was an
oiler/
seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
/
flying boat tender of the
Imperial Japanese Navy, serving from the 1920s through
World War II. She was initially planned in 1920 as one of six of the oilers under the
Eight-eight fleet final plan.
Service
''Kamoi'' was completed 12 September 1922, and classified as a special service ship (
Oiler). On 27 September she sailed to
Yokosuka, from where she sailed to the Japanese mainland and back no fewer than 25 times.
Somewhere around the end of 1932, she was converted to seaplane tender for
January 28 Incident at
Uraga Dock Company, an overhaul that was finished in February 1933. Upon completion of this evolution, she was assigned to the
Combined Fleet.
On 1 June 1934, ''Kamoi'' was reclassified as a warship (seaplane tender). On 1 June 1936, she was assigned to the
Third Carrier Division. While on this assignment, during July 1937, she was assigned to search for downed American aviator
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...
. However, the order was cancelled before ''Kamoi'' could start searching.
[Goldstein, Donald M. and Katherine V. Dillon. ''Amelia: The Centennial Biography of an Aviation Pioneer''. Washington, DC: Brassey's, 1997, pp. 245–254. .]
In 1939, the ship was once again overhauled, and flying boat tending facilities were added. On 15 November 1940, ''Kamoi'' was reassigned to the
24th Air Flotilla
The 24th Air Flotilla (第二十四航空戦隊, Dai-Nijūyon Kōkū-Sentai) was a combat aviation unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific Campaign of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abb ...
. On 1 December 1941, the 24th Air Flotilla was assigned to the
4th Fleet.
In January 1942, she provided support to the
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 ...
and
Kavieng invasions. On 1 April 1942, the 24th Air Flotilla was assigned to the
11th Air Fleet
The was a grouping of naval aviation and surface units.
Assignments and Components
Commanders
Chiefs of Staff
Notes
References
*
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Fleets of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Units of the Imperial Japanese N ...
. On 1 April 1943, she was assigned to the
3rd Southern Expeditionary Fleet,
Southwest Area Fleet. On 28 January 1944, ''Kamoi'' sustained heavy damage in an attack by the
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
off
Makassar
Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...
. During the resulting repairs at
Singapore, her aviation facilities were removed. As such, she was reclassified as a special service ship (oiler) on 15 April 1944. Repairs were completed on 29 August. On 24 September, she was slightly damaged by aircraft of
Task Force 38 at
Coron Bay
Coron Bay is a well-known recreational diving region in the Sulu Sea in the western Philippines, between the islands of Coron and Busuanga in the Calamian Islands. Most of Coron Bay is in the Coron Island Protected Area and is a traditional fish ...
. Three days later, she sustained heavy damage in an attack by a United States Navy submarine outside
Manila Bay. At some unspecified point afterward, she went into repairs at
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal. Repairs were completed on 31 December, at which point she joined the Hi-87 convoy from
Moji Moji may refer to:
* ''Onji'' or ''hyōon moji'' (表音文字), phonic characters used in counting beats in Japanese poetry
* Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū, ward (district) of the city of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
** Moji Station in that wa ...
to
Singapore. On 16 January 1945, she was heavily damaged in an air raid on
Hong Kong. She was separated from the convoy at this time. On 5 April 1945, with repairs still incomplete, she was once again damaged by air raid, later sinking in shallow water. ''Kamoi'' was decommissioned on 3 May 1947.
''Kamoi'' was scrapped by the British force, but details are unclear.
See also
*
*
*
*
References
Bibliography
*''Model Art Extra No.537, "Drawings of Imperial Japanese Naval Vessels Part-3"'', (Japan), 1999.
*''Collection of writings by Sizuo Fukui Vol.7, "Stories of Japanese Aircraft Carriers"'', (Japan), 1996, .
*''Ships of the World special issue Vol.40, "History of Japanese Aircraft Carriers"'', , (Japan), 1994.
*Shinshichirō Komamiya, ''The Wartime Convoy Histories'', , (Japan), 1987, .
*''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No. 25, "Japanese seaplane tenders"'', (Japan), 1979.
External links
Kamoi Class Specs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamoi
1922 ships
Seaplane tenders of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Oilers
Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation