''W-26'' was a ''W-19''-class minesweeper operated by 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 surrender ...

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 opposin ...

Design

The ship was ordered in August 1941 under the

Rapid Naval Armaments Supplement Programme The was one of the armaments expansion plan of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Background In August 1941, the IJN started building warships for war. It extended to 293 vessels, 300,000 tons. Table of vessels See also * 1st Naval Armaments Sup ...

. Built by Mitsubishi Yards in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, the ship was laid down in 1942, launched in late 1942, and completed on 31 March 1943.

Operational career

On 2 November, ''W-26'' was damaged by bombs, while at

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

, and beached to prevent her loss.IJN ''W-26'': Tabular Record of Movement - Combined Fleet.com
/ref> She was repaired and refloated and departed Rabaul for Truk on 23 November. ''W-26'' underwent further repairs in December at Rabaul, tied up alongside ''Hakkai Maru''. While anchored in

Karavia Bay Karavia Bay is a bay near Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Simpson Harbour is located to the north, while to the east is Blanche Bay.Rottman, p.172. The naval battle of Karavia Bay was fought in February 1944 during World War II ...

, near Rabaul on 17 February 1944, she was attacked by SBD dive-bombers and TBF torpedo-bombers of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Sunk in the attack were ''W-26'', ''Iwate Maru'', and guard boat ''Funku Maru No. 2''. She was removed from the Navy List on 30 April 1944. Her wreck was partially salvaged by Nanyo Boeki Kaisha in 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:W-26 1942 ships Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries World War II mine warfare vessels of Japan Mine warfare vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy Maritime incidents in November 1943 Maritime incidents in February 1944 Ships sunk by US aircraft Minesweepers sunk by aircraft Shipwrecks of Papua New Guinea