was a small

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing control ...

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 ...

, which was in service during the final stages of

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 ...

. She was named after Kamishima Island, a small island in

Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefectur ...

, offshore

Toba, Mie is a Cities of Japan, city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 17,741 in 8328 households and a population density of 170 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Toba is located on the ...

. She was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the two-vessel .

Building

During the very final stages of World War II, in preparation for the anticipated Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands, the Imperial Japanese Navy saw the need to block the entrances to the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

to protect Japan’s relatively lightly defended western coast. However, as almost all

s had been sunk by that time, an emergency program was begun to construct several small vessels for this task. ''Kamishima'' was launched by the Sasebo Naval Arsenal on June 12, 1945, and was commissioned into service on July 30, 1945.

Operational history

On completion, ''Kamishima'' was assigned to the Sasebo Naval District, but the surrender of Japan occurred only 15 days after her commissioning. She was removed from the

navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...

on September 15, 1945. From September 1945 through June 1947, ''Kamishima'' was used as a repatriation vessel, shuttling between ports in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, and Kyushu, returning demobilized Japanese troops and civilians. On October 3, 1947, the American occupation forces turned ''Kamishima'' over to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. ...

at the port of

Nakhodka Nakhodka ( rus, Нахо́дка, p=nɐˈxotkə) is a port city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located on the Trudny Peninsula jutting into the Nakhodka Bay of the Sea of Japan, about east of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai. Po ...

, where she was subsequently commissioned into the Soviet Navy's Pacific Fleet and transferred to

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

in October. She was converted at Nikolayevsk-on-Amur port into a hydrography vessel Katun (Катунь). 74.5x7.8x2.6meters. 2x950h.p. 16.5knots. Range - 5000 miles. From year 1954 - boilership. Deleted from TO&E in 1956. In 1955, when the Soviet Navy ended its lease of Port Arthur, the Soviet gifted ''Kamishima'' and two other former IJN escort ships to China. ''Kamishima'' served under Chinese flag using the name 'Minelayer No. 50'. It was eventually sold for scrap in the early 1980s.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamishima Minelayers of the Imperial Japanese Navy World War II mine warfare vessels of Japan Ships built by Sasebo Naval Arsenal 1945 ships