Service History
At the start of the Pacific War, Atago was the flagship of Vice Admiral Kondō Nobutake's Cruiser Division 4, along with sister ships Maya, Chōkai, and Takao, and assigned to support the invasion of Malaya and the Philippines.
From January-March 1942, Atago was based out of Palau, and was involved in operations to seize the oil-rich Dutch East Indies, participating in numerous combat operations, including the Battle of the Java Sea. After taking Vice Admiral Kondō on an inspection tour of Japan’s new possessions in the former Dutch East Indies, Atago returned to Yokosuka in April 1942, where she was assigned to the unsuccessful pursuit of Admiral William F. Halsey's Task Group 16.2 (TG 16.2)after the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.
After a retrofit in April 1942 to replace her single 4.7 in (120 mm) dual purpose guns with new dual 5 in (130 mm) dual purpose guns, Atago departed for the disastrous Battle of Midway, from which she returned unscathed.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Cruiser Atago
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