Sinking of Japanese Cruiser Mikuma, 6 June 1942

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After the loss of his carrier striking force on 4 June 1942, Admiral Yamamoto briefly continued the attempt to take Midway by ordering gunfire bombardments of the atoll. Early on 5 June, the Japanese submarine I-168 fired a few shells that did no damage. She was to be followed by four heavy cruisers under Rear Admiral Takeo Kurita, but these were recalled just after midnight on 5 June. About 90 miles west of Midway, the U.S. submarine Tambor (SS-198) was sighted nearby, and the Japanese ships abruptly changed course. Cruisers Mogami and Mikuma collided, badly damaging Mogami and causing a steady oil leak in her sister. Leaving two destroyers as escorts for the slow-moving damaged ships, the rest of the force rapidly steamed west.

During daylight on 5 June Mogami and Mikuma were attacked by planes from Midway, causing additional damage. On 6 June, planes from USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Hornet (CV-8) made three attacks, further damaging Mogami, hitting both destroyers, and completely wrecking Mikuma. Abandoning the latter to her fate, the other ships painfully limped away.

Later in the day, an Enterprise plane flew by the shattered Mikuma, and took the War's first close-up photographs of a sinking Japanese warship. Mikuma sank about dusk on 6 June, leaving hundreds of her crewmen to die in the water. Three days later, USS Trout (SS-202) found and rescued two survivors and took them to Pearl Harbor.

  
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