 5 DD's and a number of other destroyers and cruisers from Shima's group were detached to move Army troops at Manilia. It's possible that some boats were detached to boost their ferry capicity prior to the engagement, and the 25 singles added for this mission. SEE E.P. Hoyt's book on Leyte gulf. Counting that group, there was +1 Task group of Japanese ships moving about that day.

[@stephenfarthing3819]

Hmm ! Interesting shipwreck - it's mostly more intact! The bow is missing you say. I suspect some battle damage but the ship was sunk by the bow !

[@ericvadekro8334]

Well explained thank you!

[@angmoh777]

looks like a 25mm gun on top of turret 4, the cooling fin pattern

[@juancortapan7845]

My god the ship is mostly in 1 piece! superstructure complete, guns in place and all. Most of japanese ships are a pile of rust and destruction, but not this one

[@brianrichmond3023]

Superstructures back then had character. The box like structures of today are totally unattractive.

[@brownwrench]

So what DID fatally damage it?

[@Zapranoth-lf8nt]

Seems like the fires COULD have been dealt with, IF the Japanese had been in a position, with the necessary time to do so. Fatal damage looks like from the torpedo hit, which was from a Japanese destroyer, scuttling her as the formation retreated.

[@niclasjohansson4333]

Some reports claim that the ship was hit by 14" shells from Kongo or Haruna ?!

[@bkjeong4302]

Some Japanese sources do claim this, because Chokai was in Kongo’s line of fire.

[@tylermcneill]

What happened to R/v Petrel😂

[@klipsfilmsmelbourne]

Chokai is decaying like titanic wreck though question is for ink cruiser wreck how long it will last despite in deeper water

[@mikeynth7919]

I think the hatch/door for turret two is lying on the roof of turret three.

[@RebeccaCampbell1969]

13:50 Deck damage must be from implosion forces, deck and hull from that aft picture. Could it be the lower decks being seal tight enough to hold air bubble for the depth pressure to do it’s thing? And the hull being curved means it was the strongest structure holding the pressure? Not a design flaw perhaps, but a design thing. This should be as interesting, and sad, as to watch excavations of ancient cultures’ ruins... we are looking into the past, into what others’ lives were... with out judging

[@lennybooth5235]

I would like to know the cause of the sinking.

[@stevegt2682]

Scuttled by the destroyer Fujinami with torpedoes

[@sav2236]

Thank you.

[@jlawsl]

Is the degredation of Japanese wrecks compared to American ones due to the battle damage, metal work or both? It always seems that a lot of Japanese wrecks in similar areas to American wrecks are in far worse shape. Perhaps fires on the Japanese ships contributed to their increased degradation?

[@ironhell813]

Strange, similar degradation on titanic, might be the specific depth? They’re both near each others depth rating.

[@taliaperkins1389]

I thought the USS White Plains got a shot into a paint locker that started a fire which was not able to be controlled ?

[@holgerwittmann8419]

Thats like a real swiss chease ghost ship! Awesome!

[@alexanderleach3365]

SHe's beautiful.

[@Bandog23]

Japanese ships are pretty

[@themagicbeanguy]

Do you think the men that died aboard sunken ships are all just stuck sailing in a perpetual, non stop ocean? Reliving the same day over and over again?

[@michaelgrey7854]

No. They just do not exist.

[@themagicbeanguy]

Not a big believer of paranormal things I guess

[@lacey457-z5e]

Jeffrey R. Cox says this is the most luxurious cruiser ever built.