Taiyō (ship, 1941)
 The Taiyō in September 1943 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Keel laying | January 6, 1940 |
| Launch | September 19, 1940 |
| 1. Period of service |
|
| Commissioning | September 15, 1941 |
| Whereabouts | Sunk August 17, 1944 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
Standard : 17,830 t |
| length | |
| width |
22.5 m |
| Draft |
8 m |
| crew |
747 |
| drive |
4 steam boilers |
| speed |
21 kn |
| Armament |
6 × 12 cm L / 45 Flak |
The Taiyō ( Japanese 大鷹 , dt. "Big falcon; hawk") was an escort of the Imperial Japanese Navy . She was the type ship of the Taiyō class which consisted of passenger ships converted to escort carriers with the Un'yō and Chūyō .
The keel laying as a passenger ship named Kasuga Maru took place on January 6, 1940 at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki . After the launch on September 19, 1940 and the subsequent completion, the ship served as a troop and supply transport between the Japanese islands and Chichi-jima , Saipan , Formosa , Truk , Ponape and Fais .
As with all Japanese escort carriers, only aircraft could take off on the Taiyō , but due to the very short flight deck there was no possibility of landing. Like all Japanese escort carriers, the ship was only used to transport aircraft, material transport and pilot training.
On May 1, 1941, the Japanese Navy began the conversion to a escort carrier at the shipyard in Sasebo , which lasted until September 2. The Kasuga Maru was then assigned to the 4th Carrier Division and brought combat aircraft to Palau under Captain Ishii Norie ( 石井 芸 江 ) at the end of November . In 1942 she made further trips to Truk, as well as to Rabaul and Maloelap .
In early August, Captain Takatsugu Kan'ichi ( 高 次 貫 一 ) took over from Captain Ishii and the Kasuga Maru was officially renamed Taiyō on August 31, 1942 .
After the ship had been subjected to Allied attacks on its previous voyages, but never suffered any damage, a torpedo from the USS Trout hit the stern 65 kilometers south of Truk on September 28 at 1:25 p.m. and killed 13 crew members. The Taiyō was able to reach Truk later that day at reduced speed. After an emergency repair was carried out there, the carrier ran to Kure and was restored there by October 26th. During this time, the command changed to Captain Fujita Tarōhachi ( 篠 田 太郎 八 ).
Until September 1943, the Taiyō was mainly used in the shuttle service between Yokosuka and Truk. American submarines tried several times to torpedo the escort carrier. On April 9, 1943, the USS Tunny shot a torpedo fan in a convoy escorted by the Taiyō. The Taiyō was hit on the port side by four torpedoes, all of which did not explode. A repair did not have to be carried out afterwards.
Another change of command took place on May 29, when Captain Matsuda Takamatsu ( 松田 尊 睦 ) received command of the Taiyō.
The USS Pike shot on August 6 from four torpedoes at the carrier, which was at that time on the way from Truk to Yokosuka. The Taiyō received no hit and was therefore again undamaged. However, she suffered minor damage on September 24 after a torpedo hit by the USS Cabrilla , which hit the starboard side of the stern and disabled the starboard propeller. The porter had to be towed to Yokosuka by the escort carrier Un'yō and was repaired there until November 11th. Six days later, Captain Matsuno Toshiro ( 松 野 俊 郎 ) replaced Captain Matsuda.
In December, the Taiyō was placed under the newly formed escort command of the United Fleet and was subjected to major modernizations in Yokohama from January to April 1944 , with Kapitan Matsuno being replaced by Beppu Akitomo ( 別 府 明 朋 ) in February . Then the Taiyō drove under the command of Captain Sugino Shuichi ( 杉 野 修 一 ) via Yokosuka to Kure, where she was assigned to the 1st escort group on April 29. The following trips took the Taiyō to the Southeast Asian region, mainly to Manila and Singapore.
On August 17, the Taiyō were torpedoed again off Cape Bolinao on Luzon . The USS Rasher fired two torpedoes at the escort carrier, one of which hit a tank in the stern on the starboard side at 10:22 p.m., which immediately detonated in a large explosion. The Taiyō began to burn and further explosions rocked the carrier, the largest and most violent of which affected an oil tank amidships on the port side. Captain Sugino then ordered the immediate abandonment of the ship, but the Taiyō sank within a very short time and tore almost the entire crew to their deaths at 10:48 p.m. 747 men drowned and less than 100 survived the sinking, but among them Captain Sugino.
See also
Remarks
- ^ Ingo Bauernfeind: Escort aircraft carrier - USA, England, Japan 1939-1945 . Motorbuchverlag Verlag, Stuttgart 2013. 98-99.
- ↑ The German rank of captain at sea corresponds to the Japanese rank of Taisa , which literally means great assistance .
swell
Main source: IJN Taiyo: Tabular Record of Movement
