© 2006-2015 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
Revision 3
20 August 1944:
Tamano. Laid down at Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding’s shipyard.
1 September 1944:
Named HABUSHI.
20 November 1944:
Launched.
January 1945:
HABUSHI is fitted with a Type 13 air-search radar set.
10 January 1945:
Completed and registered in the Kure Naval District. Reserve Cdr Matsushima Minoru is the Commanding Officer. Attached to the Kure Guard Unit.
19 January 1945:
Arrives at Saeki. Begins training.
21 January 1945:
Assigned to the General Escort Command’s First Escort Fleet
25 January 1945:
Departs Moji. Escorts unidentified convoys to Shanghai and Takao.
23 February 1945:
Departs Kure.
24 February 1945:
At 0700 arrives at Moji.
26 February 1945:
At 0300 HABUSHI departs Moji with kaibokan CD-112 and CD-76 and submarine chaser CH-17 escorting convoy MOTA-39 consisting of MASASHIMA and AKISHIMA MARUs and three unidentified merchant ships.
27 February 1945:
At 1900 anchors in Maro Sea, Chosen.
28 February 1945:
At 0800 departs Maro Sea.
1 March 1945:
Reassigned to the General Escort Command’s First Surface Escort Division.
3 March 1945:
At 0630 arrives at Ssu Chiao Shan.
4 March 1945:
Departs Ssu Chiao Shan and later that day anchors in the East Chusan Islands.
5 March 1945:
Departs East Chusan Islands and later that day arrives at Sanmen Bay.
6 March 1945:
Departs Sanmen Wan and later that day arrives at Hutou Yu.
7 March 1945:
Departs Hutou Yu and later that day arrives and anchors east of Incog Islands.
8 March 1945:
Departs Incog Islands. MASASHIMA and AKISHIMA MARUs are detached to Amoy.
9 March 1945:
At 1500 arrives at Kirun (Keelung).
14 March 1945:
At 0200 HABUSHI departs Keelung with kaibokan CD-76 and CD-112 escorting convoy TAMO-48 consisting of an unknown number of unidentified merchant ships.
15 March 1945:
At 1700 arrives at Pei Lung Shan.
16 March 1945:
At 0700 departs Pei Lung Shan. At 2300 arrives at Sanmen Wan.
17 March 1945:
At 0700 departs Sanmen Wan. At 2200 anchors east of Chusan Islands.
18 March 1945:
At 0700 departs Chusan Islands. At 1800 arrives south of Chinshan.
19 March 1945:
At 0500 departs Chinshan.
20 March 1945:
At 2000 arrives at Chin To.
21 March 1945:
At 0700 departs Chin To. At 2000 arrives at Koje Is (Kyosai To)
22 March 1945:
At 0700 departs Koje Island and at 1935 arrives at Mutsure.
23 March 1945:
At 0710 departs Mutsure and at 0800 arrives at Moji.
25 March 1945:
At 1900 departs Moji on an anti submarine sweep.
8 April 1945:
Ten miles S of Woosung, China. HABUSHI strikes a mine laid by USAAF aircraft and suffers damage.
At 1753, USN codebreakers intercept and decrypt a message from HABUSHI that reads: “Struck magnetic mine in vicinity ---- lighted buoy at 1104 and unable to navigate. Arrived Shanghai under tow. No flooding. All of ---- search receiver, and sounding gear, one generator, and part of main engines broken down -----.”
8 April - 10 June 1945:
Shanghai. Undergoes repairs.
25 April 1945:
Reassigned to the General Escort Command’s 103rd Escort Squadron.
10 June 1945:
Repairs are completed and HABUSHI departs Shanghai.
2 July 1945:
Arrives at Sasebo. Drydocked.
10 July 1945:
Reassigned to the Seventh Fleet.
28 July 1945:
Sasebo. Aircraft of Admiral (later Fleet Admiral) William F. Halsey, Jr.’s (USNA ’04) Third Fleet’s Task Force 38 damage HABUSHI and kaibokan CD-44.
9 August 1945:
S coast of Chosen (Korea). Arrives at Kyosai Island.
15 August 1945:
Kyosai Island. HABUSHI’s crew is notified of the termination of the war.
5 October 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
9 October 1945:
Departs Kure on her first repatriation voyage.
12 October 1945:
Arrives at Koniya. Embarks troops and passengers to be repatriated.
13 October 1945:
Departs Koniya.
15 October 1945:
Arrives at Hakata. Disembarks troops and passengers.
19 October 1945:
Undergoes repairs at Uranosaki.
14 November 1945:
Departs Uranosaki.
30 November 1945:
Departs Hakata and later that day arrives at Amami O-Shima. Embarks troops and passengers to be repatriated and departs.
1 December 1945:
Officially assigned to the Allied Repatriation Service as a special cargo ship. [1]
2 December 1945:
Arrives at Hakata. Disembarks troops and passengers.
7 December 1945:
Departs Hakata and later that day arrives and departs from Amami O-Shima.
8 December 1945:
Arrives at Hakata. Disembarks troops and passengers.
20 December 1945:
Departs Sasebo.
21 December 1945:
Arrives at Amami O-Shima. Embarks troops and passengers to be repatriated.
25 December 1945:
Departs Amami O-Shima.
26 December 1945:
Arrives at Kagoshima. Disembarks troops and passengers.
4 January 1946:
Departs Kagoshima.
6 January 1946:
Arrives at Amami O-Shima. Embarks troops and passengers to be repatriated and departs later that day.
7 January 1946:
Arrives at Kagoshima. Disembarks troops and passengers.
10 January 1946:
Departs Kagoshima.
11 January 1946:
Arrives at Saeki and departs later that day.
13 January 1946:
Arrives at Sasebo and departs later that day.
14 January 1946:
Arrives at Kagoshima. Disembarks troops and passengers and departs later that day.
16 January 1946:
Arrives at Kirun (Keelung). Embarks troops and passengers to be repatriated.
18 January 1946:
Departs Kirun.
20 January 1946:
Arrives at Kagoshima. Disembarks troops and passengers.
22 January 1946:
Departs Kagoshima.
24 January 1946:
Arrives at Miyako. Embarks troops and passengers to be repatriated and departs later that day.
26 January 1946:
Arrives at Kirun and departs later that day.
28 January 1946:
Arrives at Kagoshima. Disembarks troops and passengers.
5 February 1946:
Undergoes repairs at Kasado Dockyard.
5 March 1946:
Completes repairs.
13 March 1946:
Departs Kagoshima.
15 March 1946:
Arrives at Kirun. Embarks troops and passengers to be repatriated and departs later that day.
19 March 1946:
Arrives at Kagoshima. Disembarks troops and passengers.
22 March 1946:
Departs Kagoshima.
24 March 1946:
Arrives at Kirun. Embarks troops and passengers to be repatriated and departs later that day.
27 March 1946:
Arrives at Kagoshima. Disembarks troops and passengers.
6 September 1947:
Kure. Ceded to the United States as a war reparation.
13 October 1947:
Begins scrapping.
Authors' Note:
[1] Allied occupation forces were responsible for the return of six million Japanese military personnel and civilians from Japan's defunct far-flung Empire. In addition, there were over a million Korean and about 40,000 Chinese prisoners and conscript laborers and approximately 7,000 Formosans and 15,000 Ryukyu Islanders to be repatriated.
Some Allied and many former IJN warships, from aircraft carriers to kaibokan, were used to facilitate the enormous repatriation effort. Japanese vessels and crews were used to the fullest extent possible to conserve Allied manpower and accelerate demobilization. Each ex-IJN ship first had to be demilitarized; guns removed or, in the case of large warships, barrels severed, ammunition landed, and radar and catapults removed, if fitted. Repatriation of the Chinese on Japanese ships began early in October from Hakata, but U.S. guard detachments had to be placed on many ships to prevent disorder because the Japanese crews could not control the returnees.
Japanese-run repatriation centers were established at Kagoshima, Hario near Sasebo, and Hakata near Fukuoka. Other reception centers were established and operated at Maizuru, Shimonoseki, Sasebo, Senzaki, Kure, Uraga, Yokohama, Moji and Hakodate. Allied line and medical personnel supervised the centers. Incoming Japanese were sprayed with DDT, examined and inoculated for typhus and smallpox, provided with food, and transported to his final destination in Japan.
Thanks go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan and to Mr Gilbert Casse of France. Thanks also go to Jeff Donahoo of Iowa for help in identifying kaibokan COs. Thanks also go to the late John Whitman of Virginia, USA for info on CNO intercepts of Japanese messages.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.
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