Japanese Cable-Layers

Tokusetsu Densenfusetsusen
(USMP HARRISON (later HARUSHIMA MARU, then IJN HARUSHIMA)

IJN Cable-Layer HARUSHIMA: Tabular Record of Movement
© 2011 Bob Hackett

E 1918:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Laid down by Fabricated Shipbuilding and Coddington Engineering Company as a 700-ton SPEEDWELL-class mine planter (USAMP) for the U. S. Army.
E 1919:
Launched and named USAMP Col. GEORGE F. E. HARRISON. [1]
1919:
Completed and commissioned in the U. S. Army.
July 1935: Philippines. USAMP HARRISON is based on Corregidor Island as a detachment of the Coast Artillery. Most Army personnel in the Philippines at this time are stationed at Ft. Mills, Corregidor. The overall population on Corregidor is about 9,000.
1937-1940:
Corregidor. USAMP HARRISON is a detachment of the 59th Coast Artillery. First Lt Harry John Harrison, USA is CO. HARRISON has a complement of seven officers and 40 enlisted men. The mine planter docks at Corregidor’s North Dock and maintains the minefield in the North Channel of Manila Bay (the USN maintained the South Channel minefields, from Cavite). [2]
10 December 1941: Operation "M" - The Invasion of the Northern Philippines:
Vice Admiral Takahashi Ibo's Philippine Seizure Force lands at Aparri and Vigan.
9 April 1942:
Bataan. MajGen Edward King, USA, surrenders the starving and cutoff Luzon Force. American ships are scuttled and facilities at Mariveles are demolished to prevent their use by the Japanese.
6 May 1942:
Corregidor and the Manila Bay forts surrender to the Japanese.
May 1942:
USAMP HARRISON is captured by the Japanese. Renamed HARUSHIMA MARU. [3]
May-July 1942:
Probably towed to Cavite Navy Yard. Repaired and reconditioned.
15 July 1942:
Registered in the Sasebo Naval District.
19 October 1942:
Classified as an auxiliary cable ship.
15 July 1943:
Reclassified as a cable ship and renamed IJN HARUSHIMA.
15 August 1943:
HARUSHIMA MARU is attached to the Southeast Area Fleet, Combined Fleet.
29 August 1943:
HARUSHIMA MARU departs Mako for Moji in convoy No. 297 consisting of DURBAN, KOKKO, FUSEI and BANSHU MARUs, plus one unidentified (probably SHOTO MARU), escorted by torpedo boat SAGI.
3 September 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
8 September 1943:
IJN Cdr Amano Takashi is posted Commanding Officer.
14 September 1943:
Cdr Amano arrives and assumes command.
15 September 1943:
The Navigation Officer (XO), five warrant officers, noncommissioned officers and 63 sailors are embarked.
16 September 1943:
The entire ship is disinfected.
17 September 1943:
At Yokohama. A Yokosuka harbor service section tugboat tows HARUSHIMA MARU to Yokosuka (Nagaura).
18 September 1943:
Loads warship health care supplies.
19 September 1943:
Loads warship health care supplies and assorted goods.
1 October 1943:
Loads assorted goods.
5 October 1943:
Cdr Yamashita Masaziru arrives and assumes command.
9 October 1943:
Yokosuka Navy yard. Center of gravity tests are performed.
15 October 1943:
Departs Yokosuka and later that day arrives at Ishikawajima shipyard, Tokyo.
11 November 1943:
Enters dock.
4 November 1943:
Loads warship supplies and assorted goods.
18 November 1943:
Undocked.
14 December 1943:
Departs Ishikawajima. Conducts operational verification tests and returns to Ishikawajima.
21 December 1943:
Completes remodeling and repairs. Departs Ishikawajima and later that day arrives at Yokosuka.
22 December 1943:
Loads warship health care supplies.
25 December 1943:
Attached to the Fourth Fleet, Combined Fleet.
26 December 1943:
Departs Yokosuka.
27 December 1943:
Arrives at Toba.
28 December 1943:
Departs Toba.
29 December 1943:
Arrives at Osaka.
2 January 1944:
Loads electrical wire at Nippon Shore Cable Co., Ltd.
3 January 1944:
Departs Osaka.
4 January 1944:
Arrives at Toba.
6 January 1944:
Departs Toba, but encounters heavy weather. Arrives back at Toba.
7 January 1944:
Departs Toba again, but still encounters heavy weather and discontinues cable laying work. Arrives back at Toba.
9 January 1944:
Departs Toba. Encounters good weather and lays electric wire. Arrives back at Toba.
10 January 1944:
Departs Toba, and arrives at Yokkaichi. Suffers a rudder machinery breakdown (deformation of the port machinery high pressure piston). Moors at the fuel factory quay.
11 January 1944:
Refuels at the harbor service section quay.
12 January 1944:
Departs Yokkaichi. Arrives at Toba.
16 January 1944:
Departs Toba.
17 January 1944:
Arrives at Osaka.
19 January 1944:
Loads electrical wire at Nippon Shore Cable Co., Ltd.
20 January 1944:
Loads water and electric wire.
21 January 1944:
Departs Osaka.
22 January 1944:
Ise bay. In the open sea, again suffers a rudder machinery breakdown (this time, a high pressure sliding valve entrance basket crack in her port machinery). Steams ahead at crawling speed.
24 January 1944:
Arrives outside Tateyama Bay, then departs and arrives at Yokosuka.
31 January 1944:
Yokosuka Navy Yard. Begins repairs of malfunctioning port machinery.
2 February 1944:
Undergoes system repairs, hull care and maintenance. Later that day, arrives at Nagaura.
8 February 1944:
Loads sustenance item stores.
14 February 1944:
Loads warship health care supplies.
15 February 1944:
Reclassified as a submarine chaser and assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District. Attached to the Yokosuka Guard Force.
17 February 1944:
Arrives at Nagaura and then departs. Conducts main machinery trial run in Tokyo Bay.
19 February 1944:
Arrives at Nagaura.
21 February 1944:
Departs Nagaura and arrives at Tateyama. Conducts training.
22 February 1944:
HARUSHIMA MARU steams out of Uraga and escorts damaged subchaser CH-52. Later that day both arrive at Tateyama.
23 February 1944:
Departs Tateyama. Conducts an anti-submarine patrol in Sagami Bay. Arrives back at Tateyama.
24 February 1944:
Departs Tateyama. Conducts an anti-submarine patrol in Sagami Bay. Arrives back at Tateyama.
25 February 1944:
Departs Tateyama and arrives at Nagaura.
26 February 1944:
Loads water and coal. Departs Nagaura and arrives at Tateyama.
1 March 1944:
Departs Uraga, Conducts Mobilization training. Later, arrives at Tateyama.
2 March 1944:
Departs Tateyama. Conducts Mobilization training and arrives at Uraga.
4 March 1944:
Departs Uraga, Conducts an anti-submarine patrol at the entrance to Tokyo Bay and returns to Uraga.
7 March 1944:
Departs Uraga. Conducts four patrol segments. Escorts convoy No. 8306.
8 March 1944:
Conducts an anti-submarine sweep and returns to Uraga.
9 March 1944:
Departs Uraga on patrol. Arrives back at Uraga.
10 March 1944:
Departs Uraga. Escorts a convoy.
11 March 1944:
Conducts an anti-submarine sweep.
12 March 1944:
Escorts an unknown convoy.
13 March 1944:
Conducts an anti-submarine sweep.
15 March 1944:
Arrives at Nagaura. Auxiliary communications cable layer OGASAWARA MARU comes alongside.
16-17 March 1944:
Loads electric wire aboard OGASAWARA MARU.
19 March 1944:
OGASAWARA MARU comes alongside again. The two ships separate at Nagaura. Conducts Mobilization training and returns to Uraga.
22 March 1944:
Arrives at Uraga.
23-24 March 1944:
Conducts an anti-submarine sweep.
25 March 1944:
Arrives at Osaka.
26-27 March 1944:
Loads electrical wire from Nippon Shore Cable Co., Ltd.
28 March 1944:
Departs Osaka. Conducts an anti-submarine sweep.
31 March 1944:
Arrives at Nagaura.
5 April 1944:
Loads food loading and devices for protection against the cold.
6 April 1944:
Loads warship supplies.
7 April 1944:
Loads coal.
8 April 1944:
Loads assorted goods.
9 April 1944:
Loads assorted goods and services weapons.
11 April 1944:
Departs Nagaura. Conducts an anti-submarine sweep, then arrives at Katsuura, Honshu.
12 April 1944:
Conducts an anti-submarine sweep.
14 April 1944:
Arrives at Yato.
15 April 1944:
Conducts an anti-submarine sweep. Later, arrives at Kawachi Bay, Honshu.
16 April 1944:
Departs Kawachi Bay. Later that day, arrives at Ominato. Attached to the North East Surface Fleet’s Kuriles Special Area Base Force.
18 April 1944:
Loads electrical wire.
22-24 April 1944:
Weapons are serviced.
25 April 1944:
Departs Ominato. Conducts an anti-submarine sweep.
26 April 1944:
Conducts an anti-submarine sweep in the open sea near the mouth of the Mitsuishi River, Hokkaido.
27 April 1944:
Conducts an anti-submarine sweep; then arrives at Kushiro, Hokkaido.
28 April 1944:
Replenishes fresh water and takes on fuel.
29 April 1944:
Arrives at unidentified “Single Comb Bay” location.
5 May 1944:
Scheduled to arrive at Kataoka.
10 July 1944:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
1 August 1944:
Departs Yokosuka.
23 January 1945:
Arrives at unidentified “Mark arrow” location.
19 April 1945:
Departs Yokosuka. About seven nms SW of castle island lighthouse, attacked by a P-51 “Mustang” fighter plane. Strafed and set afire which is quickly extinguished. Arrives at Ito. Undergoes temporary repairs.
2 July 1945:
Departs Ito.
14 July 1945:
Arrives at Yokosuka Navy Yard. Placed on small coastal work order with a schedule completion of 4 Aug '45.
18 July 1945:
Yokosuka Naval Base. Grumman TBF "Avenger" torpedo-bombers and F6F "Hellcat" fighter-bombers from Task Force 38's USS ESSEX (CV-9), RANDOLPH (CV-15), SHANGRI-LA (CV-38) and BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24) strike the Tokyo area. The planes’ primary target is battleship NAGATO which is damaged.
HARUSHIMA MARU moored next to NAGATO receives a direct hit, breaks in two and sinks. TF 38 planes also sink training ship (ex-armored cruiser) KASUGA, escort destroyer YAEZAKURA (60% complete), submarine I-372, auxiliary patrol vessels Pa-37, Pa-110 and Pa-122.
3 May 1947:
Removed from the Navy List.

Author’s Note:
[1] Named for the first American governor of the Philippines. Some sources list her as USAMP Gen. GEORGE F. E. HARRISON, probably incorrectly.
[2] The minefields did not contain horned contact mines; rather bottom laid mines controlled from shore through control panels linked by cables to the mines. Since the mines were triggered by human controllers, friendly shipping could safely pass, but the controllers could detonate the mines when an enemy target was in the kill zone. Securing the control panels from the Japanese was a high priority for U. S. Airborne troops in the recapture of Corregidor.
[3] Japanese sources conflict as to exactly where HARRISON was captured. Some say Mariveles, Bataan, others say Corregidor. It is also unclear whether HARRISON was captured afloat, bombed or scuttled; most probably the latter.
-Bob Hackett

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