Operation Kita

Operation Kita
Part of the Pacific War
Ise in 1943
Date 10–20 February 1945 (1945-02-10 – 1945-02-20) Location Waters between Singapore and Japan Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
Japan	United States  United Kingdom  Australia
Commanders and leaders
Matsuda Chiaki	James Fife Jr. Charles A. Lockwood
Strength
3 destroyers 2 battleship-carriers 1 light cruiser 52 aircraft	88+ aircraft 26 submarines 2 destroyers
Casualties and losses
Several aircraft	None

Operation Kita (北号作戦, Hoku-gō sakusen, "North") was conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific War in February 1945. Its purpose was to return two Ise-class hybrid battleship-aircraft carriers and four escort ships to Japan from Singapore, where they had been based since November the previous year. The movement of the Japanese force was detected by the Allies, but all attempts to attack it with submarines and aircraft failed. Nevertheless, as a result of the intensifying Allied blockade of Japan, the Ise-class battleship-carriers and their escorts were among the last IJN warships to safely reach the country from the Southwest Pacific before the end of the war.

Before departing Singapore, the Japanese ships, which were designated the Completion Force, were loaded with supplies of oil and other important raw materials. This formed part of an effort to run increased quantities of supplies through the Allied blockade of Japan before the country was cut off from its empire. The Allies had learned of the Completion Force's composition and goals through intelligence gained from decrypting Japanese radio signals, and plans were developed for coordinated attacks on it by submarines and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) aircraft. As part of these preparations, 26 submarines were eventually positioned along the ships' expected route.

The Completion Force sailed on 10 February 1945 and was sighted leaving port by a Royal Navy submarine. However, attempts by it and several United States Navy submarines to attack between 11 and 14 February were unsuccessful. More than 88 USAAF aircraft attempted to bomb the Completion Force on 13 and 14 February, but were unable to do so because of bad weather. A further submarine attack on 16 February did not damage any of the Japanese ships. As a result, the Completion Force reached its destination of Kure in Japan on 20 February without having suffered any casualties. Despite this success, the Japanese Government was forced to discontinue its efforts to ship oil from Southeast Asia to Japan in March due to the heavy losses Allied submarines were inflicting on oil tankers, and all the ships of the Completion Force were sunk in or near Japanese home waters before the end of the war.