Japanese No.1 class Landing Ships

Dai 1 Go-gata Yusokan
IJN No. 1 Class Fast Transport

(No. 1 Class Fast Transport T.5 by T. Yuki)

IJN Transport T.10: Tabular Record of Movement
© 2014-2015 Bob Hackett
Revision 1

28 May 1944:
Kure Navy Yard. Laid down as Ship No. 2910, a 1,500-ton No. 1 class landing ship.
10 July 1944:
Numbered T.10.
15 July 1944:
Launched. Attached to the Sasebo Guard Force.
20 August 944:
Reserve LtCdr Nai Mitsugu (former CO of W-3) is appointed Chief Equipping Officer.
25 September 1944:
Completed. LtCdr Nai is the Commanding Officer. T.10 is administratively assigned to Rear Admiral Sone Akira's (44)(former CO of NACHI) 1st Transport Squadron. Naval transports T.6 and T.9 and six T.101-class landing ships are also initially assigned to Transron 1.
11 October 1944:
T.10 and T.9 arrive at Kure and Sasebo. Each embarks two Type C midget submarines (HA-81, HA-82, HA-82 and HA-84).
15 October 1944:
T.10 and T.9 depart Sasebo for Davao via Manila.
20 October 1944: American "Operation "KING TWO" - The Invasion of Leyte, Philippines:
Admiral (later Fleet Admiral) William F. Halsey's (former CO of SARATOGA, CV-3) Third Fleet of 738 ships including 18 aircraft carriers, six battleships, 17 cruisers, 64 destroyers and over 600 support ships land the Army's X Corps (24 th Infantry and 1st Cavalry Divisions) and the XXIV Corps (7th, 77th and 96th Infantry Divisions) that begins the campaign to retake Leyte. Following the landing at Leyte, T.10 and T.9 are diverted to Cebu.
Late October 1944:
T.10 and T.9 arrive at Cebu and unload the four midget submarines. By 1 November, the Cebu midget submarine base is operational and supports six midget submarines including Lt Sasakawa Tsutomu's HA-81, HA-82, WO Kashiwaki Kimihiro's HA-83 and WO Matsuda's HA-84, all landed by T.10 and T.9.
23 October 1944: "Operation "TA No. 1 (TA-Go 1-ji Sakusen)" - The Reinforcement of Leyte:
Vice Admiral Mikawa Gunichi (former CO of KIRISHIMA), C-in-C, Southwest Area Fleet, commences "TA" to provide reinforcements, supplies and munitions to IJA forces engaging the American invasion forces on Leyte. Between 23 October and 11 December 1944, nine major convoys attempt the 600-mile passage from Manila to Ormoc Bay.
T. 10 departs from Manila for Ormoc Bay, Leyte with T.6, T.9, T.101 and T.102.
25 October 1944:
Arrives at Cagayan. T.10, T.6 and T.9 each embark 350 troops and T.101 and T.102 each load 400 men. In the morning, they depart for Ormoc as CruDiv 16 arrives. Light cruiser KINU embarks 347 men and destroyer URANAMI embarks 150 men, then they depart Cagayan.
26 October 1944:
Visayan Sea, Jintotolo Channel. At 1020, KINU and URANAMI are attacked by 75-80 aircraft from two groups of Task Group 77.4's escort carriers. TBM "Avenger" torpedo-bombers from USS NATOMA BAY (CVE-62) and 12 Avengers and FM-2 "Wildcat" fighters of VC-21 from MARCUS ISLAND (CVE-77) make repeated bomb, rocket and strafing hits on KINU and URANAMI. An Avenger from MANILA BAY (CVE-61) scores two bomb hits on KINU and several rocket hits on URANAMI that sinks around noon with 103 crew KIA.
At 1130, two more waves of aircraft attack. A third bomb hits an engine room aft and sets KINU ablaze. She remains afloat, but unnavigable and begins to settle by the stern. Naval transports arrive at mid-afternoon. T.10, T.6 and T.9 rescue most of KINU's crew of 813 men. The transports each take on about 300 survivors. ComCruDiv 16 Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Sakonjo Naomasa (former CO of AOBA) transfers his flag to T.10 and it makes Manila the next day. At 1730, KINU sinks by the stern in 150 feet of water 44 miles SW of Masbate.
31 October 1944: Operation TA No. 2 (TA-Go 2-ji Sakusen) - The Reinforcement of Leyte:
Led by Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral)(41) Kimura Masatomi's(former CO of SUZUYA), T.9, T.6 and T.10 depart Manila for Ormoc Bay carrying 1,000 men of the Imabori Detachment (12th Independent Infantry Regiment). They endure sporadic air attacks en route without damage.
1 November 1944:
In the afternoon, T.10, T.6 and T.9 land their troops at Ormoc. T.10 and T.6 then return to Manila.
8 November 1944: Operation "TA No. 4 (TA-Go 4-ji Sakusen)" - The Reinforcement of Leyte:
At 1030, T.10, T.6 and T.9 depart Manila into typhoon seas, accompanied by transports TAKATSU (KOSHIN or KOZU), KINKA and KASHII MARUs, carrying 10,000 men of the 26th Infantry Division and 3,500 tons of munitions, escorted by Rear Admiral Matsuyama's kaibokan OKINAWA and Admiral Kimura's destroyer screen of KASUMI (F), AKISHIMO, ASASHIMO, NAGANAMI, USHIO and WAKATSUKI and kaibokan CD-11 and CD-13. All proceed under cover of the storm to Ormoc Bay, Luzon.
9 November 1944:
13th Air Force North American B-25 "Mitchell" medium bombers and Lockeed P-38 "Lightning" fighter-bombers damage OKINAWA and kaibokan SHIMUSHU. In the evening, the convoy arrives at Ormoc Bay. Four B-25s and 16 P-38 escorts attack T.10, T.6 and T.9, the first of the transports to arrive. All three are slightly damaged, but their gunners claim four of their attackers shot down.
10 November 1944:
N of Cebu. The convoy is attacked by P-38s from Morotai and B-25s from Leyte. About 1140, during the second attack of the day, OKINAWA is bracketed by near misses and strafed by B-25 bombers, wounding six sailors. KASHII MARU is damaged, TAKATSU MARU blows up after a bomb hit with the loss of 243 gunners and 104 crewmen and Army's 72nd Specially Established Machine Cannon Unit with its twelve Type 96 25mms. OKINAWA claims one B-25. In the same attack, CD-11 is crippled and later scuttled by CD-13.
Unloading proceeds poorly. Of about 50 daihatsu barges gathered at Ormoc for the landings, only five remain operational. The rest have either been wrecked or buried in mudslides by the typhoon, but T.10 brings in six more daihatsu this trip. Several large rafts are put together and three of kaibokan are pressed into service shuttling men and munitions between ship and shore. These efforts succeed in getting all the troops ashore by sunrise, but much material remains aboard the transports. By mid-morning, T.10, T.6 and T.9 depart Ormoc for Manila.
24 November 1944: "Operation TA No. 5 (TA-Go 5-ji Sakusen)"
T.10, T.6 and T.9 depart Manila, escorted by destroyer TAKE.
25 November 1944:
Arrives at Port Balanacan, Marinduque, Central Philippines. That same day, aircraft from fast carriers of Task Groups 38.1 and 38.2 attack the convoy and sink T.10 at 13.32N, 121.52E. The planes also sink T.6 and damage T.9, but TAKE and T.9 escape and return to Manila.
10 January 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.

-Bob Hackett

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