soon straddled the Ondina with their cruiser-armament. The first hit on Ondina ripped off a part of the main mast, leaving only a stump. The Ondina herself had her answer ready: the third shell fired was a hit on the superstructure of Hōkoku Maru, but apparently with little effect. Content with the hit, the gun captain then ordered the gunners to concentrate their fire on the stern. A few moments later, a hit on the starboard torpedo mount turned the Hōkoku Maru into a ball of red and yellow flames, and as the ship emerged from the smoke, she was listing heavily to starboard and simultaneously started to settle by the stern. The explosion ripped off the stern and threw her two floatplanes overboard, while massive fires raged in the superstructure. Hōkoku Maru was not built as a warship, and therefore did not have a sufficient number of watertight bulkheads. Shells toppled from their lockers as a result of the increasing list and threw sailors overboard. Men, covered with blood and suffering from burns, tried to fight the flames. Reports came in indicating large fires in the engine-room and the loss of all electricity. There was little hope of salvaging the Hōkoku Maru, Captain Imazato could do nothing else than order "abandon ship". The Aikoku Maru picked up a total of 278 survivors from a crew of 354. Captain Imazato was one of the 76 killed during the action. There were no reports of damage or casualties aboard the Aikoku Maru, which soon avenged her sister ship, scoring several hits on Ondina. Nevertheless, her shells and torpedoes had little effect on the empty tanker, as the large number of watertight tanks could keep it afloat under the most difficult circumstances. Aikoku Maru also fired at the Bengal, which had shortened the range to about . One shell from the Japanese ship hit her in the forecastle, but did little damage. Her gunners had been firing continuously at the Japanese, claiming several hits but their ammunition supply was soon depleted. At 1245, her last shell had been fired and her captain decided there was little he could do for the Ondina. He steamed away at full speed, chased by gun splashes. After laying a smokescreen, she took a hit in the stern which had no effect on her escape. The last the men aboard Bengal saw of the Ondina was her