KOKAI HOKAN!
(KONGOSAN MARU, prewar)
IJN KONGOSAN MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2023 Gilbert Casse, Berend van der Wal and Peter Cundall
30 August 1927:
Uraga. Laid down by Uraga Senkyo K.K. shipyard for Chosen Yusen K.K. as a 2,116-tons cargo ship.
21 December 1927:
Launched and named KONGOSAN MARU.
19 February 1928:
Completed and registered at Jinsen, Chosen (now Inchon, South Korea) with a Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) of 2,116-tons and a Net Registered Tonnage (NRT) of 1,234 tons. Her ship number is 1,276 and call sign PHGB. In service on the Hanshin, Busan (Fuzan), Chosen (now Pusan, South Korea), North Chosen (now North Korea) E coast and Urajio (Vladivostok), Soviet Union route. [1]
1 December 1932:
Her call sign is changed to JQIB.
1938:
Her GRT and NRT are respectively changed to 2,119-tons and 1,233-tons. [1]
30 January 1940:
Her ownership is changed to Nihonkai Kisen K.K. and registered home port to Tokyo. Her ship number is changed to 47,028 and her call sign to JDKO.
4 December 1940:
Requisitioned by the IJN.
16 December 1940:
Registered as an auxiliary gunboat attached to the Maizuru Naval district under instruction No. 980. Navy (Resv) Lt. Yamazaki Kiyochi is appointed CO.
15 January 1941:
Attached to the 2nd Gunboat Division under Instruction No. 38. Attached to Vice Admiral (posthumously Fleet Admiral) Koga Mineichi’s (34) Second Fleet, 2nd Base Force, 2nd Gunboat Division. Rated as an auxiliary minelaying gunboat under Instruction No. 56.
20 January 1941:
Kobe. Completes conversion for military duty at Mitsubishi Kogyo K.K. shipyard.
5 February 1941:
Rated as gunboat No. 24.
24 March 1941:
Departs Sasebo for Mid Chinese waters.
3 April 1941:
Arrives at Tachibana Bay.
10 April 1941:
Attached to Vice Admiral Takahashi Ibo’s (36) Third Fleet, 2nd Base Force, 2nd Gunboat Division. Departs Sasebo for South Chinese waters.
8 July 1941:
Arrives at Takao, Formosa (now Kaoshiung, Taiwan).
11 July 1941:
Departs Takao. Operates in South Chinese waters.
11 September 1941:
Arrives at Mako, Pescadores.
31 July 1941:
Released from 2nd Gunboat Division under instruction No. 865. Attached to the Yokosuka Naval District, Yokosuka Guard Force in Captain (later Rear Admiral) Yamataka Matsujiro‘s (44) Yokosuka Local Defense Squadron.
1 October 1941:
Navy Captain Kawana Takeo (34) is appointed CO.
5 October 1941:
Attachment is changed to Yokosuka Naval Base under instruction No. 1193.
6 December 1941:
Attached to Escort Unit, Ise Bay Defense Unit under Yokosuka Naval Base Instruction No. 14.
8 December 1941:
Departs Toba.
12 December 1941:
At 1700, position is 7°, ESE Daiozaki.
13 December 1941:
At 1800, location is 15 nautical miles off Oyama no Minami.
15 December 1941:
At 0600, position is 170° and 7 nautical miles off Kamishima.
3 January 1942:
Completes 5th and 6th Exit minefields at Ise Bay.
6 January 1942:
Nagoya. Enters dock at Nagoya Zosen K.K. shipyard for repairs and maintenance.
11 January 1941:
Repairs are completed. Undocked.
28 January 1942:
Attached to Escort Defense Unit, Ise Bay Defense Unit under Yokosuka Naval Base Instruction No. 45.
16 February 1942:
On a rescue mission for auxiliary patrol craft BOSEI MARU No. 1. However, no measures were taken to prevent her grounding.
11 March 1942:
Scheduled to join and supply coal to the 25th Minesweeping Force near Tono in the afternoon of 12 Mar ‘42 under Ise Bay Defense Force Instruction No. 22.
1 April 1942:
Attached to Escort Defense Force, Ise Bay Defense Force under Yokosuka Naval Base Instruction No. 72.
10 April 1942:
Attached to Escort Defense Force, Ise Bay Defense force under Yokosuka Naval Base Instruction No. 74.
15 April 1942:
Assigned to depart as soon as ready on an anti-submarine sweep at 34-00N, 136-40E under Ise Bay Defense Force Instruction No. 48.
16 April 1942:
At 1800, carries out an anti-submarine sweep at 33-39N, 138-18E.
17 April 1942:
Arrives at 4th District (Maizuru), buoy No. 3. Scheduled for patrol at 1800, at 34-49N, 136-58E under Ise Bay Defense Force Instruction No. 63.
18 April 1942:
Arrives at 1st District (Yokosuka). Scheduled for repetitive anti-submarine sweeping at 33-36N, 137-02E and 34-39N, 138-17E under Ise Bay Force Instruction No. 36.
21 April 1942:
Scheduled for Third deployment of instruction No. 36 under Ise Bay Defense Force Instruction No. 82.
1 May 1942:
Attached to Escort Defense Force, Ise Bay Defense Force under Yokosuka Naval District Instruction No. 78.
2 May 1942:
Scheduled for patrol at 150° and 6 nautical miles off Daiozaki lighthouse, 1st line near 90° and 30 nautical miles from base point, 2nd line near 230° and 30 nautical miles from base point. On alert for 1st and 2nd lines.
4 May 1942:
LtCdr (later Rear Admiral) Frank W. Fenno's (USNA '25) USS TROUT (SS-202) is patrolling off Kii Peninsula. At 1226, Fenno sights a 5,000-tons freighter. At 1328, Fenno fires a stern torpedo but misses target. Immediately, Fenno fires another stern torpedo. That one hits KONGOSAN MARU forward of bridge. She sinks in two minutes at 33-32N, 136-05E about 2.7 nautical miles SW Inohana, Kumano city, Mie Prefecture with the loss of nine crewmen. Over the next six hours, aircraft drop 11 depth charges at various intervals. None were close to USS TROUT (SS-202).
15 May 1942:
Removed from the Navy’s list under instruction No. 852.
Authors' Notes:
[1] NRT is a ship's cargo volume capacity expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of 100 cubic feet (2.83 m3). It is calculated by subtracting non-revenue-earning spaces i.e. spaces not available for carrying cargo, for example engine rooms, fuel tanks and crew quarters, from the ship's gross register tonnage (GRT). Net register tonnage (NRT) is not a measure of the weight of the ship or its cargo, and should not be confused with terms such as deadweight tonnage or displacement.
Thanks go to Gengoro S. Toda of Japan.
- Gilbert Casse, Berend van der Wal and Peter Cundall.
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