The were the only class of purpose-built cable layers of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

(IJN), serving during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Four vessels were built in 1939–41 under the Maru 4 Programme. Apart from laying communications cables, these ships were also designed as

mine planter Mine planter and the earlier "torpedo planter" was a term used for mine warfare ships into the early days of World War I. In later terminology, particularly in the United States, a mine planter was a ship specifically designed to install controlle ...

s, for the installation of

controlled mines A controlled mine was a circuit fired weapon used in coastal defenses with ancestry going back to 1805 when Robert Fulton termed his underwater explosive device a torpedo: Robert Fulton invented the word torpedo to describe his underwater explosiv ...

in coastal fortifications.

Ships in class

Project number J21.

Photos

Image:Japanese cable layer Tsurushima in 1941.jpg, ''Tsurushima'' on 20 March 1941 Image:Japanese cable layer Odate in 1941.jpg, ''Ōtate'' in 1941 Image:Japanese cable layer Tateishi in 1945.jpg, ''Tateishi'' on 21 March 1945 Image:Japanese cable layer TsurushimaMaru-1946.jpg, ''Tsurushima Maru'' in postwar

Footnotes

Bibliography

*Monthly Ships of the World, ''Special issue Vol.45, "Escort Vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy"'', , (Japan), February 1996 *The Maru Special, ''Japanese Naval Vessels No.47, "Japanese naval mine warfare crafts"'', (Japan), January 1981 *

Senshi Sōsho The , also called the , is the official military history of Imperial Japan's involvement in the Pacific War from 1937 to 1945. The task of compiling the official account of the Japanese involvement in World War II began in October 1955 with the op ...

Vol.31, ''Naval armaments and war preparation (1), "Until November 1941"'', Asagumo Simbun (Japan), November 1969 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hashima-class cable layer World War II naval ships of Japan Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Cable laying ships Coastal fortifications Mine warfare vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy Nippon Telegraph and Telephone