Okinoshima (ship, 1935)
Okinoshima in 1937
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The Okinoshima ( Japanese 沖 島 ) was a mine cruiser ( light cruiser ) of the Imperial Japanese Navy , which was built in the 1930s and used in World War II .
history
Development history
The London Naval Treaty was signed on April 22, 1930, stipulating that the moratorium on the construction of capital ships, the Washington Naval Treaty , would be extended to 1936. As well as new or expanded qualitative and quantitative limits for capital ships (battleships or cruisers), aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and submarines. In Article 12 Paragraph 3 of the treaty, Japan and the Imperial Japanese Navy were allowed to replace two older mine-layers - the former armored cruisers Aso and Tokiwa - with two newbuildings weighing 5,000 ts (5,080 t). However, these new buildings had to be commissioned by December 31, 1936. Furthermore, apart from the displacement, these had to meet the conditions set out in Article 8, Paragraph b: Guns no larger than 155 mm, no more than four guns over 76 mm, no torpedo armament and no speed over 20 knots.
The admiral staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy extended these conditions and stipulated the following draft requirements:
- 5,000 ts displacement
- four 15.5 cm guns
- at least four anti-aircraft guns
- Capacity of at least 500 sea mines
- Speed of 20 knots and
- Range of 5,000 nautical miles at 14 knots
With these draft requirements, funds for two units were requested from the Japanese Reichstag , but budget funds were only approved for one (replacement Aso ) as part of the 1st district building program (Maru 1 Keikaku) of 1931, which, however, made changes necessary. In 1932 a draft with the designation H-4 was submitted, which met the demands made except for the displacement - reduction to 4,800 ts - and the main armament - replacing the 15.5 cm guns with 14 cm guns.
Due to the Tomozuru incident - in this case the torpedo boat Tomozuru capsized on March 12, 1934, just a few weeks after being put into service, due to top-heaviness with the loss of a large part of the crew - the design was checked accordingly. As a result, the displacement was reduced from 4,800 ts to 4,470 ts and the length of the ship from 138.5 to 124.5 meters. In addition, the previously planned four 14-cm single mounts were replaced by those in double mounts and the previously planned mixed firing (coal and heavy fuel oil) of the steam boilers switched to oil firing alone.
construction
The construction contract for the later Okinoshima (replacement Aso ) was awarded to Ishikawajima-Harima in 1932 . This put the hull on September 27, 1934 at their shipyard ( Harima Zōsen ) in Aioi on keel and the launch took place on November 15, 1935. Even during construction, the negative consequences of the poorly controlled electric welding were based on the strength problems of the Mine- layer Yaeyama clearly. In addition, by the time construction began, a month had passed since the Fourth Fleet incident , highlighting the extent of such strength issues. In this incident, this fleet formation got into a typhoon in which two destroyers of the Fubuki -class, the bow was torn down and other ships, such as the cruisers Myōkō and Mogami , suffered serious damage. Went into service on September 30, 1936 under the command of Kaigun-Taisa ( Captain ) Sato Namizo which a so-called Supreme equipment officer since the November 15, 1935 ( Jap. 艤装員長 , Giso inchō) with the Baubelehrung mandated been was.
Mission history
After completion of the training of the crew, the Okinoshima formed together with a seaplane tender and four destroyers the 12th Squadron under the command of Kaigun-shōshō (Rear Admiral ) Miyata Giichi . With parts of this association (seaplane tender Kamoi and the destroyers Asangi and Yūnagi ) a trip to the area of the Japanese South Sea mandate was undertaken from January 28, 1937 . The islands and atolls were examined for the purpose of potential locations for bases and airfields. A total of 21 ports were called and eleven locations were surveyed from the air. (See: War Plan Orange )
Upon return from this trip, exercises and operations will be conducted as part of the Second Sino-Japanese War . For which Shanghai was visited in August 1937 .
From June 22, 1939 assigned to the Yokusuka Marine District , the Okinoshima made a trip to the Marshall Islands with two destroyers and the auxiliary miner Kinugasa Maru . There hydrographic surveys were carried out on the islands of Kusaie , Mili and Maloelap . From which they returned to Yokosuka on August 24, 1939 .
On November 15, 1940, the Okinoshima , later as the flagship , together with the miner Tokiwa, forms the 19th miner division under the command of Kaigun-shōshō (Rear Admiral) Shima Kiyohide . With which she made a trip to the southwestern Pacific from mid-January to mid-April 1941. From August the association of the 4th Fleet under Kaigun-chūjhō ( Vice Admiral ) Inoue Shigeyoshi in Truk was subordinated.
On November 29, 1941 at 1 p.m., the Okinoshima left the port of Truk with three other mines and secured by the two destroyers Asangi and Yūnagi and the seaplane carrier Chitose with destination Jaluit , where they entered on December 3.
At the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Okinoshima was at sea as the flagship of the landing unit of Kaigun-shōshō (Rear Admiral) Shima Kiyohide . She had taken from Jaluit special landing forces of the Navy (marine infantry) on board. With which landings on different islands should be carried out as part of "Operation Gi" (landing on the Gilbert Islands ). From December 9th to 10th it supported the landings on Makin and Tarawa and on December 24th the capture of Abaiang .
In January 1942, the Okinoshima took part under the command of Kaigun-shōshō (Rear Admiral) Kajioka Sadamichi in "Operation R" (Battle of Rabaul ), during which Japanese troops in the Blanche on the night of January 22nd to 23rd, 1942 Bay landed in Rabaul . On February 1, the Okinoshima was officially assigned to the 4th Fleet .
On March 5, the ship was used under the command of Admiral Marumo Kuninori during "Operation SR" (invasion of Salamaua and Lae ). On March 10, the Japanese troops were attacked by 104 aircraft belonging to the American aircraft carriers USS Yorktown and USS Lexington and the Okinoshima suffered slight damage.
After repairs in Truk , Okinoshima became the flagship of Admiral Shima again on April 28th and was part of "Operation Mo" (invasion of Tulagi and Port Moresby) . The Japanese troops began their landing on Tulagi on May 3rd, whereby troops of the 3rd Kure Special Landing Forces successfully landed from the Okinoshima . However, the Japanese forces were suddenly attacked on May 4 by 58 aircraft from the USS Yorktown . Several ships, like the destroyer Kikuzuki, are sinking. The Okinoshima is during the attack, while eight torpedo bombers Douglas TBD Devastator almost simultaneously - six out of port and two starboard - attacked. However, she can dodge all torpedoes, but receives close bombs, which led to her being towed to Rabaul for repairs .
Downfall
After repair, the Okinoshima left on May 10, 1942 as part of "Operation RY" (invasion of Nauru and Ocean Island ) accompanied by the destroyers Uzuki , Mochizuki and Yūzuki Rabaul. On May 12, she was sighted near New Ireland by the American submarine USS S-42 , under the command of Lieutenant Commander Oliver G. Kirk , coming from the east at night and in pouring rain. At 04:39 he fired four Mark 10 torpedoes in a surface attack, of which two or three hit at 04:52. The American submarine was then attacked by the Japanese destroyer with depth charges for six hours, but escaped damaged. Meanwhile, Admiral Shima switched to the destroyer Yūzuki and the Okinoshima was towed by the Mochizuki . But she capsized due to damage suffered in the St. George's Channel in the Bismarck Sea at position 5 ° 6 ' S , 153 ° 48' O . Most of the crew could be saved. The Okinoshima was removed from the list of ships of the Imperial Navy on May 25, 1942.
Surname
The Okinoshima is after the Kaibōkan of the same name - the former Russian coastal armored ship General-Admiral Apraxin of the Admiral-Ushakow class , which was captured in the course of the naval battle of Tsushima in August 1904 and was in service from June 1905 to April 1922 - the second warship of one Japanese Navy, which bears this name. Named after the island of Okinoshima in the Sea of Japan off Munakata in Fukuoka Prefecture , which has a famous Shinto shrine and is close to the site of the Tsushima naval battle.
List of commanders
| No. | Surname | Beginning of the term of office | Term expires | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sea captain Sato Namizo | September 30, 1936 | January 18, 1937 | entrusted with building instruction since November 15, 1935 |
| 2. | Sea captain Anju Giichi | January 18, 1937 | December 17, 1937 | |
| 3. | Sea captain Tomizawa Fujihiko | December 17, 1937 | December 15, 1938 | |
| 4th | Sea captain Hiratsuka Shiro | December 15, 1938 | November 15, 1939 | |
| 5. | Sea captain Nakamura Katsuhei | November 15, 1939 | March 22, 1940 | |
| - | Sea captain Takahashi Ichimatsu | March 22, 1940 | April 15, 1940 | Itsukushima commander , entrusted with the conduct of business |
| 6th | Sea captain Obata Chozaemon | April 15, 1940 | October 15, 1940 | |
| 7th | Sea captain Azukizawa Sei | October 15, 1940 | September 12, 1941 | |
| 8th. | Sea captain Nomi Minoru | September 12, 1941 | May 12, 1942 |
technical description
hull
The hull of the Okinoshima was designed as a welded smooth-decker with a transom and was 124.5 meters long, 15.79 meters wide and had a draft of 5.69 meters with an operational displacement of 5,080 tons .
drive
It was driven by four oil-fired steam generators - Kampon boilers of the Yarrow type , each housed in a single boiler room, which developed a pressure of 30 kg / cm² at 350 ° C - and two geared turbine sets - each consisting of a high-pressure and low-pressure turbine. with which a total output of 9,000 PS (6,619 kW ) was achieved. These gave their power to two shafts , each with a 2.7 meter diameter screw . The maximum speed was 20 knots (37 km / h ) and the maximum distance traveled 9,000 nautical miles (16,668 km) at 10 knots. 921 tons of heavy fuel oil were bunkered, 360 tons of which were intended for supplying other units.
Two 100 kW turbo generators and two 80 kW diesel generators with a total output of 360 kW were available to operate the on-board power supply .
crew
The crew had a strength of 445 men.
Armament
artillery
The artillery armament consisted of four 14 cm anti-tank guns with a caliber length of 50 Type 3 . Introduced in 1916, this gun had a rate of fire of 6 to 10 rounds per minute and a lifespan of 800 rounds. It could fire a 38 kilogram grenade up to 15.8 kilometers and was housed in two 50 ton lightly armored twin towers (type A). These were set up in the ship's center line, one in front of the bridge structure and one behind the aft deckhouse. The towers had a lateral directional speed of 4 ° per second, an elevation speed of 6 ° per second and an elevation range of −5 ° to + 30 °.
Air defense
For anti-aircraft were two 7.62 cm guns type 3 in individual carriage between the bridge structure and the chimney and four 13.2 mm machine guns type 93 in double mountings on both sides of the bridge structure are available.
The 7.62 cm guns achieved a rate of 13 to 20 rounds per minute and the maximum range was about 7.2 kilometers at a 75 ° elevation. The 3.35 tonne central pivot mount could be rotated 360 ° and had an elevation range of −7 ° to + 75 °. The 13.2 mm machine guns fired around 250 rounds per minute in use, the range was around 4.5 kilometers with an 85 ° rise. The 314 kilogram carriage could be rotated 360 ° and had an elevation range of −15 ° to + 85 °.
Mining equipment
For mine laying there were two mine laying rails each on the upper deck and two more in a special storage room in the stern, with the mines from this storage room being laid out through mine shafts in the stern (transom stern). The transport capacity was up to 500 type 6 sea mines . These anchor towers weighed 1080 kg, 200 kg of which was trinitrophenol explosives , and had a 205 meter long anchor rope.
Submarine hunting equipment
For submarine hunts, the ship had a type 94 depth charge launcher with 22 depth charges, which was located between the mine rails on the quarterdeck.
Fire control systems and sensors
Fire control system
A cross- sectional rangefinder with a base length of 4.5 meters on the bridge structure and two additional 1.5 meter range finders on both sides of the bridge structure were available for fire control . There were also three 90 cm type 92 searchlights - two on platforms in front of the chimney and one behind the aft tripod mast.
Sensors
To search for submarines one was echolocation system of the type 93 and a hydrophone -Set the Type 93 scaffolded. This hydrophone set consisted of two groups of eight sensors each, one group on each side of the ship.
Board aircraft
For purposes of clarification, the disposal Okinoshima a board aircraft of the type Kawanishi E7k . This biplane , officially designated as the Marine Type 94 sea reconnaissance aircraft , with a 3-man crew was launched via a 19-meter-long Kure Type 2 Model 3 aircraft catapult , which was located between the chimney and the aft tripod mast. On their return, the machine landed on the water and was lifted back onto the ship or catapult by a derrick located on the aft three-legged mast .
literature
- Harald Fock: Fleet Chronicle - The active warships involved in the two world wars and their whereabouts . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-7822-0788-2 , p. 173-200 .
- Hansgeorg Jentschura, Dieter Jung, Peter Mickel: Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1869-1945 . US Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1977, ISBN 0-87021-893-X , pp. 200 (English).
- Hans Lengerer: Warship 2008 . Imperial Japanese Minelayers Itsukushima, Okinoshima, and Tsugaru. Ed .: John Jordan. No. 30 . Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 2008, ISBN 978-1-84486-062-3 , pp. 58-63 (English).
Web links
- CV of Okinoshima on combinedfleet.com (English)
- Okinoshima on navypedia.org (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ International Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Type 3 14 cm cannon. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Type 3 3-inch cannon. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Type 93 13.2 mm machine gun. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Japanese sea mines in WWII. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Japanese depth charges in WWII. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Japanese Sonar and Asdic (USNTMJ E-10). (PDF) US Navy Technical Mission to Japan, December 14, 1945, pp. 7 and 11 , accessed June 5, 2020 .
