''Akashi'' was a Japanese

repair ship A repair ship is a naval auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to warships. Repair ships provide similar services to destroyer, submarine and seaplane tenders or depot ships, but may offer a broader range of repair capability incl ...

, serving 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. She was the only specifically designed repair ship 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 ...

. The navy based her design on the

US 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 ...

's USS ''Medusa''.

Construction

In 1937 the Imperial Japanese Navy had converted the old battleship ''Asahi'' to serve as a repair ship. After the conversion of Asahi, a decision was made to build a dedicated repair ship with better capabilities for that task. The Imperial Japanese Navy planned for her to carry out 40% of the repairs needed by the

Combined Fleet The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...

(needing approximately 140,000-man-hours). Therefore, she was equipped with the latest machine tools imported from Germany.

War service

During the war ''Akashi'' operated out of the Japanese base in the Truk

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gro ...

where she repaired various types of battle-damaged Japanese warships, including '' Shōkaku'' in October 1942 and '' Yamato'' in December 1943. In February 1944 the Americans made a raid on Truk (

Operation Hailstone Operation Hailstone ( ja, トラック島空襲, Torakku-tō Kūshū, lit=airstrike on Truk Island), 17–18 February 1944, was a massive United States Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon conducted as part of the American offensive driv ...

), sinking and damaging many ships. ''Akashi'' was damaged in these attacks and escaped to the Japanese atoll of

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

Fate

On 30 March 1944, while anchored off Urukthapel in the

Palau Islands Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...

, ''Akashi'' was hit numerous times by bombs and rockets from American aircraft from Task Group 58, during

Operation Desecrate One Operation Desecrate One was a World War II United States Navy operation on 30–31 March 1944. Desecrate One was part of the preparations for Operations Reckless and Persecution, the Allied invasion of western New Guinea. Desecrate One involve ...

. She was sunk in shallow water with her bridge still remaining above the water.

Ships in class

Bibliography

*, History of Pacific War Vol.51 ''The truth histories of the Japanese Naval Vessels part-2'',

Gakken is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales is reported at ¥ 90 billion ($789 million US). Gakken publishes educational books and magazines and produces other ...

(Japan), August 2005, *Ships of the World special issue Vol.47 ''Auxiliary Vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy'', Kaijinsha, (Japan), March 1997 *The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.34 ''Japanese Auxiliary vessels'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), December 1979 *

Senshi Sōsho The , also called the , is the official military history of Imperial Japan's involvement in the Pacific War from 1937 to 1945. The task of compiling the official account of the Japanese involvement in World War II began in October 1955 with the ope ...

Vol.31, ''Naval armaments and war preparation (1), "Until November 1941"'', Asagumo Simbun (Japan), November 1969 *Senshi Sōsho Vol.88, ''Naval armaments and war preparation (2), "And after the outbreak of war"'', Asagumo Simbun (Japan), October 1975

References

External links

Tabular record of Akashi's movements
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akashi Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy World War II naval ships of Japan Ships sunk by US aircraft 1938 ships Maritime incidents in March 1944 World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean