KAMOI: oiler / seaplane carrier / flying boat tender

[Leo Niehorster]

Hi,
Sorry I have to go now, meanwhile, see here.
  http://niehorster.orbat.com/014_japan/n ... s/cvs.html
Will get back to you.

Leo

[ijnfleetadmiral]

My full list for Kamoi's COs:

Kamoi
(CEO) - Capt. Murase Teijiro (29) - 1 December 1921 - 12 September 1922
Capt. Murase Teijiro (29) - 12 September 1922 - 20 January 1923
Capt. Nakayama Tomonobu (30) - 20 January 1923 - 20 October 1923
Capt. Hirayama Sakae (31) - 20 October 1923 - 1 May 1924
Cdr. Hirata Noboru (34) - 1 May 1924 - 25 October 1924 (Acting)
Capt. Hirayama Sakae (31) - 25 October 1924 - 9 May 1925
Capt. Anno Kiyoshi (33) - 9 May 1925 - 20 October 1925
Capt. Takagi Heiji (31) - 20 October 1925 - 20 May 1926
Capt. Matsui Saburo (32) - 20 May 1926 - 1 November 1926
Capt. Ishikawa Shingo (33) - 1 November 1926 - 25 June 1927
Capt. Kohiyama Shinji (33) - 25 June 1927 - 1 December 1927
Capt. Fujioka Tsugiharu (33) - 1 December 1927 - 4 December 1928
Cdr. / Capt. Baron Shibayama Masaki (35) - 4 December 1928 - 7 December 1929
??? - 7 December 1929 - 1 December 1930
Cdr. Sugiura Shinpei (36) - 1 December 1930 - 1 April 1931
Cdr. Honda Genzo (36) - 1 April 1931 - 25 January 1932
Capt. Hojo Rinzaburo (35) - 25 January 1932 - 15 November 1932
Capt. Takeda Rokukichi (36) - 15 November 1932 - 20 October 1933
Capt. Terada Kokichi (36) - 20 October 1933 - 15 November 1934
Capt. Tanba Masanao (40) - 15 November 1934 - 15 November 1935
Capt. Okada Kikuji (42) - 15 November 1935 - 2 November 1936
Cdr. / Capt. Kosaka Kanae (43) - 2 November 1936 - 22 March 1938
Capt. Iwabuchi Sanji (43) - 22 March 1938 - 25 August 1938
Capt. Matsuda Chiaki (44) - 25 August 1938 - 14 January 1939
Capt. Mori Tomokazu (42) - 14 January 1939 - 20 July 1939
Capt. Hashimoto Aiji (39) - 20 July 1939 - 15 November 1939
Capt. Hattori Katsuji (44) - 15 November 1939 - 15 November 1940
Capt. Furukawa Tamotsu (43) - 15 November 1940 - 1 July 1941
Capt. Hasebe Ichizou (40) - 1 July 1941 - 7 August 1942
Capt. Yamazaki Sukeichi (39) - 7 August 1942 - 3 May 1943
Capt. Shimizu Takeo (39) - 3 May 1943 - 5 December 1944
Capt. Fujimaki Yoshiro (46) - 5 December 1944 - 13 April 1945

[Leo Niehorster]

Hello again,
Well, this is going to be fun. The three lists do not agree in parts. (Big surprise, that.)

Some differences in names I can attribute to the transliteration from Kanji to Latin. Others are so different, I suspect they are different persons. A few of the dates differ slightly. Possibly transcription problems.

The main ones are:
   Capt Mitsunami Teizo   三並貞三 (37)   01.12.31–25.01.32
Which I have but you both do not.
The dates overlap with the Capt Honda Genzou   本田源三  (36), so either Mitsunami did not command (i.e. a mistake), or he was acting for that period.

The 15 November 1935 officer:
Leo:
  15.11.34–15.11.35  Capt Niwa Masami   丹羽正躬 (?)
ijn:
  15.11.34–15.11.35   Capt Tanba Masanao (40)  15.11.34–15.11.35
wellgunde:
  15.11.34   Capt MASAMI Niwa 丹羽正躬  (?)
See the indexes at:
http://niehorster.orbat.com/014_japan/n ... nders.html
My index of Etajima Class 40 officers shows a Captain Tanba Masao 丹羽正躬 from Fukuoka.

Google transliterates 丹羽正躬 as Masami Niwa.

On my index of Etajima graduates, the Masami appears frequently as a first name, but used only once as last name:
  Masami  庄司正見  (66)
Unfortunately, no first name.

On the other hand, my index of Etajima graduates shows the last name Niwa eight times:
  Niwa (no first name)  丹羽干太郎  (14)
  Niwa (no first name) 丹羽和平  (67)
  Niwa Hiroshi  丹羽　広  (65)
  Niwa Kenichi  丹羽金一  (64)
  Niwa Masayuki  丹羽正行  (68)
  Niwa Noritada  丹羽教忠  (8)
  Niwa Takegoro  丹羽武五郎  (18)
  Niwa Toshio  丹羽敏雄   (60)


OK, over to you.
Leo

[VJK]

Hi Leo,

A few additions for you:

Notoro:
01.12.30-01.12.31: Capt Fujisawa Takamasa (藤沢孝政)
05.12.38 - 01.07.39: Capt Kurushima Shigeo (来島茂雄)
25.06.41–15.07.42: Capt Horiuchi Kaoru (40)

As regards Niwa/Tanba, 丹羽 translates as both. Google translator is generally OK for commands, but for names it can be problematic. I personally use these 2 sites to get to some kind of answer:

http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi- ... dic.cgi?9U
http://www.romajidesu.com/translator

Very best regards,

VJK

[ijnfleetadmiral]

The main ones are:
   Capt Mitsunami Teizo   三並貞三 (37)   01.12.31–25.01.32
Which I have but you both do not.
The dates overlap with the Capt Honda Genzou   本田源三  (36), so either Mitsunami did not command (i.e. a mistake), or he was acting for that period.

As stated previously, Mitsunami Teizo was NEVER CO of Kamoi. He was CO of Notoro from 1 December 1931 until 1 December 1932, when he was appointed CO of Hosho. Source is: http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px37.htm#r028.

[Leo Niehorster]

Dear friends,
Thank you very much. As usual, all assistance is appreciated. Results have been uploaded.

Cheers
Leo

[Wellgunde]

Good morning Leo and all,

NIWA Masami is, I believe, the correct name. I missed that one when I was putting the list in Japanese name order.

I will sometimes use Google Translate for a quick look at Japanese family names; with given names it usually does a poor job.
For given names I use the following (in descending order):
1. Wiktionary (provides name readings for individual kanji. You have to puzzle out the combinations for yourself).
2. Nelson's Japanese-English Character Dictionary (can be time consuming; useless if you do not understand radicals and stroke order).
3. Mrs. Wellgunde (court of last resort-seldom renders a "final" verdict).

Our Japanese contributors have pointed out that Japanese given names are often a mystery to the Japanese themselves. It is often more art than science. The factors which go into selecting the kanji for a given name and its reading are highly personal and idiosyncratic. It can be the way they look when written, the way they sound when spoken, what is popular, what is auspicious, or any number of other criteria. I have seen different Demobilization reports provide different translations of the same Japanese officer's given name. We have to accept that with some names we will have a correct translation but that it won't necessarily be the right translation.

[Jerry Asher]

Gentlemen: I have no knowledge of commanding officers at all--but I understand that the Kamoi's first deployment with float planes occurred in late April/May 1933 when along with Destroyer Division's Asagao and Yugaoit was deployed in the Bohai--possibly in the Peiho near Tianjin, as a show of force during the Tanggu negotiations. Tanggu is just above the outlet to the Bohai--it's possible that was her anchorage--although the channel was narrow--and turning around laborious. If anyone can ID other naval units please do so.

[cstunts]

Hello,

Are you thinking perhaps of her deployment with ASANAGI and YUNAGI later in the Thirties?

Beginning in February 1933 she was supposedly in the process of being converted to a seaplane carrier/oiler--and was rerated as such in June, 1934 when the conversion was completed...

See http://www.combinedfleet.com/Kamoi_t.htm

The names ASAGAO and YUGAOIT are suspicious, to say the least.

[Wellgunde]

IJN Asagao (朝顔) "Morning Glory" - A Wakatake class destroyer commissioned May 10, 1923; sunk by naval mine August 22, 1945.
IJN Yugaoit ??

[ijnfleetadmiral]

Not Yugaoit...just Yugao. She was a sister ship of Asagao, and later became PB-46 during WWII. Have COs for both.

[Jerry Asher]

Hi Cstunts and all: Sorry for my mis type of Yugao. My reference did mention Kamoi as I discribed. Further research may prove it incorrect, including when offically conversion was complete-- Fenby bio of Jiang in English language also mentions the two destroyers with out their names, as being deployed.

On my wish and to do list are; 1.) names or numbers (DD's not named until late 1928) of Japanese ships at Guangzhou Nov/Dec. re Maritime Customs issue 1923. 2.) same March 1925 @ Shantou 3.) same June 1925 @ Guangzhou and Shaji Massacre. 4.)same @ Nanjing March 1927. 5)same April 1928 sent to Hankow (Wuhan) with unamed cruisers to defend concession. 6.) names of DD's sent to Nanjing sometime between January 27th and February 4, 1932. 7.)names of DD's sent to Qingdao June 1936 in relation to Maritime Customs issues and finally 8.) can anyone clarify for me the names of the ships attached to Destroyer Divisions 14, 15 and 16th--not sure I have it right yet.