was a

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 ...

(AV) of 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 ...

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 ...

. She was built at

Kure Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the J ...

from 1938 to 1942 and was equipped with 2 aircraft

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

s and facilities for launching, lifting and carrying up to 12

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

s. It was made for the ship to also carry 12 Type 'A'

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 to launch them.

Background

During the 1930s, the Imperial Japanese Navy made increasing use of

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

as scouts for its cruiser and destroyer squadrons. Due to restrictions imposed by the

Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...

and

London Naval Treaty The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States that was signed on 22 April 1930. Seeking to address is ...

, the number of aircraft carriers was strictly regulated; however, there was no limitation as to seaplane tenders. ''Nisshin'' was a follow-on to the purpose-built seaplane tender design begun with the ''Chitose''-class and was ordered by the Imperial Japanese Navy under the 3rd Naval Armaments Supplement Programme of 1937.

Design

''Nisshin'' was designed with two aircraft catapults for launching seaplanes, and cranes for recovering landed aircraft on her aft deck. She also had two elevators to transport midget submarines from the ship's interior along with 900 tonnes of aviation fuel. As designed, ''Nisshin'' carried a complement of 12

Kawanishi E7K The Kawanishi E7K was a Japanese three-seat reconnaissance seaplane mainly in use during the 1930s. It was allocated the reporting name Alf by the Allies of World War II. Design and development In 1932 the Imperial Japanese Navy requested the K ...

Type 94 "Alf" and

Nakajima E8N The Nakajima E8N was a Japanese ship-borne, catapult-launched, reconnaissance seaplane of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was a single-engine, two-seat biplane with a central main-float and underwing outriggers. During the Pacific War, it was ...

Type 95 "Dave" and

Mitsubishi F1M The Mitsubishi F1M ( Allied reporting name "Pete") was a Japanese reconnaissance floatplane of World War II. It was the last biplane type of the Imperial Japanese Navy, with 944 built between 1936 and 1944. The Navy designation was "Type Zero Obs ...

s which were stored on the top of the ship. Her armament consisted of six 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval guns Navweapons.com
/ref> in three turrets on the foredeck, giving ''Nisshin'' nearly the firepower of a

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

. Anti-aircraft protection was initially provided by 24 Type 96 25 mm AA guns in eight triple mountings. ''Nisshin'' was modified after the start of World War II to carry twelve

Type A Kō-hyōteki-class submarine The class was a class of Japanese midget submarines (''Kō-hyōteki'') used during World War II. They had hull numbers but no names. For simplicity, they are most often referred to by the hull number of the mother submarine. Thus, the midget ...

s, with a reduction in her original aircraft capacity to twelve aircraft. Although similar to the preceding seaplane carrier ''Chitose'' and , ''Nisshin'' was fitted with more powerful 47,000 bhp, two-shafted engines which enabled it to reach speeds of 28 knots. ''Nisshin'' had a range of 11,000 nautical miles at 18 knots, and was often used on high speed transport missions to get more equipment and reinforcements to designated areas quickly.

Operational history

''Nisshin'' was laid down on 2 November 1938 and launched on 30 November 1939 at

. Her completion was delayed by design changes and the onset of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

and was not commissioned until 27 February 1942. Shortly after commissioning, on 20 March 1942 ''Nisshin'' was assigned to Vice Admiral

Teruhisa Komatsu Marquis was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Born as HIH Kitashirakawa-no-miya Teruhisa, as the younger son of HIH Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa, his title was devolved from royal status that that of the ''kazoku'' pe ...

’s

IJN 6th Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) that during World War II, had primary responsibility for the command of submarine operations. History The 6th Fleet was formed on 15 November 1940, and was assigned general control of all IJN ...

together with the seaplane tender and the

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in ...

Aikoku Maru was an armed merchant cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The ship entered service in 1940, the ship was later converted to an ammunition ship. She was sunk in February 1944 during Operation Hailstone. Design ''Aikoku Maru'' ...

'', and participated in training exercises in the

Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...

, during which time she recovered a miniature submarine which had been lost by ''Chiyoda''.IJN NISSHIN: Tabular Record of Movement
/ref> During the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...

, ''Nisshin'' was part of Main Body of the Japanese fleet. For this operation, she carried twelve Type A Kō-hyōteki-class midget submarines, which were intended to be stationed at

Kure Atoll Kure Atoll (; haw, Hōlanikū, translation=bringing forth heaven; haw, Mokupāpapa, translation=flat island, label=none) or Ocean Island is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean west-northwest of Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ...

, which was to be seized as a seaplane base for operations against

Midway Atoll Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

. The operation was cancelled on the loss of the Japanese aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway, and ''Nisshin'' returned to Hashirajima with her submarines on 14 June without having seen combat. From September 1942, ''Nisshin'' was at

Kavieng Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2009, it had a population of 17,248. Kavi ...

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 ...

, where she was assigned to a number of

Tokyo Express The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the P ...

high speed transport runs to

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 ...

through the end of November. These missions included the transport of artillery. On 28 September, she narrowly missed an attack by east of the island of

Kokoda Kokoda is a station town in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. It is famous as the northern end of the Kokoda Track, site of the eponymous Kokoda Track campaign of World War II. In that campaign, it had strategic significance because it had the ...

. In October, she was damaged during an attack by an American

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

north of Tassafaronga. She was unloading at Tassafaronga during a subsequent run on 12 October when the

Battle of Cape Esperance The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Unit ...

began, but was able with withdraw without engaging in combat. and in November she was withdrawn to Truk. During the first half of 1943, ''Nisshin'' continued to be used primarily as a fast transport between the Japanese home islands and Truk and

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 ...

. With the start of the large-scale Allied offensive in June 1943 against Japanese-occupied New Georgia and the Solomon Islands, ''Nisshin'' rushed troop reinforcements from Yokosuka to

Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land area is ...

. Loaded with 630 soldiers, 22 light tanks, ammunition and food supplies, she stopped at Truk and on 22 July, escorted by three destroyers, ''Nisshin'' attempted to run Bougainville Strait towards Buin. The convoy was attacked at 13:45 approximately southwest of Buin by three waves of American bombers, including 34

Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/div ...

and twelve

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

bombers. ''Nisshin'' was able to evade the B-24s, working up to 34 knots, but was hit by four and two bombs dropped by the dive bombers during the second and third strikes, which exploded her aviation fuel stores and caused many casualties among the crowded soldiers. Severely damaged, ''Nisshin'' capsized to starboard and sank some fourteen minutes after the start of the air raid. Of the 1263 on board at the time (633 crewmen and 630 embarked troops), only 178 were rescued by the escorting destroyers, their efforts severely hampered by renewed air attacks. On 10 September 1943, ''Nisshin'' was struck from the

navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...

Citations

References

* * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nisshin 1939 ships Ships built by Kure Naval Arsenal Aircraft carriers sunk by aircraft Seaplane tenders of the Imperial Japanese Navy Mine warfare vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Maritime incidents in July 1943 Ships sunk by US aircraft