Key Facts
- Operation dates
- 10–20 February 1945
- Ships in Completion Force
- 2 battleship-carriers + 4 escorts
- Submarines positioned against force
- 26
- USAAF aircraft deployed
- More than 88
- Japanese casualties
- 0
- Destination reached
- Kure, Japan, 20 February 1945
Strategic Narrative Overview
The Completion Force departed Singapore on 10 February 1945 and was immediately spotted by a Royal Navy submarine. Allied command had decrypted Japanese signals and positioned 26 submarines along the anticipated route, while coordinating USAAF bomber strikes. Despite multiple submarine interception attempts between 11 and 16 February and more than 88 aircraft sorties on 13 and 14 February, poor weather and unsuccessful torpedo attacks allowed the Japanese ships to evade all Allied efforts.
01 / The Origins
By late 1944, two Ise-class hybrid battleship-aircraft carriers and escort ships had been stationed in Singapore to facilitate supply runs to Japan. With Allied forces tightening a naval and air blockade around the Japanese home islands, the Imperial Japanese Navy urgently needed to transfer oil and raw materials from Southeast Asia before supply lines were cut. Operation Kita was devised to return the Completion Force to Japan while carrying vital strategic resources.
03 / The Outcome
The Completion Force arrived at Kure on 20 February 1945 without any casualties or damage, marking a rare late-war success for the IJN. However, the broader strategic effort failed: Japan suspended oil shipments from Southeast Asia in March 1945 due to catastrophic tanker losses to Allied submarines. All vessels of the Completion Force were subsequently sunk in or near Japanese home waters before the war ended.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.