Operation Kita was conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during thePacific War in February 1945 to return

both Ise-class hybrid battleship-aircraft carriers (Ise pictured) and their escorts to Japan from Singapore, where they had been based since November 1944. Before departing, the Japanese ships (designated the Completion Force) were loaded with oil and other raw materials to help bring supplies through the Allied blockade of Japan. The Completion Force sailed on 10 February 1945 and was sighted leaving port by a Royal Navy submarine. The Allies, who had learned of the Completion Force's composition and goals from decrypting Japanese radio signals, planned coordinated attacks by U.S. submarines and aircraft. All attempts failed and the Completion Force reached its destination of Kure, Japan, on 20 February without suffering any casualties. Due to the intensifying Allied blockade, theIseclass ships and their escorts were among the last IJN warships to reach Japan safely from theSouthwest Pacific. All the ships of the Completion Force were sunk in or near Japanese home waters before the end of the war.