Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka
Encyclopedia
was the lead vessel in the of medium-sized minelayer
s of the Imperial Japanese Navy
, which was in service during World War II
. She was designed as an improved version of anti-submarine netlayer. However, during the Pacific War
, due to the critical shortage of escort patrol ships, she was fitted with depth charge
racks, her minelaying rails were removed, and she was used primarily for convoy escort duties.
She was sunk in action by , losing 70 men.
Supplemental Naval Amaments Budget of 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy authorized a two vessels of a new class of minelayer (Project number H12) primarily for coastal duties. The new vessel was designed to carry either 100 Type 5 naval mine
s, or to function as a netlayer
based on design features developed through operational experience with Shirataka.
Hatsutaka was launched by the Harima Shipyard near Kobe
on April 28, 1939, and was commissioned into service on October 31, 1939.
’s Second Base Force, but was reassigned to the IJN 3rd Fleet
in April 1941, and to the Southwest Area Fleet
's First Southern Expeditionary Fleet's Ninth Base Force based at Camranh Bay, French Indochina
in October 1941.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor
in December 1941, Hatsutaka was assigned to ”Operation T”
, (the invasion of Sumatra
) , escorting 11 transports with the IJA 229th Infantry Regiment from French Indochina to Bangka
and Palembang
on 11 February, and the Imperial Guards Division from Singapore
to northern Sumatra on 10 March. This mission was followed by ”Operation D”
(the invasion of the Andaman Islands
at the end of March, with Hatsutaka escorting a convoy from Singapore to Port Blair
and Rangoon in Burma. Hatsutaka spent the remainder of 1942 and first half of 1943 based at Ambon
in the Netherlands East Indies, operating between Ambon and Makassar
.
On 15 July 1943, Hatsutaka rendezvoused with German submarine
U-511, carrying Vice Admiral Nomura Naokuni, Japan's representative to the Axis Tripartite Commission
in Berlin
since 1941, and Major Sugita Tamotsu of the IJA Medical Service, Dr. Ernst Wörmann, ambassador to Wang Jingwei
's pro-Japanese Nanjing Nationalist Government and Martin Spahn, leader-designee of the NSDAP (Nazi) party in Japan and three engineers from U-boat builder AG Weser
at Bremen
Hatsutaka escorted the German submarine to Penang
. For the remainder of 1943 and first half of 1944, Hatsutaka operated along the Sumatra coast between Padang
, Medan
, and Sabang
.
On 19 April 1944, Hatsutaka was at Sabang when raided as part of Operation Cockpit
, the first combined operation between the Royal Navy
, Royal Australian Navy
, French Navy
, Royal Netherlands Navy
, Royal New Zealand Navy
, and United States Navy
. Forty-six bombers (17 British, 29 American) and 37 fighters (13 British, 24 American) from the and raided Sabang, lightly damaging Hatsutaka, killing three crewmen and wounding five others. Hatsutaka was repaired at Singapore, and subsequently performed escort patrol duties between Singapore and Port Blair. On 3 August 1944, Hatsutaka struck a mine laid by and was damaged.
Lieutenant Commander Ozaki Sakan assume command of the Hatsutaka in October, 1944.
On 2 May 1945, Hatsutaka was escorting a tanker when attacked by and . At 2249, Hatsutaka detected Baya with her Type 22 radar and began closing. 2305, Baya fired two torpedoes at Hatsutaka, with both missing. At 2307, Hatsutaka opened fire on Baya with "20mm, 40mm, and 2 or 3 4.7 inch guns at range of 1100 yards." and noted at 2308 that "Jap gunnery poor but plenty of it. Tracers passing down both sides of the periscope shears and overhead. 4.7 inch appeared to be both common and fused, as it was ricochetting[sic] alongside and over the stern as well as bursting overhead which was thought at first to be starshells." At 2309, Baya fired another three torpedoes, with Hatsutaka combing the tracks. When Hatsutaka turned on the searchlight at 2320, Baya submerged and fired another torpedo at her, missing again. At 2325, when Baya surfaced, she secured the searchlight and again commenced firing on Baya and dropped six depth charges at 2329, shaking Baya violently. At 2333, the range opened and Baya informed Lagarto that she had been driven off by the escort's gunfire. Baya noted that "It is nothing short of a miracle that we came through so much gunfire without a single hit. His deflection was as consistently on as his range was off."
Lagarto made contact with the convoy in a submerged attack at 1400 on May 3. Japanese records indicate that Hatsutaka depth charged and sank Lagarto on May 3.
On May 3, at 2215 Baya again attempted to attack the convoy, but her own 10 cm radar was detected, alerting the convoy, which commenced evasive maneuvers. At 0011 on May 4, Baya fired six torpedoes, with no hits. At 0013, the convoy turned away, with Hatsutaka chasing Baya as she tried to get in another position to attack.
On May 14, Hatsutaka was escorting Tottori Maru. At 0737, fired five torpedoes at a ship misidentified as "Yaeyama", but missed. At 0745, Hatsutaka dropped six depth charges, followed by four more at 0755. At 1147, Hatsutaka sighted the periscope of Cobia, and launched 9 depth charge runs on Cobia, causing severe damage." At 1430, attacked Tottori Maru, but she evaded three torpedoes, and later that night at 2300, when Hammerhead was trying to get another shot in on Tottori Maru, Hatsutaka was always in the way. At 0021 on the May 15, Hatsutaka opened fire on Hammerhead, scoring several near misses. Hatsutaka then returned to Singapore.
At 0523 on May 16 in rainy weather, fired six torpedoes at Hatsutaka, two of which hit, flooding her engine room. At 1044, Hawkbill fired three more torpedoes. Hatsutaka opened fire, but one torpedo struck amidships, causing an explosion, which broke her in half. Hatsutaka sank at 04°49′N 103°31′E at 11:15. 70 crew were killed in action.
Hatsutaka was removed from the navy list
on 10 August 1945.
, Malaysia a team of divers from "Davy Jones Locker LTD" led by Tim Lawernce of Koh Tao, Thailand located the HIJMS Hatsutaka about one kilometer off shore. For more on the discovery see http://www.seaexplorersclub.com/?s=hatsutaka
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
s of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
, which was in service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was designed as an improved version of anti-submarine netlayer. However, during the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, due to the critical shortage of escort patrol ships, she was fitted with depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
racks, her minelaying rails were removed, and she was used primarily for convoy escort duties.
She was sunk in action by , losing 70 men.
Background
Under the Maru-33rd Naval Armaments Supplement Programme (Japan, 1937)
The otherwise known as the "Circle Three" Plan was the third of four expansion plans of the Imperial Japanese Navy between 1930 and the start of World War II.-Background:...
Supplemental Naval Amaments Budget of 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy authorized a two vessels of a new class of minelayer (Project number H12) primarily for coastal duties. The new vessel was designed to carry either 100 Type 5 naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s, or to function as a netlayer
Net laying ship
A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender or boom defence vessel was a type of small auxiliary ship.A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid around an individual ship at anchor, or around harbors or other...
based on design features developed through operational experience with Shirataka.
Hatsutaka was launched by the Harima Shipyard near Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
on April 28, 1939, and was commissioned into service on October 31, 1939.
Operational history
After commissioning, Hatsutaka was assigned to the IJN 1st FleetIJN 1st Fleet
The was the main battleship fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy.-History:First established on 28 December 1903, the IJN 1st Fleet was created during the Russo-Japanese War when the Imperial General Headquarters divided the Readiness Fleet into a mobile strike force of cruisers and destroyers to...
’s Second Base Force, but was reassigned to the IJN 3rd Fleet
IJN 3rd Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was created on six separate occasions.-Russo-Japanese War:First established on 28 December 1903, the IJN 3rd Fleet was created by the Imperial General Headquarters as an administrative unit to manage various vessels considered too obsolete for...
in April 1941, and to the Southwest Area Fleet
Southwest Area Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.-History:The Southwest Area Fleet was an operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy established on April 10, 1942 to coordinate naval, air, and ground forces for the invasion, occupation and defense of the...
's First Southern Expeditionary Fleet's Ninth Base Force based at Camranh Bay, French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
in October 1941.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
in December 1941, Hatsutaka was assigned to ”Operation T”
Invasion of Sumatra (1942)
The Invasion of Sumatra by Imperial Japanese forces took place from 14 February to 28 March 1942. The invasion was part of the Pacific War in South-East Asia during World War II and led to the capture of the island...
, (the invasion of Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
) , escorting 11 transports with the IJA 229th Infantry Regiment from French Indochina to Bangka
Bangka Island
Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. Population 626,955. Area: c.4,600 sq mi .There is an additional small island named Pulau Bangka in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia.-Geography:...
and Palembang
Palembang
Palembang is the capital city of the South Sumatra province in Indonesia. Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being a capital of a maritime empire. Located on the Musi River banks on the east coast of southern Sumatra island, it has an area of 400.61 square...
on 11 February, and the Imperial Guards Division from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to northern Sumatra on 10 March. This mission was followed by ”Operation D”
Invasion and Occupation of the Andaman Islands during World War II
The Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands occurred in 1942 during World War II. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands , are a group of islands situated in the Bay of Bengal at about 780 miles from Kolkata, 740 miles from Chennai and 120 miles from Cape Nargis in Burma...
(the invasion of the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
at the end of March, with Hatsutaka escorting a convoy from Singapore to Port Blair
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
and Rangoon in Burma. Hatsutaka spent the remainder of 1942 and first half of 1943 based at Ambon
Ambon Island
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
in the Netherlands East Indies, operating between Ambon and Makassar
Makassar
Makassar, is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably...
.
On 15 July 1943, Hatsutaka rendezvoused with German submarine
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
U-511, carrying Vice Admiral Nomura Naokuni, Japan's representative to the Axis Tripartite Commission
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also the Three-Power Pact, Axis Pact, Three-way Pact or Tripartite Treaty was a pact signed in Berlin, Germany on September 27, 1940, which established the Axis Powers of World War II...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
since 1941, and Major Sugita Tamotsu of the IJA Medical Service, Dr. Ernst Wörmann, ambassador to Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei , alternate name Wang Zhaoming, was a Chinese politician. He was initially known as a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang , but later became increasingly anti-Communist after his efforts to collaborate with the CCP ended in political failure...
's pro-Japanese Nanjing Nationalist Government and Martin Spahn, leader-designee of the NSDAP (Nazi) party in Japan and three engineers from U-boat builder AG Weser
AG Weser
Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships...
at Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
Hatsutaka escorted the German submarine to Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
. For the remainder of 1943 and first half of 1944, Hatsutaka operated along the Sumatra coast between Padang
Padang, Indonesia
Padang is the capital and largest city of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located on the western coast of Sumatra at . It has an area of and a population of over 833,000 people at the 2010 Census.-History:...
, Medan
Medan
- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....
, and Sabang
Sabang
Sabang is a city consisting of several islands in Aceh, Indonesia. The metropolitan area is located on Weh Island, 17 km north of Banda Aceh. The city covers an area of 118 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 23,654 people...
.
On 19 April 1944, Hatsutaka was at Sabang when raided as part of Operation Cockpit
Operation Cockpit
Operation Cockpit was a bombing raid by aircraft from two Allied naval forces on 19 April 1944. The forces were made up of 22 warships, including two aircraft carriers, from the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, French Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, and United States Navy...
, the first combined operation between the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
, French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
, Royal Netherlands Navy
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, Royal New Zealand Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
, and United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. Forty-six bombers (17 British, 29 American) and 37 fighters (13 British, 24 American) from the and raided Sabang, lightly damaging Hatsutaka, killing three crewmen and wounding five others. Hatsutaka was repaired at Singapore, and subsequently performed escort patrol duties between Singapore and Port Blair. On 3 August 1944, Hatsutaka struck a mine laid by and was damaged.
Lieutenant Commander Ozaki Sakan assume command of the Hatsutaka in October, 1944.
On 2 May 1945, Hatsutaka was escorting a tanker when attacked by and . At 2249, Hatsutaka detected Baya with her Type 22 radar and began closing. 2305, Baya fired two torpedoes at Hatsutaka, with both missing. At 2307, Hatsutaka opened fire on Baya with "20mm, 40mm, and 2 or 3 4.7 inch guns at range of 1100 yards." and noted at 2308 that "Jap gunnery poor but plenty of it. Tracers passing down both sides of the periscope shears and overhead. 4.7 inch appeared to be both common and fused, as it was ricochetting[sic] alongside and over the stern as well as bursting overhead which was thought at first to be starshells." At 2309, Baya fired another three torpedoes, with Hatsutaka combing the tracks. When Hatsutaka turned on the searchlight at 2320, Baya submerged and fired another torpedo at her, missing again. At 2325, when Baya surfaced, she secured the searchlight and again commenced firing on Baya and dropped six depth charges at 2329, shaking Baya violently. At 2333, the range opened and Baya informed Lagarto that she had been driven off by the escort's gunfire. Baya noted that "It is nothing short of a miracle that we came through so much gunfire without a single hit. His deflection was as consistently on as his range was off."
Lagarto made contact with the convoy in a submerged attack at 1400 on May 3. Japanese records indicate that Hatsutaka depth charged and sank Lagarto on May 3.
On May 3, at 2215 Baya again attempted to attack the convoy, but her own 10 cm radar was detected, alerting the convoy, which commenced evasive maneuvers. At 0011 on May 4, Baya fired six torpedoes, with no hits. At 0013, the convoy turned away, with Hatsutaka chasing Baya as she tried to get in another position to attack.
On May 14, Hatsutaka was escorting Tottori Maru. At 0737, fired five torpedoes at a ship misidentified as "Yaeyama", but missed. At 0745, Hatsutaka dropped six depth charges, followed by four more at 0755. At 1147, Hatsutaka sighted the periscope of Cobia, and launched 9 depth charge runs on Cobia, causing severe damage." At 1430, attacked Tottori Maru, but she evaded three torpedoes, and later that night at 2300, when Hammerhead was trying to get another shot in on Tottori Maru, Hatsutaka was always in the way. At 0021 on the May 15, Hatsutaka opened fire on Hammerhead, scoring several near misses. Hatsutaka then returned to Singapore.
At 0523 on May 16 in rainy weather, fired six torpedoes at Hatsutaka, two of which hit, flooding her engine room. At 1044, Hawkbill fired three more torpedoes. Hatsutaka opened fire, but one torpedo struck amidships, causing an explosion, which broke her in half. Hatsutaka sank at 04°49′N 103°31′E at 11:15. 70 crew were killed in action.
Hatsutaka was removed from the navy list
Navy List
A 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 authorities of a country....
on 10 August 1945.
Wreckage
On March 28, 2008 northwest of Pulau TenggolPulau Tenggol
Pulau Tenggol or Tenggol Island is an island off the coast of Terengganu, Malaysia. It is the last island in a string of islands that include Pulau Perhentian and Pulau Redang. It is connected by ferry to Dungun on the mainland....
, Malaysia a team of divers from "Davy Jones Locker LTD" led by Tim Lawernce of Koh Tao, Thailand located the HIJMS Hatsutaka about one kilometer off shore. For more on the discovery see http://www.seaexplorersclub.com/?s=hatsutaka