Japanese cruiser Chōkai
Operational history. At the start of the Pacific War, "Chōkai" supported the invasion of Malaya and participated in the pursuit of the Royal Navy's battleship Force Z. During January and February 1942, "Chōkai" was involved in operations to seize the oil-rich Dutch East Indies and the island of Borneo. Steaming near Cape St. Jacques, "Chōkai" struck a reef, sustaining hull damage on 22 February 1942. On 27 February, she reached Singapore for repairs. After repairs, "Chōkai" was once again assigned to a support role in an invasion, this time the landings at Iri, Sumatra, and  the invasion of the Andaman Islands and the seizure of Port Blair a few days later. Afterwards, "Chōkai" sailed to Mergui, Burma. On 1 April 1942, "Chōkai" left Mergui to participate in Operation C, a raid on merchant shipping in the Indian Ocean. First, "Chōkai" torpedoed and sank the U.S. freighter "Bienville", and later on, the British steamship "Ganges" on 6 April. With her role in the operation successfully concluded, "Chōkai" returned to Yokosuka on 22 April 1942. The Guadalcanal campaign. By mid-July 1942, "Chōkai" was made the new flagship of Vice Admiral Mikawa Gunichi and his 8th Fleet . She proceeded towards Rabaul. On 7 August 1942, with Guadalcanal having been invaded by the Americans, "Chōkai" headed for the Guadalcanal waters, with Vice Admiral Mikawa aboard. In the battle of Savo Island, Mikawa's squadron of heavy cruisers inflicted a devastating defeat on an Allied squadron, sinking four heavy cruisers (three American and one Australian) and damaging other ships. However, "Chōkai" sustained several hits from the cruisers and , disabling her "A" turret and killing 34 men. "Chōkai" returned to Rabaul for temporary repairs. For the rest of the Solomon Islands campaign, "Chōkai" would fight in an assortment of night  battles with the U.S. Navy, sustaining varied, but mostly minor, damage. Subsequent action. Relieved as the Eighth Fleet flagship shortly after the final evacuation of Guadalcanal, "Chōkai" headed back to Yokosuka on 20 February 1943. Tasked with various minor duties for the remainder of 1943 and first half of 1944, "Chōkai" was made the flagship of the Cruiser Division Four ("CruDiv 4") comprising , , , and "Chōkai" on 3 August 1944. All four ships took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Battle of Leyte Gulf. CruDiv 4 was part of Admiral Takeo Kurita's large fleet of IJN battleships, cruisers , and destroyers that took part in the various engagements of the Battle of Leyte Gulf at the Philippines. CruDiv 4 suffered a harrowing submarine attack on 23 October 1944, with the sinking of and (which was Kurita's flagship though he survived), while was left permanently crippled, leaving "Chōkai" as the only undamaged ship of CruDiv 4. "Chōkai" was then transferred to Cruiser Division Five, where she survived an air attack on 24 October 1944, while the battleship "Musashi" was sunk. Sunk in the battle off Samar. On the morning of 25 October, "Chōkai" engaged an American force of escort  carriers, destroyers, and destroyer escorts in the Battle off Samar. During her approach to the US escort carriers, "Chōkai" was hit several times on the port side amidships by 5"/38 caliber guns of this force's escort carriers and destroyers. It was believed at the time that one of these hits may have set off the eight deck-mounted Japanese Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedoes; however, 's expedition in 2019 found "Chōkai"s torpedoes still intact. An explosion was observed aboard "Chōkai" before a TBM Avenger from Kitkun Bay dropped a 500 lb (230 kg) bomb on her forward machinery room . Fires began to rage and she went dead in the water. She was scuttled later that day by torpedoes from the destroyer (), which also rescued some of her crew. Two days later "Fujinami" was itself sunk with the loss of all hands, including the "Chōkai" survivors. Wreck. "Chōkai" sits upright in of water on the edge of the Philippine Deep. RV "Petrel" discovered the wreck of "Chōkai" on 5 May 2019 and dived it via ROV on 30 May 2019.