Qualla: Battle of Sagami Bay https://qualla.com/battle-of-sagami-bay en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:40 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/5/h/battle-of-sagami-bay-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Sagami Bay https://qualla.com/battle-of-sagami-bay Battle of Sagami Bay: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-sagami-bay/ Photo credit Lieutenant Frederick G. Whitcombe, Public domain. Sixteen minutes. That is how long the last surface naval battle of World War II lasted. On the night of July 22, 1945, nine Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 61 detached from Admiral William Halsey's Task Force 38, formed a column at 500-yard intervals, and drove into Sagami Bay at 27 knots. Sagami Bay controls the entrance to Tokyo Bay. No American warships had penetrated these waters since April 1939. The destroyers came not to bombard or invade, but to hunt a small Japanese convoy that radar had picked up at 33,000 yards. Between 2353 and 0009, the nine ships launched 18 torpedoes and poured 3,291 five-inch shells into targets they could barely see. Then they turned around and left.

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Image: Lieutenant Frederick G. Whitcombe | Public domain

]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/5/h/battle-of-sagami-bay-wp/xn5h-battle-of-sagami-bay-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Sagami Bay: Into the Emperor's Front Yard https://qualla.com/battle-of-sagami-bay/ Photo credit Lieutenant Frederick G. Whitcombe, Public domain. By July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy had effectively ceased to exist as a fighting fleet. The Combined Fleet's battleships and carriers were sunk or immobilized. But Japan's coastal waters still carried traffic -- small convoys of freighters and escorts hugging the shoreline,...

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Image: Lieutenant Frederick G. Whitcombe | Public domain

]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/5/h/battle-of-sagami-bay-wp/xn5h-battle-of-sagami-bay-into-the-emperors-front-yard.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Sagami Bay: Radar Contact at 33,000 Yards https://qualla.com/battle-of-sagami-bay/ Photo credit Lieutenant Frederick G. Whitcombe, Public domain. The nine destroyers -- De Haven, Mansfield, Lyman K. Swenson, Collett, Maddox, Blue, Taussig, Samuel N. Moore, and Brush -- formed up in column, maintaining 500-yard spacing within their two divisions and 3,000 yards between divisions. They pushed through the darkness at 27 knots...

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Image: Lieutenant Frederick G. Whitcombe | Public domain

]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/5/h/battle-of-sagami-bay-wp/xn5h-battle-of-sagami-bay-radar-contact-at-33-000-yards.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Sagami Bay: Sixteen Minutes of Five-Inch Fire https://qualla.com/battle-of-sagami-bay/ Photo credit Lieutenant Frederick G. Whitcombe, Public domain. Between 2353 and 0009, the nine destroyers fired 3,291 rounds of five-inch ammunition and launched 18 torpedoes at the convoy. Two torpedoes struck home. The freighter No. 5 Hakutetsu Maru, a vessel of approximately 800 tons, was sunk. The larger Enbun Maru, at 6,919 tons, took h...

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Image: Lieutenant Frederick G. Whitcombe | Public domain

]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/5/h/battle-of-sagami-bay-wp/xn5h-battle-of-sagami-bay-sixteen-minutes-of-five-inch-fire.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Sagami Bay: The War's Last Surface Fight https://qualla.com/battle-of-sagami-bay/ Photo credit Lieutenant Frederick G. Whitcombe, Public domain. The sweep of Sagami Bay holds a particular distinction in naval history: it was the last surface action of World War II. Within three weeks, atomic bombs would fall on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan would announce its surrender. The great surface engagements that had defined t...

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Image: Lieutenant Frederick G. Whitcombe | Public domain

]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/x/n/5/h/battle-of-sagami-bay-wp/xn5h-battle-of-sagami-bay-the-wars-last-surface-fight.mp3 0:06 5 full