Battle of the Malacca Strait

15–16 May 1945, Malacca Strait, south-west of Penang

British victory

The heavy cruiser Haguro, a veteran of the Java Sea, the Coral Sea and Leyte Gulf, was sent from Singapore with the old destroyer Kamikaze to take supplies to the Andaman Islands. Codebreakers gave her away, and Captain Manley Power's 26th Destroyer Flotilla of the East Indies Fleet hunted her down. Venus found her on radar at 34 miles, and in the early hours of 16 May the five destroyers closed in from all sides in a star pattern and attacked with torpedoes and guns. Haguro was hit by perhaps eight torpedoes and sank with about 900 men, among them Vice Admiral Shintarō Hashimoto. Saumarez was hit by three shells. It was the last surface action of the war between British and Japanese warships.

Imperial Japanese Navy

2 ships, 1 lost

Ship	Type	Outcome
IJN Haguro Hashimoto's flagship	Heavy cruiser Myōkō class	Sunk
IJN Kamikaze	Destroyer Kamikaze class	Escaped

Ship

Type

Outcome

IJN Haguro

Hashimoto's flagship

Heavy cruiser

Myōkō class

Sunk

IJN Kamikaze

Destroyer

Kamikaze class

Escaped

Royal Navy

5 ships, none lost

Ship	Type	Outcome
HMS Saumarez Power's flagship; three shell hits	Destroyer S class	Damaged
HMS Venus Found Haguro on radar	Destroyer V class	Survived
HMS Verulam	Destroyer V class	Survived
HMS Vigilant	Destroyer V class	Survived
HMS Virago	Destroyer V class	Survived

Map

Haguro's last run 14–16 May 1945