Operation Hailstone was a massive United States Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon on 17–18 February 1944, conducted as part of the American offensive drive against the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre.
Tatsuta (龍田) was the second ship in the two ship Tenryū class of light cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). She was named after the Tatsuta River in Nara Prefecture, Japan.
Nagara (長良) was the lead ship of her class of light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was named after the Nagara River in the Chūbu region of Japan.
Hatsukaze was the seventh vessel to be commissioned in the 19-vessel Kagerō-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the late-1930s under the Circle Three Supplementary Naval Expansion Program. She survived four major fleet actions against the Allies, but was finally sunk in November 1943 after being damaged through collision with Japanese cruiser Myōkō.
Chitose (千歳) was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy that served from 1938 to 1944, seeing service as a seaplane carrier and later as a light aircraft carrier during World War II. In her initial guise as a seaplane carrier, she first saw service during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938, and subsequently played a key role in the Imperial Japanese Navy's development of a network of seaplane bases on the islands of the Pacific Ocean. After the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, she took part in the Philippines campaign, the Dutch East Indies campaign, the Battle of Midway, and the Guadalcanal campaign, during which she was damaged in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and also saw service related to the Battle of Cape Esperance.
The 6th Fleet was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) that during World War II, had primary responsibility for the command of submarine operations.
The 5th Fleet was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, active during the early portions of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and again in World War II, primarily in the Aleutian campaign, during which it was augmented and designated the Northern Area Force.
The 3rd Fleet was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), which was created, and subsequently disbanded on six separate occasions and revived on five separate occasions.
Uzuki was one of twelve Mutsuki-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1920s. During the Pacific War, she participated in the Battle of Wake Island in December 1941 and the occupations of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in early 1942.
The Yokohama Maru was a 6,143-gross register ton passenger and cargo vessel built by Mitsubishi Dockyard & Engine Works, Nagaski for Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha and launched in 1912. The ship was used on the Guam to Japan route. She was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Army and fitted out as a troop transport.
The SS China Maru was a 5,870-gross register ton cargo ship built by Kawasaki Dockyard Company, Kobe, for Kawasaki Kisen KK in 1920.
Ro-61, originally named Submarine No. 72, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. She was in commission at various times from 1923 to 1934, and was recommissioned in 1940. Before World War II, she served in the waters of Japan. During World War II, she took part in the Battle of Wake Island and the Aleutian Islands campaign, conducting the first attack on an enemy ship ever carried out by a Japanese Ro-type submarine. She was sunk in August 1942.
Ro-65 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. First commissioned in 1926, she served in the waters of Japan prior to World War II. During World War II, she operated in the Central Pacific, supported Japanese forces in the Battle of Wake Island and invasion of Rabaul, and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign. She sank in a diving accident in November 1942.
Ro-67 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. First commissioned in 1926, she served in the waters of Japan prior to World War II. During World War II, she operated in the Central Pacific, supported Japanese forces in the Battle of Wake Island and invasion of Rabaul, and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign. She was decommissioned in 1945 and scrapped in 1946.
Ro-68 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. First commissioned in 1925, she served in the waters of Japan prior to World War II. During World War II, she supported Japanese forces during the Battle of Wake Island and the invasion of Rabaul and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign. She served as a training submarine from late 1942 to late 1944 before returning to a combat role in Japanese waters late in the war. She surrendered to the Allies in 1945 at the conclusion of the war and was scuttled in 1946.
Ro-64, originally named Submarine No. 79, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. First commissioned in 1925, she served in the waters of Japan and Chōsen prior to World War II. During World War II, she operated in the Central Pacific, supported the Japanese invasion of Rabaul, and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign, then in late 1942 was relegated to a role as a training ship. She was sunk in April 1945.
Ro-63, originally named Submarine No. 84, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. First commissioned in 1924, she served in the waters of Japan prior to World War II. During World War II, she operated in the Central Pacific and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign, then in late 1942 was relegated to a role as a training ship and tender for midget submarines. After the war ended in 1945, she surrendered to the Allies, who scuttled her in 1946.
Ro-62, originally named Submarine No. 73, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. She was in commission at various times from 1923 to 1934, and was recommissioned in 1938. Before World War II, she served in the waters of Japan. During World War II, she took part in the Battle of Wake Island and the Aleutian Islands campaign, then was relegated to a training role in late 1942. After the war ended in 1945, she surrendered to the Allies. She was scuttled in 1946.
I-69, later I-169, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD6 sub-class commissioned in 1935. She served in World War II, during which she conducted six war patrols and took part in operations supporting the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, the Aleutians campaign, and the defense of the Gilbert Islands. She sank in a diving accident in April 1944.
Ro-36 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in May 1943, she served in World War II, conducting four war patrols in the Pacific Ocean before she was sunk in June 1944.
