''Patrol Boat No. 105'' (第百五號) (ex-''Arayat'') was a former

Philippine Commonwealth The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...

customs inspection and enforcement cutter that was sunk by the Japanese during the invasion of the Philippines and later raised and designated as a

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

in 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 ...

History

On 6 December 1930, she was ordered by the United States

Bureau of Insular Affairs The Bureau of Insular Affairs was a division of the United States Department of War that oversaw civil aspects of the administration of several territories from 1898 until 1939. History The bureau was created 13 December 1898 as the Division of ...

from the German shipbuilder

Schichau-Werke The Schichau-Werke (F. Schichau, Maschinen- und Lokomotivfabrik, Schiffswerft und Eisengießerei GmbH) was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, Germany (now Elbląg, Poland) on the Frisches Haff (Vistula Lagoon) of then-East ...

, the third of three cutters ordered from Schichau-Werke to serve with the Bureau of Customs as inspection and enforcement ships (the other two were

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s and , both later converted to

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthous ...

s). She was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

at Schichau's Danzig shipyard, launched on 9 May 1931, and delivered on 13 August 1931. During the Japanese invasion the Philippines, she returned to her home port of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

where the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

had retreated. On 27 December 1941, Japanese attack planes from the 1st

Kōkūtai A ''Kōkūtai'' () was a term used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) to designate a military aviation unit, similar to the Air Groups in other air arms and services of the time. (''Group'' in the British Royal Air Force, ''Gruppe ...

and the Takao Kōkūtai attacked

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...

setting ''Arayat'', her fellow customs cutter ''Mindoro'', and the motor vessel ''Ethel Edwards'' ablaze while also sinking the lighthouse tender ''Canlaon'' outright, and so heavily damaging the steamship ''Taurus'', her crew was forced to scuttle her. She was raised by the

and rebuilt at the No. 103 Repair Facility at Cavite Naval Base. On 1 September 1943, she was renamed ''Patrol Boat No. 105'', and registered in the

Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and t ...

, and assigned to the Third Expeditionary Fleet,

Southwest Area Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II. History The Southwest Area Fleet was an operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy established on April 10, 1942 to coordinate naval, air, and ground forces f ...

, based out of

Battle of Ormoc Bay

On 5 October 1944, she left

Miri ) , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Division , subdivision_name2 ...

along with

Type D escort ship The were a class of escort ships in the service of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The Japanese called them "Type D" coast defence ships, and they were the sixth class of ''Kaibōkan'' (''Kai'' = sea, ocean, ''Bo'' = defence, ''K ...

s ''CD-18'' and ''CD-26'' providing escort for ''Myogi Maru'', ''Heian Maru'', ''Mikasa Maru'', and ''Teiyu Maru'' (ex-''Carignano'') headed for Manila. The convoy was carrying supplies for the besieged forces on

Leyte Island Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

. The convoy arrived safely at Manila on 2 November 1944. On 27 November 1944, she departed Manila as part of convoy TA-6 with s ''CH-45'' and ''CH-53'' and freighters ''Shinsho Maru'' and ''Shinetsu Maru''. On 28 November 1944, the convoy arrived safely at

Ormoc Bay Ormoc Bay is a large bay in the island of Leyte in the Philippines. The bay is an extension of the Camotes Sea. The city of Ormoc lies at the head of the bay and exports rice, copra and sugar. The World War II Battle of Ormoc Bay took place fr ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

. The three escorts were assigned to guard the entrance to the harbor while the transports unloaded. They were soon confronted by American PT boats, ''PT-127'' and ''PT-331'' who each launched 4 torpedoes sinking ''CH-53'' at () and heavily damaging ''PB-105'' which was run aground and abandoned (the Americans capture her hulk on 8 December 1944). The transports were able to unload their much-needed supplies although after departing, ''Shinetsu Maru'' and ''CH-45'' were sunk by American planes on 29 November 1944 and ''Shinsho Maru'' met the same fate on 30 November 1944. On 10 January 1945, ''PB-105'' was struck from the

Naval List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of navy, 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 105 1931 ships Ships built by Schichau Ships built in Danzig Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy