© 2008-2018 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
Revision 16
16 May 1922:
Osaka. Laid down at Fujinagata Shipbuilding as a second-class WAKATAKE-class destroyer KARUKAYA.
10 March 1923:
LtCdr (later Vice Admiral) Hara Kenzaburo (37) is appointed Chief Equipping Officer (CEO).
19 March 1923:
Launched.
20 August 1923:
Completed and registered in the IJN. LtCdr Hara is the CO.
4 April 1924:
Designated destroyer No. 18.
1 December 1925:
LtCdr Nakahara Tatsuhei (38) assumes joint command of KARUKAYA and D-12 (future YUGAO/PB-46).
1 November 1926:
Lt (later Rear Admiral) Inose Masamichi (40) is appointed CO.
1 December 1927:
Lt (later Vice Admiral) Yano Shikazo (43) is appointed CO.
1 August 1928:
Renamed KARUKAYA.
10 November 1928:
Maizuru. Placed on the First Reserve List. Undergoes repairs and refit.
10 December 1928:
Lt Ito Akira (39) (former CO of HASU) is appointed CO.
11 November 1929:
Lt (later Vice Admiral) Shibuya Shiro (44) is appointed CO.
12 November 1929:
Maizuru. Completes repairs and refit that lasted one year.
1 April 1932:
Lt (later Cdr) Arita Mitsugu (44) assumes command.
25 May 1933:
LtCdr Fujita Tomozo (46) assumes command.
15 November 1933:
LtCdr (later Capt) Ichimon Zenki (48) is appointed CO.
11 January 1934:
LtCdr (RAdm, posthumously) Nakatsu Seiki (44) is appointed CO of KARUKAYA on paper until 1 February.
1 February 1934:
LtCdr Sei Tsuneo (48) is appointed CO.
22 October 1934:
LtCdr (later Capt) Yamakuma Wakihito (48) is appointed CO.
15 November 1935:
LtCdr Sasakawa Hiroshi (50) is appointed CO.
1 December 1936:
Kure. LtCdr Wakabayashi Kazuo (51) is appointed CO. Placed on the First Reserve List. Undergoes repairs and refit.
6 December 1936:
At 1545, comes alongside oiler HAYATOMO after destroyer FUYO who came alongside HAYATOMO at 1530. At 1630, KARUKAYA departs and at 1635, FUYO departs.
1 October 1937:
South China. From 0655 till 0710 auxiliary storeship TENYO MARU No. 2 GO provisions KARUKAYA with fresh food.
1 December 1937:
LtCdr Yoshida Shoichi (52) is appointed CO.
10 May 1938:
DesDiv 16’s KARUKAYA, FUYO and ASAGAO participate in an amphibious assault on Amoy (Xiamen) with Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Koichi Shiozawa’s (32)(former CO of FURUTAKA) 5th Fleet consisting of CruDiv
9's MYOKO (F) and light cruiser TAMA, CruDiv 10's light cruisers TATSUTA and TENRYU, DesRon 5's light cruiser NAGARA, DesDiv 3’s NADAKAZE, SHIMAKAZE, SHIOKAZE, CarDiv 1's KAGA, DesDiv 29’s HAYATE and OITE, SORYU with DesDiv 30’s YAYOI and KISARAGI, auxiliary seaplane tender KAMIKAWA MARU, collier MUROTO, CarDiv 3's seaplane tender KAMOI, auxiliaries SHURI, CHOJU, DELHI, EIKO, IKUTA, KAZAN, KURI, HAYA MARUs and DAIICHI MARU No. 8, NANSHIN MARU No. 8, NANSHIN MARU No. 31, TAIKO, YODATI and auxiliary minelayers ENOSHIMA and ENTO (MAROSHIMA).
At dawn, the 5th Fleet’s warships, including DesDiv 16, bombard Ho-tsu, Ni-chin, and Wu-tung and cover an amphibious assault landing by more than 2,000 troops of the Yokosuka, Kure and Sasebo Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF). At the same time, NE of Xiamen (Amoy), Japanese aircraft from tenders KAMOI and KAMIKAWA MARU bomb bridges, roads, ferries and ships. The poorly equipped Nationalist Chinese 75th
Division defenders suffer heavy casualties, are overrun by the SNLFs and withdraw.
12 May 1938:
That night, Chinese forces abandon Amoy to the Japanese.
1 August 1938:
LtCdr (Capt, posthumously) Senbongi Tomiyo (52) is appointed CO.
15 November 1940:
LtCdr Hanami Kohei (57) is appointed CO.
December 1940 to August 1941:
Kure. Undergoes refit and repairs.
1 September 1941:
LtCdr (later Cdr) Nakao Kotaro (57) is appointed CO.
8 December 1941:
KARUKAYA is assigned to the Chinkai (Korea) Guard District in Cdr (Rear Admiral, posthumously) Yamamoto Iwata’s (46)(former CO of KAGERO) DesDiv 32 with ASAGAO and FUYO.
21 January 1942:
DesDiv 32's KARUKAYA, FUYO and ASAGAO depart Mutsure with CruDiv 9's light cruiser OI escorting transports TATSUNO, FUSHIMI, SOMEDOMO, TAKETOYO, TOFUKU, BRAZIL, COLUMBIA, MAEBASHI, GENOA, HOEISAN, ATSUTA, DAINICHI, TOKIWA, SYDNEY, MOMOYAMA, PACIFIC, KISAN, REIYO AND TSUYAMA MARUs. The transports are carrying the 2nd Infantry Division.
26 January 1942:
Arrives at Mako, Pescadores. Later, the convoy departs for Camranh Bay to mobilize for the Invasion of Java.
17 February 1942:
At 0800 KARUKAYA departs Mutsure with destroyer ASAGAO and minelayer HIRASHIMA escorting No. 56 Army Division Convoy No. 1 Section consisting of NAGARA, NAKO, AOBASAN, HARUNA, KYUSHU and SAKITO MARUs bound south and two ships KINKASAN and TAISHO MARUs bound only for Mako.
20 February 1942:
At 1100 arrives at Mako.
12 April 1942:
Undocked at Pusan and arrives with FUYO at Chinkai.
15 April 1942:
At 0900 FUYO and KARUKAYA depart Chinkai.
16 April 1942:
At 0800 both arrive at Kure.
19 April 1942:
At 0800 KURETAKE, WAKATAKE, KARUKAYA, FUYO and auxiliary cruiser UKISHIMA MARU depart Kure.
20 April 1942:
At 1730 the ships all arrive at Mutsure.
21 April 1942:
At 1400 convoy No. 101 departs Mutsure. The convoy, the first of the Empire-Formosa convoys, consists of BUENOS AIRES MARU, REKIZAN MARU and four unidentified merchant ships escorted by torpedo boat SAGI and destroyers ASAGAO, FUYO and KARUKAYA.
26 April 1942:
At 1230 arrives at Mako.
4 May 1942:
At 1200 departs Mako escorting convoy No. 303 consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.
10 May 1942:
At 1400 arrives at St Jacques.
15 May 1942:
At 1300 departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 402 consisting of ATLANTIC, CHIYO, PENANG, MIYADONO MARUs and two unidentified merchant ships.
21 May 1942:
At 1200 arrives at Mako.
24 May 1942:
At 1200 departs Mako escorting convoy No. 308 consisting of four unidentified merchant ships.
29 May 1942:
At 1100 arrives at St Jacques.
4 June 1942:
At 1200 departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 503 to Singapore consisting of TAIHOKU and MIE MARUs and one unidentified merchant ship.
E 6 June 1942:
Detaches and returns to St Jacques.
8 June 1942:
At 1200 arrives at St Jacques.
10 June 1942:
At 0800 departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 504 to Singapore consisting of MANILA and WASHIN MARUs and one unidentified merchant ship.
13 June 1942:
At 1500 arrives at Singapore.
17 June 1942:
At 1200 departs Singapore escorting convoy No. 609 consisting of WAKATSU MARU and six unidentified merchant ships.
20 June 1942:
At 1600 arrives at St Jacques.
25 June 1942:
At 1200 departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 415 consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.
1 July 1942
At 2000 arrives at Mako.
3 July 1942:
At 1400 departs Mako escorting convoy No. 318 consisting of OGURA MARU No. 1 and three unidentified merchant ships.
9 July 1942
At 1000 arrives at St Jacques.
15 July 1942:
At 1000 departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 513 to Singapore consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.
18 July 1942:
At 1500 arrives at Singapore.
21 July 1942:
At 1000 departs Singapore escorting convoy No. 618 consisting of TAGA MARU and four unidentified merchant ships.
24 July 1942:
At 1000 arrives at St Jacques.
26 July 1942:
At 0800 departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 423 consisting of KISO, BELGIUM and YAMAHAGI MARUs and four unidentified merchant ships.
31 July 1942:
At 2300 arrives at Mako.
6 August 1942:
At 1200 departs Mako escorting convoy No. 326 consisting of YAMAZATO MARU and one unidentified merchant ships.
12 August 1942:
Arrives at St Jacques.
17 August 1942:
At 1400 departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 428 consisting of TEIHOKU (ex French PERSEE), HOKUAN and TACOMA MARUs and six unidentified merchant ships. The convoy splits into two parts after departing port.
21 August 1942:
At 1000 the first part including KARUKAYA arrives at Mako. KARUKAYA is docked at Mako for repairs.
22 August 1942:
The second part arrives at Mako.
31 August 1942:
at 1400 departs Mako escorting convoy No. 332 consisting of BRISBANE, UMEKAWA, YAWATA MARUs and nine unidentified merchant ships.
5 September 1942:
At 1200 arrives at St Jacques.
8 September 1942:
At 1500 departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 434 consisting of eleven unidentified merchant ships.
15 September 1942:
At 1000 arrives at Mako.
19 September 1942:
At 1400 departs Mako for Cap St. Jacques escorting convoy No. 336 consisting of cargo ship TEIBO MARU (ex-Danish NORDBO), HAKKO, HAKUROKU (HAKUSHIKA), KIYO, NIKKYU MARUs and three unidentified merchant ships. The convoy splits into two
parts shortly after departing port.
25 September 1942:
At about 1415, LtCdr Richard V. Gregory’s (USNA ’32) USS SARGO (SS-188) fires six torpedoes at TEIBO MARU. USS SARGO gets two hits; one in No. 3 port side hold and one under the bridge. At 1640 (JST), flooding overwhelms TEIBO MARU and she sinks without casualties at 00-31N, 109-31E (90 km SE of Cap Padaran, Indochina).
Meanwhile at 1200, the first part of the convoy arrives at St Jacques. KARUKAYA departs (date unknown) and conducts an anti submarine sweep before returning to St Jacques.
27 September 1942:
The second part arrives St Jacques.
3 October 1942:
At 0500 departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 440 consisting of KYOKUSEI, HAKUBASAN and MEIGEN MARUs and two unidentified merchant ships.
9 October 1942:
At 1900 arrives at Mako.
13 October 1942:
Lt Masamitsu Yukitaka (60)(former CO of W-7) is appointed CO.
20 October 1942:
At 1200 departs Mako escorting convoy No. 722 consisting of SOURABAYA MARU.
23 October 1942:
At 1300 arrives at Manila.
26 October 1942:
At 0700 departs Manila escorting convoy No. 820 consisting of OTOWASAN, ASAKASAN, TAIEI, TAMISHIMA and KANJO MARUs and one unidentified merchant ship.
29 October 1942:
At 1800 arrives at Mako.
1 November 1942:
At 1300 departs Mako escorting convoy No. 724 consisting of TEIRYU (ex German AUGSBURG), MACASSAR, NISSHU MARUs and one unidentified merchant ship.
4 November 1942:
At 1430 arrives at Manila.
7 November 1942:
At 1300 departs Manila escorting convoy No. 821 consisting of HAVRE, NAGATO and TAKAOKA MARUs and seven unidentified merchant ships.
11 November 1942
At 1640 arrives at Mako.
14 November 1942:
At 1200 departs Mako escorting convoy No. 726 consisting of OREGON, TEIKON (ex German WINNETOU) and BUYO MARUs.
18 November 1942:
OREGON MARU is sunk in 14.50N 119.45E about 58km W of Olongapo by LtCdr (later Rear Admiral) Eugene B. McKinney’s (USNA ’27) USS SALMON. Seven gunners and 74 crewmen are killed. Later that day at 1430 the remainder of the convoy arrives at Manila.
25 November 1942:
At 1500 departs Manila escorting convoy No. 824 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
29 November 1942:
At 1400 arrives at Mako.
4 December 1942:
At 1100 departs Mako escorting convoy No. 729 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
6 December 1942:
At 1530 arrives at Manila.
9 December 1942:
At 0700 departs Manila escorting convoy No. 910 consisting of two unidentified merchant ships.
10 December 1942:
DesDiv 32 is disbanded. KARUKAYA is reassigned to the 1st Surface Escort Division, Southwest Area Fleet.
14 December 1942:
At 1430 arrives at Balikpapan.
17 December 1942:
At 0900 departs Balikpapan on a transport run.
18 December 1942:
At 1500 arrives at Tarakan.
19 December 1942:
At 1730 departs Tarakan escorting Rinji convoy.
22 December 1942:
At 1701 arrives at Manila.
28 December 1942:
At 1500 depart Manila escorting convoy No. 911 consisting of KOSEI MARU and possibly others.
3 January 1943:
At 1240 arrives at Balikpapan.
12 January 1943:
At 0900 departs Manila escorting convoy No. 830 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
15 January 1943:
At 0800 arrives at Takao.
27 January 1943:
At 1103 departs Takao. Off Takao, Formosa. KARUKAYA is damaged by marine casualty while escorting convoy No. 354 south consisting of eight unidentified ships. At 1603 the ship arrives at Mako.
28 January 1943:
At 1500 departs Mako in convoy No. 225 consisting of six unidentified merchant ships.
3 February 1943
At 1930 arrives at Moji.
7 February 1943:
At 1600 departs Moji escorting convoy No. 125 consisting of four unidentified merchant ships.
12 February 1943:
At 1300 arrives at Takao.
17 February 1943:
At 1400 departs Takao escorting convoy No. 232 consisting of SHOGEN MARU.
22 February 1943:
At 2012 arrives at Chinkai.
24 February 1943:
At 0800 departs Chinkai.
25 February 1943:
At 1250 arrives at Maizuru. Docked throughout March.
8 April 1943:
At 1112 departs Maizuru.
9 April 1943:
At 2000 arrives at Moji.
11 April 1943:
At 1400 departs Moji escorting convoy No. 143 consisting of tankers KIYO and RIKKO MARUs, transports CELEBES, BATAVIA, TAGONOURA and NORFOLK MARUs and eight unidentified merchant ships. The convoy splits into two parts shortly after departing.
15 April 1943:
At 1200 the first part including KIYO MARU and three other tankers arrives at Takao.
16 April 1943:
At 0800 the second part including KARUKAYA and BATAVIA, CELEBES and NORFOLK MARUs arrives at Takao.
18 April 1943:
At 1800 departs Takao escorting convoy No. 253 consisting of tankers SHUNTEN and HOKUAN MARUs, cargo ship NICHIRYO MARU and four unidentified merchant ships.
22 April 1943:
At 1530 arrives at Moji.
29 April 1943:
At 1500 departs Moji escorting convoy No. 152 consisting of SEIAN, ATAGO, HAKUBASAN, SHOKO (possibly), BIYO, HAKONE, OTOWASAN, KENSHIN, JUYO MARUs and KYOEI MARU No. 5.
3 May 1943:
At 1910 arrives at Mako.
4 May 1943:
At 0700 KARUKAYA departs Mako and heads to the disaster scene of TAMON MARU.
6 May 1943:
At 1300 arrives back at Mako.
7 May 1943:
At 0900 departs Mako and at 1430 arrives at Takao.
9 May 1943:
At 1100 departs Takao escorting transport ex passenger ship ASAMA MARU.
11 May 1943:
At 2000 arrives at Manila.
13 May 1943:
At 0900 departs Manila escorting convoy No. 3301 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
17 May 1943:
At 1100 arrives at Singapore.
20 May 1943:
At 0900 departs Singapore escorting transport HAKONE MARU.
22 May 1943:
At 1455 arrives at Jakarta.
23 May 1943:
At 1150 departs Jakarta escorting transport ASAMA MARU.
26 May 1943:
At 1000 arrives at Macassar.
3 June 1943:
At 0606 departs Macassar.
6 June 1943:
At 1100 arrives at Singapore.
10 June 1943:
At 1700 departs Singapore in X convoy consisting of liner ASAMA MARU escorted by KARUKAYA.
12 June 1943:
At 0900 arrives at St Jacques.
14 June 1943:
At 1600 departs St Jacques escorting the T convoy consisting of ASAMA MARU. Tanker OTORISAN MARU joins at some point.
17 June 1943:
At 0500, at 14-55N, 118-44E OTORISAN MARU is detached and heads off alone to Manila.
18 June 1943:
At 1500 arrives at Takao.
20 June 1943:
At 1600 departs Takao escorting convoy No. 274 consisting of BOKO (ex British SAGRES), TAIKOKU, FUSEI (ex British FAUSANG), ALASKA, TAIJIN MARUs and three unidentified merchant ships.
24 June 1943:
At 2100 KARUKAYA arrives at Sasebo. Docked for repairs.
25 June 1943:
The convoy arrives at Moji.
2 July 1943:
At 1250, KARUKAYA departs Sasebo, Kyushu for Mako, Pescadores escorting convoy No. 172 consisting of transports MANKO, KOKI, LIVERPOOL, KASHIMA, HAKUBASAN, ATLANTIC, KENWA and TAIKOKU MARUs.
4 July 1943:
At 0230, LtCdr (later Rear Admiral) Charles O. Triebel‘s (USNA ’29) USS SNOOK (SS-279) torpedoes LIVERPOOL and KOKI MARUs. KOKI MARU sinks a few minutes later with the loss of one crewman, but LIVERPOOL MARU stays afloat until about 0600 when she sinks with three crewmen dead. At 0340, LtCdr Triebel torpedoes and damages ATLANTIC MARU that is later towed to Shanghai by TAIKOKU MARU.
6 July 1943:
At 1200 arrives at Mako.
13 July 1943:
At 1200 departs Mako escorting convoy No. 281 consisting of transport GOKOKU MARU, tanker OGURA MARU No. 2 and NITTETSU and MISAKI MARUs and four unidentified merchant ships.
16 July 1943:
At 1702 arrives at Moji.
19 July 1943:
At 1100, KARUKAYA departs Moji escorting convoy HI-03 consisting of transports AWA, NANKAI and SEIA MARUs and oilers NICHINAN (5175 gt) and OMUROSAN MARUs.
22 July 1943:
Formosa Straits. At 0900, fast passenger liner ASAMA MARU joins the convoy. At 2355, SEIA MARU is torpedoed and badly damaged by three of six torpedoes fired in a surface radar attack by LtCdr Eugene T. Sands' (USNA ’30) USS SAWFISH (SS-276). Later, the ship is taken in tow by NICHINAN MARU. Together they head back to Japan. KARUKAYA does not rejoin HI-03 and later arrives at Sasebo.
23 July 1943:
In the morning, AWA and ASAMA MARUs are detached from the convoy and steam ahead.
25 July 1943:
Arrives at Takao. KARUKAYA is detached to assist torpedoed SEIA MARU. Later that day, the other ships arrive. Transport ARIMASAN MARU and kaibokan ETOROFU join the convoy. That same day at 1230 KARUKAYA arrives at Sasebo.
26 July 1943:
At 1600, the convoy departs Takao. Meanwhile at 0700 KARUKAYA departs Sasebo and at 1800 arrives at Moji.
31 July 1943:
At 0800 departs Moji escorting the O convoy consisting of ORYOKU, AKITSU and MIIKE MARUs and two unidentified merchant ships.
4 August 1943
Arrives at Takao escorting Q convoy by this time consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.
8 August 1943:
Departs Takao escorting the T convoy consisting of ORYOKU MARU (from Kirun) and KASHIMA MARU and one unidentified merchant ship.
12 August 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
15 August 1943:
Departs Moji escorting convoy No. 187 consisting of tankers ATAGO, HONAN and KIYO MARUs and RAIZAN, CHOJO, KOYU, KOFUKU MARUs and fleet oiler SHIRIYA and four unidentified merchant ships.
20 August 1943:
At 1600 arrives at Mako.
24 August 1943:
Departs Takao escorting convoy No. 767 consisting of TARUSHIMA, MANSHU, MAEBASHI and SEIZAN MARUs and one unidentified merchant ship.
28 August 1943:
Arrives at Manila.
30 August 1943:
Departs Manila escorting convoy No. 3111 consisting of MAEBASHI, TAIAN, TENCHO MARUs and five unidentified merchant ships.
7 September 1943:
At 1200 arrives at Palau.
11 September 1943:
At 1130 departs Palau escorting convoy No. 3217 consisting of SHOBU, KAZUURA, TACOMA, MITO and SORACHI MARUs.
E 14 September 1943:
SHOBU MARU is detached.
17 September 1943:
At 1128 arrives at Manila.
22 September 1943:
At 0630 departs Manila escorting the RINJI convoy consisting of AKITSU MARU.
23 September 1943
At 1616 arrives at Takao.
28 September 1943:
At 0930 departs Takao escorting convoy No. 207 consisting of LONDON, KOHO, NORFOLK and SHOKEI MARUs and five unidentified merchant ships.
4 October 1943:
At 1930 arrives at Moji.
7 October 1943:
At 1600 departs Moji escorting convoy No. 104 consisting of tanker YAMAMIZU MARU No. 2, cargo ships YOSHIDA MARU No. 3 and HINODE, HIDA and KOSEI MARUs and two unidentified merchant ships.
12 October 1943:
At 2230 arrives at Takao.
15 October 1943:
At 1000 departs Takao on a rescue mission to find survivors from torpedoed ships in convoys No. 107 and HI-13.
16 October 1943:
At 1700 arrives back at Takao.
18 October 1943:
At 1120 departs Takao escorting convoy No. 212 consisting of YAMAKO (SANKO), NANEI and JUYO MARUs and three unidentified merchant ships.
23 October 1943:
At 1515 arrives at Moji.
24 October 1943:
At 1100 departs Moji.
25 October 1943:
At 1100 arrives at Maizuru. Drydocked.
15 November 1943:
KARUKAYA's 1st Surface Escort Division is reassigned from the Southwest Area Fleet to the General Escort Command.
20 November 1943:
At 1000 departs Maizuru.
21 November 1943:
At 1316 arrives at Moji.
23 November 1943:
At 1555 departs Moji escorting convoy No. 116 consisting of TSUSHIMA and NEIKAI MARUs and three unidentified merchant ships.
28 November 1943:
At 1750 arrives at Takao.
4 December 1943:
At 1700 departs Takao escorting Rinji J Convoy consisting of TOFUKU MARU, YOSHIDA MARU No. 3 and probably others. The convoy is bound for Moji.
9 December 1943:
At 1600, KARUKAYA, having detached, arrives at Sasebo. Docked for repairs.
mid December 1943:
Sasebo. Undergoes refit and repairs.
18 December 1943:
At 0700 departs Sasebo and joins up with convoy No. 122 consisting of SHOBU, PEKING (3011 gt) and RONSAN MARUs and four unidentified merchant ships also escorted by torpedo boat MANAZURU.
23 December 1943:
At 0900 arrives at Takao.
26 December 1943:
At 1100 departs Takao escorting convoy No. 230 consisting of SEIZAN, SUGIYAMA, TATSUHA and TOYOKUNI MARUs and three unidentified merchant ships.
1 January 1944:
At 0000 the convoy arrives at Moji.
7 January 1944:
At 1500, KARUKAYA departs Moji for Takao with minesweeper W-27 escorting convoy No. 127 consisting of ASUKA, YAHIKO, GETSUYO, NIKKI, TOYOKUNI, KINREI, ROKKO and IKUTAGAWA MARUs.
10 January 1944:
At about 1230, on the surface in heavy weather, LtCdr Royce L. Gross' (USNA ’30) USS SEAWOLF (SS-197) attacks the convoy. Gross torpedoes and damages YAHIKO MARU, then torpedoes ASUKA MARU that sinks at 1239. The ship was carrying 92 passengers, bombs, calcium carbide and dynamite. 15 passengers, two Gunners, one watchman and 20 crewmen are killed. KARUKAYA and GETSUYO MARU, working in the storm, rescue 105 survivors. GETSUYO MARU then tows YAHIKO MARU towards Naha, Okinawa, but USS SEAWOLF tracks them and again torpedoes YAHIKO MARU. Hit by two more torpedoes, she sinks at 2345. The ship was carrying Army airfield construction workers. 141 out of 193 passengers, 23 gunners and 33 crewmen are killed.
11 January 1944:
At 27-18N 127-40E about 43km NW of Iheya Shima GETSUYO MARU is also torpedoed and sunk by USS SEAWOLF. Four passengers and 16 crewmen are killed.
12 January 1944:
At 1110, the convoy arrives at Naha. At 1230 KARUKAYA departs Naha and for the next three days undertakes a submarine hunt.
15 January 1944:
At 1930, the convoy departs Naha.
18 January 1944:
At 1455, arrives at Takao.
20 January 1944:
At 1930 KARUKAYA departs Takao on a submarine hunt.
22 January 1944:
At 0835 arrives back at Takao.
23 January 1944:
At 1400 departs Takao escorting a combined sailing of convoy No. 354, "Y" Convoy and TE-01 consisting of JUYO, YOSHU, SHIKISAN, WAZAN (ex British VITORLOCK), BELGIUM MARUs, (No.354), WAKA, ROKKO MARUs (Y
Convoy), KINREI, TOYOKUNI MARUs (TE-01) and four unidentified merchant ships. KARUKAYA escorts convoy No. 354, torpedo boat KARI escorts the Y convoy and destroyer SHIOKAZE escorts the TE-01 convoy.
24 January 1944:
The "Y" convoy is detached for Hong Kong.
26 January 1944:
The TE-01 convoy is detached for Yulin.
29 January 1944:
At 0825 arrives at St Jacques.
1 February 1944:
At 2000 departs St Jacques escorting convoy SATA-01 consisting of TATSUWA, SHORYU and RAKUTO MARUs and three unidentified merchant ships.
5 February 1944:
Early morning. Arrives at Yulin. KARUKAYA is detached and auxiliary gunboat HUASHAN (KAZAN) MARU takes over escort. KARUKAYA undertakes a submarine sweep and provides distant support for convoy No. 357 consisting of TSUKUBA, ANKO, TOTTORI, NORFOLK, ARABIA, USSURI, AKAGISAN, HAWAII MARUs, TONAN MARU No. 2 and four unidentified merchant ships also escorted by submarine chasers CH-41 and CH-43.
8 February 1944:
At 1200 KARUKAYA arrives at Camranh Bay.
9 February 1944:
At 1030 KARUKAYA departs Camranh Bay still escorting convoy No. 357 but after TONAN MARU No. 2 is attacked and damaged in 11-30N 109-08E by USS BONEFISH near Camranh Bay, the destroyer detaches and begins a submarine hunt.
10 February 1944:
At 0700 arrives at St Jacques.
12 February 1944:
At 1000 convoy SASHI-03 consisting of TOTTORI, KUNIYAMA, NORFOLK, SHIKISAN, YOSHU, ARABIA, USSURI, AKAGISAN, HAWAII MARUs and tanker TONAN MARU No. 2 escorted by KARUKAYA departs St Jacques.
15 February 1944:
At 1700 arrives at Singapore. Undergoes repairs.
20 February 1944:
At 1400 departs Singapore escorting the SHIMI-01 RINJI convoy consisting of four unidentified merchant ships.
22 February 1944:
At 1956 locates an enemy submarine and begins a hunt.
24 February 1944:
At 1600 KARUKAYA arrives back at Singapore.
25 February 1944:
SHIMI-01 arrives at Miri. That same day at 1140 KARUKAYA departs Singapore alone.
27 February 1944:
At 1300 arrives at Miri.
28 February 1944:
At 1600 departs Miri with destroyer KURETAKE escorting convoy MIMA-03 consisting of tankers SAN DIEGO, TAKETSU (BUTSU), NITTETSU, YAMAKO (SANKO), NICHINAN (5175 gt) MARUs and five unidentified merchant ships.
4 March 1944:
At 1445 arrives at Manila.
5 March 1944:
Lt Shimada Kiyozo (62) is appointed CO.
7 March 1944:
At 1200 departs Manila with minesweeper W-17 escorting convoy MATA-10 consisting of YAMAKO (SANKO), KENWA, KOHO, SORACHI, TACHIBANA, NITTETSU, SAN DIEGO, TAKETSU (BUTSU), TARUYASU (ex British TALTHYBIUS), TAITO MARUs and OGURA MARU No. 1.
12 March 1944:
At 1200 arrives at Takao. KARUKAYA diverts to Mako and is docked.
15 March 1944:
At 0640 departs Mako and at 1215 arrives at Takao. At 1700 departs Takao escorting convoy TAMA-11A consisting of KUNIKAWA MARU and one unidentified merchant ship.
16 March 1944:
NW of the Philippines. At about 2100, LtCdr (later Cdr) Lowell T. Stone's (USNA ’29) USS LAPON (SS-260) carries out an unsuccessful surface radar attack on KUNIKAWA MARU. KARUKAYA reports an encounter
with an enemy submarine.
18 March 1944:
At 1200 arrives at Manila.
20 March 1944:
At 0600 departs Manila for Miri with auxiliary subchasers CHa-45, CHa-55, CHa-70 escorting convoy MAMI-05 consisting of tankers SAN PEDRO, CHIYODA and KONSAN MARUs and two unidentified merchant ships.
25 March 1944:
At 1100 arrives at Miri.
30 March 1944:
At 1600 departs Miri escorting convoy MIMA-06 consisting of KONSAN and SAN PEDRO MARUs and two unidentified merchant ships.
4 April 1944:
At 1200 arrives at Manila.
7 April 1944:
At 0900 Departs Manila with torpedo boat SAGI and auxiliary submarine chaser CHa-9 escorting convoy MATA-17 consisting of SUGIYAMA, CHIYODA and KONSAN MARUs and two unidentified merchant ships.
11 April 1944:
At 0835 arrives at Takao.
13 April 1944 :
At 1200 departs Takao with auxiliary gunboat PEKING MARU escorting convoy TAMO-16 (that has combined with convoy TAMO-13) consisting of TOYO MARU No. 3, HAKUSHIKA, HIOKI, NORFOLK, HAWAII, OYO, KONSAN and YASUKUNI MARUs, KOTO MARU No.2 GO and six unidentified merchant ships. Soon after departing TOYO MARU No. 3 straggles, unable to maintain the convoy’s speed. At an unknown point PEKING MARU detaches.
16 April 1944:
TOYO MARU No. 3 rejoins the convoy.
19 April 1944:
TOYO MARU No. 3 after straggling rejoins again the convoy. This ship arrives later that day at Azuchi Oshima, Nagasaki Prefecture.
20 April 1944:
The convoy arrives at Moji. Meanwhile at 0800 KARUKAYA had detached with PEKING MARU and later that day arrives at Sasebo. Undergoes repairs.
1 May 1944:
At 0500 destroyer SHIOKAZE and kaibokan KURAHASHI (part way only), CD-13 and CH-37, torpedo boat HATO, auxiliary gunboat PEKING MARU and other unidentified warships depart Moji escorting convoy MI-03
consisting of cargo ships RYUKA, DAITEN, DAIRIN, SHOHEI, NIKKO, ETAJIMA, DAIJUN, SHINNO, TOUN, KENWA and DAISEI MARUs, SHINSEI MARU No. 1, tankers ZUIYO, ATAGO, CHIYODA, KOTOKU, SHUNTEN MARUs, EIYO MARU No. 2
and OGURA MARU No. 2 and UNKAI MARU No. 5. The convoy sails with convoy TE-05 consisting of YAMADORI, HIYORI, HIOKI, KOKUSEI, HIKACHI, NICHIWA, SHONAN MARUs, and KYOEI MARU No.2 escorted by kaibokan CD-1, CD-8, CD-20, and auxiliary netlayer KAINAN MARU. The convoy will detach to Kirun.
2 May 1944:
KARUKAYA departs Sasebo and joins the convoy.
7 May 1944:
Arrives at Saei near Takao. HIYORI and HIOKI MARUs are detached and coast defence ship CD-1 and destroyer ASAGAO join. At 1900 departs for Manila.
E 9 May 1944:
Kaibokan KURAHASHI probably joins the escort.
10 May 1944:
150 miles NW of Manila, Luzon. Cdr (later Rear Admiral) James C. Dempsey's (USNA ’31) USS COD (SS-224) attacks the large convoy. At 0647, Dempsey torpedoes and hits KARUKAYA. Her stacks collapse and she sags amidships, her back broken. A second torpedo hits her fantail. At 0655, she sinks at 15-47N, 119-32E. Thirteen crewmen are KIA and 60 MIA, not including Lt Shimada.
Dempsey then torpedoes and sinks transport SHOHEI MARU. The ship was loaded with 850 passengers, AA ammunition, mines, and torpedoes. 12 passengers and eight crewmen are KIA.
10 July 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.
Authors' Note:
Thanks to Gilbert Casse of France.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
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