The was a class of submarine chasers of the
Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), serving during
World War II. Three vessels were built in 1933-36 under the
Maru 1 Programme and the
Maru 2 Programme. They have two sub classes.
Background
* In
World War I, German
U-boat raged. The
IJN began maintenance of an anti-submarine boat as a lesson in this, because Japanese shoreline and sea-lanes were very long. The
IJN had some submarine chaser type tugboats and yard ferries. However, they were small and their speed was low.
* The
IJN wanted to give the anti-submarine boats a speed of more than 20 knots, because their
''Kaidai III'' submarine already achieved a 20kt surfaced.
Design
* The
Naval Technical Department (Kampon) made draft shallow to give them high speed. They achieved 24 kt speed hereby.
* The ''No. 1'' and the ''No. 2'' were completed in March 1934, and they were assigned to the 1st
Submarine Chaser
A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II.
...
Division, Yokosuka Naval Defence Squadron.
* However, because of their very shallow draft they lacked the rolling performance. This fact become evident after the
''Tomozuru'' incident.
* The
''Tomozuru'' incident affected the ''No. 1''-class. The ''No. 1'' and the ''No. 2'' were sent to the
Uraga Dock Company in July 1934, and repairs were started. They were equipped 80 tons ballast and mounted a ballast keel. The drawings for the ''No. 3''-class boat was also revised.
Service
* Late 1934, Repairs were completed.
* October 1936, The ''No. 3'' assigned to 1st SchDiv. They always shared an action afterward.
* In 1938, the 1st SchDiv was transferred to the No. 1 Base Force (
Shanghai).
* On 5 September 1941, the No. 1 Base Force was transferred to the
2nd Fleet
The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view ...
.
* In December 1941 – March 1942, the 1st SchDiv engaged to the
Battle of the Philippines and
Dutch East Indies campaign
The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Forces from the Allies attempted u ...
.
* On 10 March 1942, the 1st SchDiv was transferred to the No. 21 Special Base Force (
Surabaya
Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...
),
2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, their roles were invasion and maintenance of the public order in southwestern area the French Indochina, Philippines, British Malaya and Dutch East Indies.
Organization Southern Expeditionary Fleet/1 ...
,
Southwest Area Fleet.
* On 1 May 1942: The 1st SchDiv was dissolved. They spent all their time for escort operations in the
Java Area.
Ships in classes
''No.1''-class
* Project number was K3. 2 vessels were built under the Maru 1 Programme. They equipped the MV hydrophone by
Submarine signal company
RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corporation) is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by reve ...
and latest active sonar the Type 93.
''No.3''-class
* Project number was K4. Only 1 vessel was built under the Maru 2 Programme. The ''No. 3'' was equipped the French SCAM active sonar and latest hydrophone the Type 93. The ''No. 3'' was classed in the ''No. 1''-class in the IJN official documents.
Photos
Image:IJN No2 submarine chaser around 1934.jpg, ''No. 2'' in 1934
Image:IJN No3 Submarine Chaser 1936.jpg, ''No. 3'' in 1936
Footnotes
Bibliography
* ''Ships of the World special issue Vol. 45, Escort Vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy'', , (Japan), 1996.
* ''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No. 49, Japanese submarine chasers and patrol boats'', (Japan), 1981.
{{DEFAULTSORT:1
World War II naval ships of Japan
Submarine chaser classes
Submarine chasers of the Imperial Japanese Navy