Japanese submarine Ro-34
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''Ro-34'' was a Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class built for 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 ...
. Completed and commissioned in May 1937, she served in
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 ...
, operating in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
and the
Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
, off
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
, and in the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
. She was sunk in April 1943 during her eleventh war patrol.


Design and description

The submarines of the K5 sub-class were versions of the preceding KT sub-class with greater surface speed. They displaced surfaced and submerged. The submarines were long, 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 of . They had a diving depth of .Bagnasco, p. 187 For surface running, the boats were powered by two
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. 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 surfaceChesneau, p. 203 and underwater. On the surface, the K5s had a range of at ; submerged, they had a range of at . The boats 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 ten
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 L/40
anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
and one Type 93 anti-aircraft machinegun.Carpenter & Dorr, p. 122


Construction and commissioning

Given the name ''Ro-34'' on 21 April 1934, ''Ro-34'' 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 ...
on 25 April 1934 by
Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
at
Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, as the second and last submarine of the ''Ro-33'' class. She was launched on 12 December 1935 and was completed and commissioned on 31 May 1937.


Service history


Pre-World War II

Upon commissioning, ''Ro-34'' 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 ...
and assigned to the new Submarine Division 21 along with her
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 ...
.Ro-34 ijnsubsite.info 25 March 2016 Accessed 44October 2020
/ref> On 9 April 1938 she got underway from
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, for a training cruise in southern
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
waters with ''Ro-33'' that concluded with their arrival at Kīrun,
Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...
, on 14 April 1938. Submarine Division 21 was reassigned to the Combined Fleet on 15 December 1938 and to Submarine
Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...
2 in the 2nd Fleet on 8 April 1939. In August 1939, ''Ro-34'' departed Yokosuka, Japan, to conduct a research cruise to
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
in the
Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...
with the commander of Submarine Division 21 and a nutritionist from Tokyo Imperial University embarked. The scientific aims of the cruise were to study the effect on the crew′s health of prolonged confinement aboard the submarine and of the crew′s diet while on board.
Dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
broke out among the crew during the voyage, necessitating dietary changes. ''Ro-34'' returned to Yokosuka at the conclusion of the cruise. ''Ro-34'' was placed in the Second Reserve in the Sasebo Naval District on 15 November 1939. ''Ro-34'' returned to active service on 1 May 1940, with Submarine Division 21 reassigned to Submarine Squadron 5 in the 4th Fleet. She departed Sasebo on 16 May 1940 for a lengthy training cruise with ''Ro-33'' in the Caroline Islands,
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
, and Mariana Islands which concluded with their arrival at Yokosuka on 22 September 1940. She participated in a naval review at
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, Japan, on 11 October 1940. Submarine Division 21 was reassigned to Submarine
Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...
4 on 15 November 1940. ''Ro-33'' and ''Ro-34'' were placed in Third Reserve 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, on 15 May 1941, and while in reserve ''Ro-33'' relieved ''Ro-34'' as
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of Submarine Division 21 on 21 May 1941. From mid-October through early November 1941 ''Ro-33'' and ''Ro-34'' underwent repairs and a refit at Maizuru Naval Arsenal in Maizuru, Japan. After the work was complete, the two submarines returned to active service, probably in mid-November 1941.


World War II

The Pacific Campaign of
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 ...
began on 7 December 1941 (8 December 1941 in
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
) with the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. At 16:00 on 18 December 1941, Submarine Division 21 — ''Ro-33'' and ''Ro-34'' — departed Sasebo bound for
Cam Rahn Bay Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilo ...
in Japanese-occupied
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
, which ''Ro-33'' reached on 24 December 1941. During her stay at Cam Ranh Bay, she refueled from the
depot ship A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing an ...
and her crew was granted three days of shore leave.


First war patrol

On 28 December 1941, ''Ro-34'' got underway from Cam Ranh Bay to begin her first war patrol, assigned an operating area in the Karimata Strait in support of the Japanese invasion of
British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...
. Her patrol was uneventful, and she returned to Cam Ranh Bay on 11 January 1942.


Second war patrol

On 31 January 1942, ''Ro-34'' departed Cam Ranh Bay for her second war patrol, bound for a patrol area in the
Java Sea The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its nort ...
at the northern entrance of the
Lombok Strait The Lombok Strait ( id, Selat Lombok), is a strait connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, and is located between the islands of Bali and Lombok in Indonesia. The Gili Islands are on the Lombok side. Its narrowest point is at its southern o ...
. She received orders on 2 February 1942 to move to a new patrol area at the northern entrance of the
Sunda Strait The Sunda Strait ( id, Selat Sunda) is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java island, Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean. Etymology The strait takes its name from the Sunda Kingdom, which ruled the weste ...
. On 5 February 1942, she was in the Java Sea northeast of the Sunda Strait when she sighted an
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
task force consisting of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
heavy cruiser , the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
light cruiser , and the Royal Navy
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
, which her
commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
misidentified as a convoy of
merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...
s escorted by a
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
and a destroyer. ''Ro-34'' made an unsuccessful approach for an attack but fired four
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 anyway at the nearest ship, ''Encounter''. All missed, but ''Ro-34''′s sound operator reported hearing four hits, apparently mistaking the sound of exploding
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s for the detonation of the torpedoes, and ''Ro-34''′s commanding officer erroneously claimed to have sunk a destroyer. After a brief counterattack by the ships, ''Ro-34'' escaped unscathed. While ''Ro-34'' was at sea, Submarine Division 21 was reassigned to Submarine Group A on 9 February 1942. Out of torpedoes, and with the submarine relieving her on station, ''Ro-34'' received orders to return to Cam Ranh Bay, which she reached on 20 February 1942.


Third war patrol

''Ro-34'' began her third war patrol on 27 February 1942, putting to sea from Cam Ranh Bay bound for a patrol area in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
south of
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and southeast of the Lombok Strait and
Tjilatjap Cilacap Regency ( jv, ꦏꦨꦸꦥꦠꦺꦤ꧀ꦕꦶꦭꦕꦥ꧀, also spelt: Chilachap, old spelling: Tjilatjap, Sundanese language, Sundanese: ) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency () in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indon ...
, Java, to support the upcoming Japanese invasion of Java. In early March 1942, she was on the surface off Noesa Kembang
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...
on
Kambangan Island Nusa Kambangan (also Nusakambangan, Kambangan island, or Nusa Kambangan Island) island is located in Indonesia, separated by a narrow strait from the south coast of Java; the closest port is Cilacap in Central Java province. It known as the plac ...
south of Tjilatjap when she sighted a patrolling Allied
corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
. When she submerged to avoid the corvette, she became entangled in a net — either an antisubmarine net or a fishing net — at a depth of . During several attempts to break free, she depleted her
batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
, and after sunset her commanding officer ordered her to surface and engage the corvette with her deck gun. She broke free of the net in the process of surfacing, and came to the surface in the midst of group of fishing boats. The corvette had left the area, as did ''Ro-34'', recharging her batteries while heading out to sea at flank speed. She concluded her patrol with her arrival at Staring Bay on the coast of Celebes in the
Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
on 7 March 1942.


March–April 1942

On 10 March 1942, Submarine Squadron 4 was disbanded, and Submarine Division 21 — ''Ro-33'' and ''Ro-34'' — was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 6 in the 4th Fleet, and on 20 March 1942 ''Ro-34'' relieved ''Ro-33'' as flagship of Submarine Division 21. The two submarines departed Staring Bay on 22 March 1942, called at
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 Caro ...
from 26 to 30 March 1942, and then headed for Truk, which they reached on 3 April 1942. On 4 April 1942, Submarine Division 21 was reassigned to the South Seas Force. Submarine Squadron 4 was disbanded on 10 April 1942, and that day Submarine Division 21 was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 7 in the 4th Fleet. The two submarines departed Truk on 15 April 1942, and on 18 April 1942 they arrived at
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 ...
on
New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...
.


Fourth war patrol

''Ro-34'' departed Rabaul on 19 April 1942 to begin her third war patrol, with orders to conduct a reconnaissance of anchorages and transit routes in the
Deboyne Islands The Deboyne Islands are an atoll, composed of a group of reefs and islands in the north of the Louisiade Archipelago, Papua New Guinea. Geography They are located from Misima and from the Torlesse Islands. Islands in the Deboyne Islands incl ...
and the Jomard Channel and at Rossel Island. She returned to Rabaul on 24 April 1942.


Fifth war patrol — Operation Mo

On 1 May 1942, ''Ro-33'' relieved ''Ro-34'' as flagship of Submarine Division 21, and that day ''Ro-34'' departed Rabaul to begin her fifth war patrol, bound along with ''Ro-33'' for the
Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
off
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
on the southeastern coast of
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
to support
Operation Mo or the Port Moresby Operation was a Japanese plan to take control of the Australian Territory of New Guinea during World War II as well as other locations in the South Pacific. The goal was to isolate Australia and New Zealand from the Allied ...
, a planned Japanese invasion of
Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...
in the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
and Port Moresby. While they were en route, the
Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...
began on 4 May 1942 as Allied forces moved to block the Japanese offensive. As the battle continued, the two submarines arrived off Port Moresby on 5 May 1942. The Japanese seized Tulagi and were turned back from Port Moresby, and when Operation Mo was cancelled on 19 May 1942, ''Ro-34'' departed her patrol area to proceed to Truk, where she met .


May–July 1942

On 23 May 1942, ''Ro-33'' and ''Ro-34'' departed Truk bound for Sasebo, where they arrived on 30 May 1944. Both submarines underwent repairs and an overhaul at Sasebo, and after the work was completed, they left Sasebo on 9 July 1942, called at Truk from 17 to 23 July 1942, and proceeded to Rabaul, arriving there on 27 July 1942.


Sixth war patrol

On 29 July 1942, ''Ro-34'' began her sixth war patrol, putting to sea from Rabaul to head for a patrol area in the
Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
off the
Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
in northeastern
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. After
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 ...
, some Japanese historians credited her with attacking the Australian troopship ''Katoomba'' on 4 August 1942, but it was the submarine that actually made that attack. On 7 August 1942, ''Ro-34'' was headed back to Rabaul after a quiet patrol when the
Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...
began with U.S. amphibious landings on
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
, Tulagi,
Florida Island The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of Solomon Islands, a sovereign state (since 1978) in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The chain is composed of four larger islands and about ...
, Gavutu, and Tanambogo in the southeastern
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
. That day, the
8th Fleet The United States Eighth Fleet was a numbered fleet of the United States Navy established 15 March 1943 from Northwest African Force. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II with a main mission of amphibious warfare, and then wa ...
ordered ''Ro-33'', ''Ro-34'', and the submarines , , and to proceed to
Indispensable Strait Indispensable Strait is a waterway in the Solomon Islands, running about northwest-southeast from Santa Isabel to Makira (San Cristóbal), between the Florida Islands and Guadalcanal to the southwest, and Malaita to the northeast. Indispensa ...
off Guadalcanal, conduct a reconnaissance of the areas U.S. forces had captured, and contact Japanese forces on the islands. ''Ro-34'' arrived off Tulagi on 10 August 1942. At 18:00 on 12 August 1942, she contacted Japanese forces at Taivu Point on Guadalcanal′s northern coast, then briefly bombarded
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
positions at
Lungga Point Lungga Point is a suburb of Honiara, Solomon Islands and is located East of the main center and North-West of Honiara International Airport : ''For the military history of the airport, see Henderson Field (Guadalcanal)'' Honiara Internatio ...
, also on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, with her deck gun. She returned to Rabaul on 16 August 1942.


Seventh war patrol

''Ro-34'' put to sea from Rabaul on 21 August 1942 to begin her seventh war patrol, ordered to conduct a reconnaissance of the Guadalcanal area. While she was at sea, she was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 7 in the Advance Force on 22 August 1942, and on 23 August she received orders to attack an Allied supply convoy — the
United States 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 ...
attack cargo ships and — which Japanese forces had reported arriving at Guadalcanal on 22 August. ''Ro-34'' approached the anchorage at
Lungga Roads Lungga is a suburb of Honiara, Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area o ...
off Lungga Point on the evening of 23 August 1942 and sighted what her commanding officer identified as a 10,000-
ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...
transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
unloading there and a destroyer and a corvette conducting defensive patrols. At 18:27, ''Ro-34'' fired two torpedoes at the transport and her crew heard an explosion, prompting her commanding officer to claim that she had sunk a transport. A nearby
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
observation post identified her target as a destroyer, which may have been the fast transport , which reported dodging a torpedo a submarine had fired at her and then counterattacking the submarine. Both of ''Ro-34''′s torpedoes missed, and one of them later was found on a beach on the coast of Guadalcanal. With Allied ships in pursuit, ''Ro-34'' headed out to sea, undergoing heavy depth-charging during an chase. The depth charges knocked out her internal lighting and caused her to take a 15-degree up-angle, but she broke contact and escaped with little damage except for a leak in one
periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
shaft. ''Ro-34'' looked for Allied shipping in the harbor at Tulagi on 26 August 1942. At 01:34 on 28 August 1942, she was on the surface when she sighted what she identified as a U.S. Navy submarine moving slowly on the surface off
Cape Esperance Cape Esperance () is the northernmost point on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. History The Battle of Cape Esperance, one of several naval engagements fought in the waters north of the island during the World War II Guadalcanal campaign, took its n ...
on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. She submerged and fired two torpedoes, subsequently hearing two explosions and claiming to have sunk the submarine. Early on the morning of 29 August 1942, she was ordered to patrol east of Savo Island, and between 09:00 and 11:00 that day heard a series of distant explosions, probably from the sinking of ''I-123'' by the U.S. Navy destroyer minelayer . ''Ro-34'' returned to Rabaul on 6 September 1942.


Eighth war patrol

''Ro-34'' began her eighth war patrol on 27 September 1943, headed for a patrol area off Port Moresby. While she was on patrol, Submarine Division 21 was disbanded on 5 October 1942, and she was reassigned directly to Submarine Squadron 7
headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...
that day. On 6 October 1942, she received orders to make her best speed toward Rossel Island. She concluded her patrol with her return to Rabaul on 9 October 1942.


October–November 1942

On 12 October 1942, ''Ro-34'' departed Rabaul and set course for Truk. At Truk, she picked up underwater access tubes and deck mountings for
midget submarine A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...
s, and departed on 29 October 1942 to carry the equipment to an anchorage in the Shortland Islands off Shortland Island, where larger submarines were to use them while serving as mother ships in a planned midget submarine campaign against Allied ships off Guadalcanal. She called at Shortland from 1 to 2 November 1942 to unload the tubes and fittings, then headed for Rabaul, which she reached on 3 November 1942.


Ninth war patrol

''Ro-34'' got underway from Rabaul on 7 November 1942 for her ninth war patrol, ordered to patrol northeast of San Cristobal in the Solomon Islands and join the submarines and in attacking Allied reinforcement convoys headed to and from Guadalcanal. Her patrol was uneventful, and she concluded it with her arrival at Truk on 27 November 1942.


December 1942–February 1943

''Ro-34'' departed Truk on 1 December 1942 and set course for Sasebo, where she arrived on 9 December 1942 and began an overhaul. During a diving test in mid-January 1943, her battery flooded, causing the release of chlorine gas, which
poisoned A poison can be any substance that is harmful to the body. It can be swallowed, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin. Poisoning is the harmful effect that occurs when too much of that substance has been taken. Poisoning is not t ...
several electricians. After completion of the overhaul, she departed Sasebo on 20 February 1943 and proceeded to Rabaul, which she reached on 4 March 1943. Upon arrival, she was reassigned to Submarine Division 13 in Submarine Squadron 7 in the 8th Fleet.


Tenth war patrol

On 9 March 1943, ''Ro-34'' departed Rabaul on her tenth war patrol, heading for a patrol area in the Solomon Islands off Tulagi. After an uneventful patrol, she returned to Rabaul on 28 March 1943.


Eleventh war patrol

After the Combined Fleet initiated Operation ''I-Go'' — a reinforcement of 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 ...
base at Rabaul by planes from the
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
s and and of the Japanese naval air base on Balalae Island in the Shortland Islands by planes from the aircraft carriers and — ''Ro-34'' departed Rabaul at 12:00 on 2 April 1943 for her eleventh war patrol, bound for an operating area east of the Russell Islands in the Solomon Islands, where she was to provide weather reports in support of the operation and perform lifeguard duty for any aviators forced down at sea. ''Ro-34'' was on the surface off the Russell Islands in the predawn darkness of 5 April 1943 when the U.S. Navy destroyers and detected her on
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
at 02:18 at a range of . ''O'Bannon'' closed the range rapidly, sighted ''Ro-34'' at 02:30, and prepared to ram her, but ''O′Bannon''′s commanding officer, fearing that ''Ro-34'' might be a minelayer, ordered ''O′Bannon'' to make a hard turn at the last minute to avoid a collision. ''O′Bannon'' passed ''Ro-34'' at such close range that her guns could not depress enough to fire at the submarine. A U.S. Navy legend later held that ''O′Bannon''′s crew instead threw
potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
es at crewmen on ''Ro-34''′s deck to keep them from manning their guns in what became known as the "Maine potato episode"; the story later was found to be apocryphal, but it nonetheless has been reported as fact in various historical accounts and on
commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...
s, and it remains widely believed. While ''Ro-34'' began a crash-dive, ''O′Bannon'' pulled away to a range of and opened fire with her guns, as did ''Strong'', which also had arrived on the scene. The destroyer crews reported that they saw at least one shell hit ''Ro-34'' before she submerged. ''O′Bannon'' closed the range again, and after passing less than ahead of the submerged ''Ro-34'' fired depth charges from her K-gun depth-charge throwers. The destroyers then lost contact with ''Ro-34''. At 03:19, ''O′Bannon'' regained sonar contact on ''Ro-34'' and dropped a pattern of eight depth charges. ''O′Bannon''′s crew subsequently reported seeing ''Ro-34'' on the surface sinking by the
stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
, observed an oil slick on the surface after sunrise, and claimed a Japanese submarine sunk at . Some historians have credited ''O′Bannon'' with sinking ''Ro-34'', but ''Ro-34'' survived the encounter.


Loss

''Ro-34'' was on the surface off San Cristobal on the evening of 7 April 1943 when ''Strong'' again made radar contact on her at 21:51 Lima Time at a range of bearing 150 degrees true from ''Strong''. ''Strong'' closed the range and illuminated ''Ro-34'' with her
searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...
s, then opened fire with her guns and
40mm 40 mm grenade (also styled 40mm grenade) is a generic class-name for grenade launcher ammunition ( subsonic shells) in caliber. The generic name stems from the fact that several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in 40 ...
and
20mm 20 mm caliber is a specific size of popular autocannon ammunition. It is typically used to distinguish smaller-caliber weapons, commonly called "guns", from larger-caliber "cannons" (e.g. machine gun vs. autocannon). All 20 mm cartridges ha ...
antiaircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
s. She scored at least three shell hits, and ''Ro-34'' assumed a 10-to-15-degree down-angle by the stern and submerged. ''Strong'' dropped two patterns of depth charges and her crew observed debris rising to the surface at , marking the sinking of ''Ro-34''. On 16 April 1943, ''Ro-34'' was ordered to return to Rabaul, but she did not acknowledge the order. On 2 May 1943, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared her to be presumed lost in the Solomon Islands with her entire crew of 66. The Japanese struck her from the Navy list on 14 July 1943.


Notes


References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ro-034 Ro-33-class submarines Kaichū type submarines Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 1935 ships World War II submarines of Japan Japanese submarines lost during World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Maritime incidents in April 1943 Warships lost in combat with all hands Submarines lost with all hands Submarines sunk by United States warships