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The Inland Sea is a navigable
waterway bounded by the Japanese
home islands of Honshu,
Kyushu, and Shikoku. It
has three
easily defensible entrances, which made it a secure highway for coastal shipping
until the American
aerial mining
offensive of 1945 blocked the entrances. These entraces were the Hiyo
Strait, at the north end of the Bungo Channel, between Kyushu and
Shikoku; the Kanmon or Shimonoseki
Strait between Kyushu and Honshu; and the Naruto and Kitan Straits
between Shikoku, Honshu, and the small island of Awaji, at the north
end of the Kii Channel. Each was protected by a heavy artillery fortress regiment.
On 24 and 28 July 1945 the Inland Sea was hit by massive carrier strikes, with the strike on 24 July alone consisting of 1747 sorties. Carrier Amagi, three battleships, two heavy cruisers, and two old cruisers were sunk and many other warships badly damaged.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2006, 2011 by Kent G. Budge. Index