''Ro-30'', originally named ''Submarine No. 69'', was an

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 ...

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 ...

of the ''Kaichu'' V (''Toku Chu'') subclass. She was in commission from 1924 to 1938, seeing service in the waters of

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and

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, then served as a stationary

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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 and description

The submarines of the ''Kaichu'' V sub-class were designed for anti-shipping operations and carried more fuel and had greater range and a heavier gun armament than preceding ''Kaichu''-type submarines. They displaced surfaced and submerged. The submarines were long and had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

of . They had a diving depth of . For surface running, the submarines were powered by two Sulzer

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

. When submerged each propeller was driven by a

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

. They could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, they had a range of — although the Imperial Japanese Navy officially announced it as — at ; submerged, they had a range of at . The submarines were armed with four internal bow

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s and carried a total of eight

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

es. They were also armed with a single deck gun and one 6.5 mm

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

Construction and commissioning

''Ro-30'' was

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as ''Submarine No. 69'' on 27 June 1921 by Kawasaki at

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. Launched on 18 January 1923, she was completed and commissioned on 29 April 1924.

Service history

Upon commissioning, ''Submarine No. 69'' was attached to 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 ...

, to which she remained attached throughout her active career. On 1 June 1924, she was assigned to both Submarine Division 25 — in which she spent her active career — and the Mako Defense Division headquartered at

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in the Pescadores Islands. She was renamed ''Ro-30'' on 1 November 1924. On 1 December 1926, she was reassigned to the

Sasebo Defense Division is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

, headquartered at

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

, Japan. Her service in the Sasebo Defense Division ended on 15 November 1934, after which she served as a unit of Submarine Division 25 in the Sasebo Naval District. ''Ro-30'' was decommissioned and placed in the Fourth Reserve on 15 December 1938. The Japanese struck her from the Navy list on 1 April 1942, and that day she became a stationary

at the submarine school at Ōtake, Japan. She was scrapped ca. August 1945.

Notes

References

*'', History of Pacific War Vol.17 I-Gō Submarines'',

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(Japan), January 1998, *''Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Extra, "Perfect guide, The submarines of the Imperial Japanese Forces"'', Gakken (Japan), March 2005, *''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.43 Japanese Submarines III'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), September 1980, Book code 68343-44 *''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.132 Japanese Submarines I "Revised edition"'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), February 1988, Book code 68344-36 *''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.133 Japanese Submarines II "Revised edition"'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), March 1988, Book code 68344-37 *''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.135 Japanese Submarines IV'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), May 1988, Book code 68344-39 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ro-030 Ro-29-class submarines Kaichū type submarines Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries 1923 ships