1942-04-05
Indian Ocean Raid
Off Ceylon, 5 and 9 April 1942
Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo brought five carriers to Ceylon: Akagi, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku, and Zuikaku, with the four Kongo-class battleships and Tone and Chikuma. On 5 April a floatplane from Tone found Cornwall and Dorsetshire southwest of the island. Dive bombers from Soryu and Hiryu sank both cruisers. The two ships lost 424 men. The sinkings are not credited to one ship. On 9 April, off Batticaloa, carrier aircraft sank Hermes and the Australian destroyer Vampire. Hermes had no aircraft aboard. Three hundred seven of her crew were killed, including her captain. Admiral James Somerville's Eastern Fleet was not caught under those attacks.
Sunk in this fight
4 ships.
A diagram of how this fight went will go here.
