Tsugaru (ship, 1940)
Tsugaru in 1941
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
The Tsugaru ( Japanese 津 軽 ) was a heavy mine-layer of the Imperial Japanese Navy , which was used in World War II .
history
Development history
The Tsugaru , which was part of the 3rd district building program (Maru 3 Keikaku) from 1937 with building no. 6 and the design designation H-10 was ordered, represents a further development of the mine cruiser Okinoshima , in which the operational experience gained with this flowed. Changes to this are a reduction in the design displacement from 4400 to 4000 ts. Furthermore, the internal structure was changed and since there were problems with the strength of Japanese ships due to the still poorly controllable electric welding, the hull was riveted to a large extent again. In terms of armament, the mine capacity was increased and the previous armament was replaced by more suitable for anti-aircraft defense.
construction
The construction contract for the later Tsugaru was awarded to the naval shipyard in Yokosuka . This put the hull on July 5, 1939 on keel and the launch took place on June 5, 1940. The commissioning took place on October 22, 1941 under the command of Kaigun-taisa ( sea captain ) Inagaki Yoshiaki, who has been since June 20, 1940 as a so-called Supreme Equipment Officer ( Japanese 艤 装 員 長 , gisō inchō) was commissioned with the building instruction.
Mission history
After the commissioning and training of the crew, the Tsugaru was assigned to the command of Kaigun-shōshō (rear admiral ) Shima Kiyohide , in the 4th fleet of Admiral Inoue Shigeyoshi , and relocated to Saipan . At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Tsugaru supported the landing of Japanese troops on Guam .
From January 1942, the Tsugaru took part in the "Operation R" (Battle of Rabaul ) together with the Okinoshima , under the command of Kaigun-shōshō (Rear Admiral) Kajioka Sadamichi . January 1942 Japanese troops landed in Blanche Bay in Rabaul .
On March 5, the ship was used under the command of Admiral Marumo Kuninori during "Operation SR" (invasion of Salamaua and Lae ). On March 10th, the Japanese troops were attacked by around ninety aircraft from the American aircraft carriers USS Yorktown and USS Lexington and the Tsugaru suffered minor damage.
On May 4th, the Tsugaru was assigned to the invasion force of Admiral Shima , which was part of "Operation Mo" (invasion of Tulagi and Port Moresby) . However, the operation was canceled after the Battle of the Coral Sea , and the mine-layer was instead assigned to "Operation RY" (Invasion of Nauru and Ocean Island ). But this operation was also canceled after the Okinoshima was lost on May 12, 1942, and the Tsugaru returned to Rabaul .
From July 14, 1942, the ship was assigned to the 8th Fleet of Admiral Mikawa Gun'ichi and supported "Operation RI" (Invasion of Buna). In August and September she delivered material and reinforcements to Guadalcanal , where she was attacked on September 3rd by B-17 bombers of the American Army Air Force . 14 crew members died and 30 were wounded as a result of the attack. After repairs, she continued her transport trips to Guadalcanal, Shortland Island , New Georgia and Santa Isabel until the end of February 1943.
From March to May 1943, the Yokosuka naval shipyard underwent repairs and overhauls. Whereupon the ship returned to Rabaul in early August, but was sighted and attacked on the way there on August 5 by the American submarine USS Silversides northeast of Rabaul. She received a torpedo hit, which caused so extensive damage that after a temporary repair, a repair in Japan (Yokosuka) was necessary.
Downfall
On May 31, 1944, the Tsugaru was assigned to "Operation KON" (Battle of Biak) , during which it transported reinforcements from Zamboanga in an effort to counteract the American landing . On June 21, after leaving Sorong for the island of Halmahera , the Tsugaru was attacked by the Dutch submarine K-XIV and suffered severe damage. After making temporary repairs, she attempted to reach Manila , but was sighted by the USS Darter on June 29 near Biak . This shot then six torpedoes, two of which met, then the Tsugaru in less than 25 minutes on the position 2 ° 19 ' N , 127 ° 57' O fell, with much of the crew lost their lives. The Tsugaru was removed from the list of ships of the Imperial Navy on August 10, 1944.
Surname
The Tsugaru is named after the armored cruiser of the same name - the former Russian Pallada , which was sunk in the port of Port Arthur on December 8, 1904, later lifted by the Japanese and was in service from August 1908 to April 1922 - the second warship of a Japanese Navy, which bears this name. Named after the Tsugaru Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture at the north end of Honshu .
List of commanders
| No. | Surname | Beginning of the term of office | Term expires | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sea captain Inagaki Yoshiaki | October 22, 1941 | November 30, 1942 | entrusted with building instruction since June 20, 1940 |
| 2. | Sea captain Ichimatsu Takahashi | November 30, 1942 | September 20, 1943 | |
| 3. | Sea captain Nakatsu Seiki | September 20, 1943 | June 29, 1944 |
technical description
hull
The body of the Tsugaru was as riveted flush deck with transom run and was all 124.54 meters long, 15.64 meters wide and was at a full load displacement of 4,471 tons with a draft of 4.94 meters.
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 with one screw each . The top speed was 20 knots (37 km / h ). The maximum travel distance was 9,000 nautical miles (16,668 km) at 10 knots.
crew
The crew had a strength of 445 men.
Armament
Guns
The air-defensive armament consisted of four 12.7 cm guns of the Type 89 with a caliber length of 40 in double mounts and four 2.5 cm type 96 automatic cannons also in double mounts.
The 12.7 cm guns achieved a rate of around 8 rounds per minute and the maximum range was around 9.4 kilometers at a 75 ° elevation. The 24.5 tonne double carriage (type A1 Model 1) could be rotated 360 ° and had an elevation range of −7 ° to + 75 °. The 2.5 cm automatic cannons fired around 110 to 120 rounds per minute in use, the effective range was around 3 kilometers with an 85 ° rise in the barrel. The 1.1 ton double grease could be rotated 360 ° and had an elevation range of −10 ° to + 85 °.
Due to the strong Allied air forces during the Pacific War , the 2.5 cm guns were reinforced. When it went down, this consisted of two double, seven triple and four single mounts with a total of 33 guns.
Mining equipment
For mine laying there were two mine laying rails on the upper deck and four 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 600 type 93 Model 3 sea mines . These anchor mines weighed 700 kg, 100 kg of which was explosives.
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 Tsugaru a board aircraft of the type Kawanishi E7k . This double-decker , officially designated as the Marine Type 94 sea reconnaissance aircraft , with a crew of 3 was launched via a swiveling 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 .
Web links
- Tsugaru class on combinedfleet.com (English)
- Resume the Tsugaru on combinedfleet.com (English)
- Tsugaru class on navypedia.org (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Type-89 12.7 cm cannon. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved June 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Type-96 1-inch automatic cannon . In: navweaps.com. Retrieved June 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Japanese sea mines in WWII. In: navweaps.com. Retrieved June 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Japanese Sonar and Asdic (USNTMJ E-10). (PDF) US Navy Technical Mission to Japan, December 14, 1945, pp. 7 and 11 , accessed June 10, 2020 .
