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Buckrock -> RE: Cherry Blossom Season At Yasukuni Shrine (4/1/2021 9:52:14 PM)
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It was apparently the torpedoes in Mikuma's interior torpedo storage room rather than those in her tubes that exploded so devastatingly after being roasted by uncontrolled fires for over 45 minutes. Mogami and the CL Abukuma both would suffer similar incidents with uncontrolled fires and their torpedoes during the closing stages of the Battle of Surigao Strait in '44.
And the Mikuma was apparently not kamikazied by any US aircraft at Midway. That story came from a mis-remembered Japanese claim and some creative interpretation of a pile of wreckage on the Mikuma from the same famous photo mentioned earlier. Shattered Sword makes mention of it in the footnotes.
As for the Chokai, her wreck was discovered and investigated recently. The story of her torpedoes detonating on-board during the Battle off Samar appears to have been incorrect. You can find a discussion on it at the Nihon Kaigun site that includes comments from the person who came up with the original theory, Anthony Tully.
https://propnturret.com/tully/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4089&start=15
This was from one of his posts in the discussion....
"What the wreck already tells us is that bomb damage is certainly present, but so also is shell fire holes it appears, and evidence of some fire -- but none of the torpedo tube mounts proper exploded. In fact, they don't look to have been loaded and fired, or had fired already, and not yet reloaded. But all are empty. So whatever made CHOKAI un-navigable -- it was not a MIKUMA (or SUZUYA) level of torpedo mount explosions -- despite that having seemed the most likely explanation to date. (Just shows how crucial examining a wreck is if you get that luxury!)".
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