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HMS Trenchant sinks the Japanese battleship ‘Ashigara' in 1945

HMS Trenchant undertook a patrol by the entrance to the Banka Strait near Palembang in Sumatra on 8th June 1945. HMS Stygian accompanied Trenchant and positioned itself out to sea. A Japanese destroyer emerged but spotted Trenchant as it fired a torpedo. Trenchant managed to withdraw in the darkness, and Stygian launched a follow up attack which was also unsuccessful. The destroyer launched its own similarly unsuccessful counter attack.

Crew in working rig on HMS Trenchant at Freemantle in Australia, July 1945 (RNSM)

Article Highlights

• Introduction

• The attack

• The result

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HMS Trenchant