Un'yō
|
|
|---|---|
| Ship data | |
| Keel laying | December 14, 1938 |
| Launch | October 31, 1939 |
| Commissioning | July 1940 |
| modification | November 25, 1941 - May 31, 1942 |
| Reinstatement | May 31, 1942 |
| Whereabouts | Sunk on September 17, 1944 by the submarine USS Barb |
| Technical specifications | |
| Type | Escort aircraft carrier |
| class | Taiyō class |
| Displacement | 17,830 ts empty 19,500 ts fully loaded |
| length | 173.70 m on the waterline 180.40 m over everything |
| width | 22.50 m |
| Draft | 7.74 m |
| Propulsion system |
|
| speed | 21 kn (39 km / h) |
| Range | 6500 nm (12,000 km) at 18 kn (33 km / h) According to other sources 8,500 nm (15,700 km) |
| crew | 850 men |
| Armament | 4 x 12.7 cm Flak 64 × 25 mm Flak 10 × 13.2 mm Fla - MK |
| Armor | 25 mm side armor over the engine rooms and magazines |
| Planes | 27 |
The Un'yō ( Japanese 雲 鷹 , dt. " Cloud Falcon ") was an escort aircraft carrier which was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II .
She belonged with the Taiyō and the Chūyō to the Taiyō class, which consisted of passenger ships converted to escort carriers, here the Yawata Maru .
Construction and remodeling
The Yawata Maru ( 八 幡 丸 ) was a passenger ship of the Nippon Yūsen shipping company , laid down in December 1938 in the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki , where she was launched in October 1939 and put into service in July 1940. It was confiscated by the Imperial Japanese Navy in October 1941 for the transport of military equipment and personnel .
After the Battle of Midway it was decided to convert it to an escort aircraft carrier. The conversion was carried out in the Kure naval shipyard between November 25, 1941 and May 31, 1942. Her new name became Un'yō .
Its flight deck measured 150 m × 23 m with two elevators. She had no launch catapults or landing gear. As with all Japanese escort carriers, only planes could take off on the Un'yō , 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.
Mission history
The Un'yō was mainly used for flight training and aircraft transport. She often drove in association with her sister ships Taiyō and Chūyō.
On July 10, 1943, she was hit by a single torpedo from the submarine USS Halibut off Truk .
On January 10, 1944, on the way to Yokosuka , she was hit by three torpedoes from the USS Haddock and badly damaged. While it was in front of Saipan for repairs, another attack by the USS Halibut on January 23, 1944 was successfully repulsed. In June 1944 she was put back into service.
On September 17, 1944, the Un'yō was hit by two torpedoes from the USS Barb . All attempts by the crew to avoid the ship's sinking were unsuccessful. Of the approx. 1000 people on board, 761 were rescued.
Commanders
| Chief Equipment Officer - Captain Keisho Minato | December 10, 1941 - May 31, 1942 |
| Kpt. Keishō Minato ( 湊 慶 譲 ) | May 31, 1942 - January 28, 1943 |
| Captain Ichirō Aitoku ( 相 徳 一郎 ) | January 28, 1943 - April 14, 1943 |
| Kpt.Ikuya Seki ( 関 郁 乎 ) | April 14, 1943 - March 1, 1944 |
| Captain Shirō Hiratsuka ( 平 塚 四郎 ) | March 1, 1944 - July 1, 1944 |
| Kpt.Ikuzō Kimura ( 木村 行 蔵 ) | July 1, 1944 - September 17, 1944 |
See also
literature
- Dr. Bak József et al. (1984): Hadihajók. Típuskönyv. Zrínyi Katonai Kiadó. ISBN 963-326-326-3
Web links
- Ships Taiyo class (Engl.)
- Aircraft carrier of World War II (Engl.)
- Taiyo class (Engl.)
- Motion profile of the Un'yō (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ^ Ingo Bauernfeind: Escort aircraft carrier - USA, England, Japan 1939-1945 . Motorbuchverlag Verlag, Stuttgart 2013. 98-99.