FOR FONTESSA!

Discussions on all aspects of the Japanese Empire, from the capture of Taiwan until the end of the Second World War.
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fontessa
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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#106

Post by fontessa » 20 Jun 2021, 16:56

Hello Ian,
IANHULKMCLEOD wrote:
26 Mar 2021, 21:07
What have you for the Kuwa and Ume?
The bellow is the last battle of Kuwa.

3rd / 4th Echelon of 7th Ta-go Operations
Unloading of No. 9 APD and Nos. 140 / 159 LSM escorted by Kuwa and Take in Ormoc Bay. KUWA and TAKE were guarding outside the bay while one APD and two LSMs were unloading their cargo. US Destroyers Moale, Allen M. Sumner and Cooper with several torpedo motor boats lined up side by side and rushed into the bay. This was because they were afraid of JAN's oxygen torpedoes. On the other hand, Kuwa jumped out to protect the transport ships. The US destroyer's assault was so rapid that Kuwa couldn't afford to form a formation with Take. As a result, Kuwa was exposed to accurate bombardment by the radar aiming of US destroyers. Kuwa sank within 10 minutes. During this time, Take ready for her lightning strike, fired three torpedoes. One of them hit Cooper, and she sank with her hull broken in half. U.S. military records indicate that 10 officers and 181 NCOs / seamen were killed. Upon seeing this, Moale and Allen M. Sumner left the bay. It is said that about 250 crew were killed in the sinking of Kuwa. Details are unknown, but several men swam to Ormoc and survived the war. (wasthey were theUS POWs you said?) Crew swam to Ipil were shot dead by the U.S. forces, and the crew who swam to Bonson Island were killed by guerrillas. The crew, who were floating on the sea, were rescued and taken prisoner with Cooper's survivors. This was the last torpedo battle between US Navy and IJN.

53rd Destroyer Division
Crew for Medical Offiser Duty / Attached to 53rd Destroyer Division Boarded Kuwa
ENS / ENS / LTJG* UJIIE Minoru 氏家稔 (???): 15 November 1944 - 3 December 1944 (KIA)
Crew for Supply Offiser Duty / Attached to 53rd Destroyer Division Boarded Kuwa
ENS / ENS / LTJG* IWASA Hajime 岩佐肇 (???): 15 November 1944 - 3 December 1944 (KIA)
KUWA
Commanding Officers
(CEO) LCDR / LCDR OKUMA Yasunosuke 大熊安之助 (60): 20 June 1944 - 2 July 1944 (17 C13072099600 / 40 C13072099900)
(CEO) LCDR / LCDR YAMASHITA Masamichi 山下政倫 (53): 2 July 1944 - 25 July 1944 (40 C13072099900 / 8 C13072100400)
LCDR / CDR / CAPT* YAMASHITA Masamichi 山下政倫 (53) : 25 July 1944 - 3 December 1944 (KIA) (8 C13072100400)
Gunnery Officers
(EO) LT / LT KITAMURA Tetsu 北村徹 (68): 1 July 1944 - 25 July 1944 (25 C13072099900 / 8 C13072100400)
LT / LT / LCDR* KITAMURA Tetsu 北村徹 (68): 25 July 1944 - 3 December 1944 (KIA) (8 C13072100400)
Torpedo Officers
(EO) LTJG / LTJG MITANI Yoshio 三谷与司夫 (71): 1 July 1944 - 25 July 1944 (41 C13072099900 / 8 C13072100400)
LTJG / LTJG MITANI Yoshio 三谷与司夫 (71): 25 July 1944 - 28 August 1944 (8 C13072100400 / 1 C13072100800)
LT / LT / LCDR* TOJI Kakakuji 田路嘉鶴次 (70): 28 August 1944 - 3 December 1944 (KIA) (50 C13072100700)
Navigation Officers
(EO) LTJG / LTJG ARAI Denjiro 新井伝次郎 (71): 1 July 1944- 15 July 1944 (41 C13072099900 / 36 C13072100100)
(EO) LTJG / LTJG KODAIRA Kiyoto 小平清人 (71): 15 July 1944 - 25 July 1944 (36 C13072100100, / 8 C13072100400)
LTJG / LT / LCDR* KODAIRA Kiyoto 小平清人 (71): 25 July 1944 - 3 December 1944 (KIA) (8 C13072100400)
Engineer Officers
(EO) LT / LT MURASHIGE Sadaichi 村重定一 (Eng.S.D.): 20 June 1944 - 25 July 1944
LT / LT / LCDR* MURASHIGE Sadaichi 村重定一 (Eng.S.D.): 25 July 1944 - 3 December 1944 (KIA)
Crew for Medical Offiser Duty
(EO) ENS / ENS / LTJG* NISHII Katsuya 西井勝也 (???): 15 July 1944 - 4 August 1944 (KIA)* (39 C13072100100)
* Death by Accident
VACANT: 4 August 1944 - 25 August 1944
ENS / ENS UJIIE Minoru 氏家稔 (???): 25 August 1944 - 15 November 1944 (Attached to 53rd Destroyer Division) (10 C13072100700)
Crew for Supply Offiser Duty
(EO) ENS / ENS IWASA Hajime 岩佐肇 (???): 28 June 1944 - 25 July 1944 (6 C13072099900 / 8 C13072100400)
ENS / ENS IWASA Hajime 岩佐肇 (???): 25 July 1944 - 15 November 1944 (Attached to 53rd Destroyer Division) (8 C13072100400)


Kuwa_Take_Ormoc.jpg

fontessa

IANHULKMCLEOD
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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#107

Post by IANHULKMCLEOD » 20 Jun 2021, 20:48

Hello Fontessa
Thanks again Probably those on Ormoc were rescued and made POW however there was a conservation in English between the Survivor's of the Cooper and Kuwa! though no mention about any being picked up?
Regarding the Yanagi apparently 21 were killed which included an officer and over 40+ wounded which was surprising as the savagery of her strafing and was immobilised with the loss of her stern! I was wondering if there were any of the senior officers injured or killed!
Kind Regards Ian


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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#108

Post by fontessa » 21 Jun 2021, 01:22

Hello Ian,
IANHULKMCLEOD wrote:
20 Jun 2021, 20:48
Thanks again Probably those on Ormoc were rescued and made POW however there was a conservation in English between the Survivor's of the Cooper and Kuwa! though no mention about any being picked up?
Yes, there seems to have been a conservation in English between the survivor's of the Cooper and Kuwa on the sea. Two Catalina flying boats rescued 56 + 48 = 104 survivors. According to Japanese Wiki, authorized crew number of Cooper was 336. If it was correct even in Ormoc, since 181 men were killed when Cooper sank, (336-181) -104 = 51 became the number of survivors of Kuwa rescued by the flying boats. It was considerable large number, but actual Cooper crew number in Ormoc and the number of Cooper survivors who swam to land and helped by Filipinos were unknown variables.

fontessa

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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#109

Post by IANHULKMCLEOD » 21 Jun 2021, 20:56

Hello Fontessa
Cooper casualties as follows
191 killed and missing includes 10 officers Executive Officer, Medical and Supply officer amongst those lost
80 wounded includes 3 officers requiring hospitalisation
88 treated for immersion shock, exposure and minor injuries includes 7 officers amongst them the Commanding officer Mell Andrew Peterson Commander USN, Gunnery Officer Frank Swint Lieutenant USNR and the Damage Control officer John Irwin Orr, JR. Lieutenant USNR who was divisional Damage control officer and OOD on the USS Indianapolis was killed in her sinking on the 29/07/1945.
What information have you on the Take casualties and that she was moderately damaged by Gunfire?
NB
I have the complete casualty listings for the USS Cooper and the USS Moale which was damaged by Air attack after the surface action.
Kind Regards Ian

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fontessa
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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#110

Post by fontessa » 23 Jun 2021, 13:08

Hello Ian,

Thenks for the information.
IANHULKMCLEOD wrote:
21 Jun 2021, 20:56
What information have you on the Take casualties and that she was moderately damaged by Gunfire?
According to my source 渡辺博史 Watanabe Hiroshi’s TROM, only one Take crew member was injured because Kuwa became her shield.

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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#111

Post by Eugen Pinak » 29 Jun 2021, 13:14

fontessa wrote:
20 Jun 2021, 16:56
Hello Ian,
IANHULKMCLEOD wrote:
26 Mar 2021, 21:07
What have you for the Kuwa and Ume?
The bellow is the last battle of Kuwa.

3rd / 4th Echelon of 7th Ta-go Operations
Unloading of No. 9 APD and Nos. 140 / 159 LSM escorted by Kuwa and Take in Ormoc Bay. KUWA and TAKE were guarding outside the bay while one APD and two LSMs were unloading their cargo. US Destroyers Moale, Allen M. Sumner and Cooper with several torpedo motor boats lined up side by side and rushed into the bay. This was because they were afraid of JAN's oxygen torpedoes. On the other hand, Kuwa jumped out to protect the transport ships. The US destroyer's assault was so rapid that Kuwa couldn't afford to form a formation with Take. As a result, Kuwa was exposed to accurate bombardment by the radar aiming of US destroyers. Kuwa sank within 10 minutes. During this time, Take ready for her lightning strike, fired three torpedoes. One of them hit Cooper, and she sank with her hull broken in half. U.S. military records indicate that 10 officers and 181 NCOs / seamen were killed. Upon seeing this, Moale and Allen M. Sumner left the bay. It is said that about 250 crew were killed in the sinking of Kuwa. Details are unknown, but several men swam to Ormoc and survived the war. (wasthey were theUS POWs you said?) Crew swam to Ipil were shot dead by the U.S. forces, and the crew who swam to Bonson Island were killed by guerrillas. The crew, who were floating on the sea, were rescued and taken prisoner with Cooper's survivors. This was the last torpedo battle between US Navy and IJN.
I can add a bit of information I've found during my research for the article about this battle.
Here is the link to the article: http://uaas.org.ua/members_works/Ormoc% ... 201944.pdf

1. There were no US torpedo motor boats during this battle. BTW, US sailors also though they fighting not just IJN destroyers, but also coastal artillery, torpedo bots and even submarines.
2. "Kuwa" didn't "shielded" "Take". "Take" was exposed to some fire - but its' proximity to the coast apparently made radar-controlled fire inconvenient, so US DDs chose to fire at "easy target" of "Kuwa".
3. "Take" fired only 2 torpedoes (the third failed to launch).
4. As for "Kuwa" survivors - 8 men were rescued by T-140. Some managed to launch "Kuwa" cutter and sailed to Ormok.

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fontessa
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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#112

Post by fontessa » 30 Jun 2021, 23:03

Hello Eugen,

Thanks for the corrections.

fontessa

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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#113

Post by Eugen Pinak » 01 Jul 2021, 10:49

fontessa wrote:
30 Jun 2021, 23:03
Hello Eugen,

Thanks for the corrections.

fontessa
You are always welcome!

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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#114

Post by IANHULKMCLEOD » 31 Jul 2021, 23:27

Hello Fontessa
Any information on the Awaji and Ishigaki losses and survivors etc?
Kind regards Ian

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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#115

Post by ijnfleetadmiral » 01 Aug 2021, 03:47

ISHIGAKI
Fate: Torpedoed and sunk 31 May 1944 by submarine USS HERRING (SS-233) 70 miles W of Matsuwa Jima; 167 dead.
Personnel:
Commanding Officer: LT / LCDR* SETO Sueyoshi (Res.) - 1 October 1943 - 31 May 1944 (KIA)
Gunnery Officer: LTJG / LT* OHASHI Shozo (Spec. Duty) – 1 October 1943 - 31 May 1944 (KIA)
Navigator: LT / LCDR* ENDO Hiroshi (Res.) - 25 August 1943 - 31 May 1944 (KIA)
Chief Engineer: LT / LCDR* KANSHO Junkichi (Res.) – 15 November 1943 - 31 May 1944 (KIA)

AWAJI
Fate: Torpedoed and sunk 02 June 1944 by submarine USS PICUDA (SS-382) near Yasho Island in Bashi Strait, Luzon, Philippines; 76 dead; CHIBURI and CD-19 rescue survivors, but several later DOW.
Personnel:
Commanding Officer: LCDR / CDR* NIKI Kozo (Res.) - 15 February 1944 - 2 June 1944 (KIA)
Gunnery Officer: ???
Navigator: LTJG / LT* TANAKA Koichi (Res.) - 15 February 1944 - 2 June 1944 (KIA)
Chief Engineer: LTJG KARIYA Mitsuo (Res.) - 15 February 1944 - 2 June 1944 (SURVIVED)
MSG, MS State Guard (Ret.) - First Always!

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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#116

Post by fontessa » 19 Aug 2021, 23:07

IANHULKMCLEOD wrote:
31 Jul 2021, 23:27
Any information on the Awaji and Ishigaki losses and survivors etc?
Kind regards Ian
ISHIGAKI 石垣 was the 4th ship of SHIMUSHU 占守 class Kaibookan. At first she was categorized as 軍艦 warship. The basis for this classification was not the magnitude of combat power, but the procurement method. For battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, etc., budgets were allocated for each ship. On the other hand, for destroyers, submarines, for cost reduction, for example, 4 ships, 8 ships, etc. were constructed at the same time, and the budget was allocated to this mass. The ship type to which the former budget was allocated was categorized as 軍艦 warships. They were generally large and certainly strong in combat. Kaibokans were inferior in combat power to destroyers, but were categorized as 軍艦 warships. Along with this, it was considered to sometimes negotiate directly with Soviet ships, so a CAPT or CDR was appointed as "commanding officer, to be exact, Kaibokan commanding officer". They had the chrysanthemum emblem on their bow, which was a symbol of 軍艦 warships. It was decided to mass-produce Kaibokans for the escort of convoys, and Kaibokans were removed from the classification of 軍艦 on 1 July 1942. Along with this, her CDR " Kaibokan commanding officer" was replaced by a LT like a “Destroyer commanding officer”. And the chrysanthemum crest on the bow was removed.
The SHIMUSHU 占守 class Kaibokans were built under the 1937 Third Replenishment Plan. The design of IJN ships were usually done by 海軍艦政本部 Navy Technical Department, but at the time it was so busy that resources could not be devoted to the design of SHIMUSHU 占守 class Kaibokans. For this reason, their design was entrusted to the merchant ship warfare design department of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard. So 占守 Shumushu Class became extremely “elaborate”. The man-hours reached to 102,500. We can understand how "not suitable for mass production" by seeing that the man-hours for building 松型 Matsu class escort destroyer built in the latter part of the war were about 70,000. It is said that the habitability of Shumushu Class Koibokans was very good due to the "elaborate" design.

Later Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard built MUSAHI 武蔵, the 2nd ship of YAMATO Class Battleship. From the design stage of her, her headquarters facilities were enhanced, and after her completion, it was used as the flagship of the Combined Fleet. For the construction of MUSASHI, the main gun, engine, armor, etc. were provided by IJN. Therefore, her construction cost 52 million yen (at the time) as less than half that of YAMATO 140 million yen (at the time). The story went awry, but I'll show a conceptual diagram of KASHINO 樫野. She was designed and built only to carry MUSASHI's main turrets and main barrels from Kure Naval Yard to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard. Looking at the figure, she seems to have been able to carry two turrets and six barrels at the same time, but there is an opinion that it was too heavy for her and she could only carry half of it. KASHINO was not clear with such a basic thing. She hasn't even left a single photo.
In 1944, IISHIGAKi belonged to 2nd Maritime Escort Unit and was engaged in escort missions in the North Pacific Ocean. On May 31, ISHIGAKI sank in USS Herrng torpedo attack at 46 degrees 26 minutes north latitude 151 degrees 36 minutes east longitude west of Matua Island while escorting four empty transports heading for Otaru. Source from ijnfleetadmiral says that all 167 of her crew KIA, and my primary source 渡辺博史 Watanabe Hiroshi’s TROM says the same. But Japanese Wiki says 166 KIA, except for one rescued by USS Barb co-acting with USS Herrng . Can you access to Barb’s action report? Unfortunately I can’t. ISHIGAKI was the only sunken ship of SHUMUSHU Class Kaibokan.

ISHIGAKI 石垣
Commanding Officers 艦長
(CEO) CDR / CDR FUJITANI Ataka 藤谷安宅 (46): 15 November 1940 - 15 February 1941
CDR / CDR FUJITANI Ataka 藤谷安宅 (46): 15 February 1941 - 3 September 1941
CDR / CDR KAWANO Yasushi 河野康 (49): 3 September 1941 - 1 July 1942
Kaibokan Commanding Officer 海防艦長
CDR / CAPT KAWANO Yasushi 河野康 (49): 1 July 1942 - 1 October 1943
LT (Res.) / LCDR / CDR* SETO Suekichi 瀬戸末吉: 1 October 1943 - 31 May 1944 (KIA)
Gunnery Officers 砲術長
(EO) LTJG / LTJG TAKAHASHI Hisamaro 高橋久麿 (65): 15 January 1941 - 15 February 1941
LTJG / LT TAKAHASHI Hisamaro 高橋久麿 (65): 15 February 1941 - 1 April 1942
LTJG / LT USUI Hiroshi 臼井宏 (66): 1 April 1942 - 1 October 1943
ENS (S.D.) / LTJG (S.D.) / LT* OHASHI Shozo 大橋正三: 1 October 1943 - 31 May 1944 (KIA)
Navigation Officers 航海長
(EO) LTJG (Res.) / LTJG (Res.) NAKAJIMA Teizo 中島汀蔵: 16 December 1940 - 15 February 1941
LTJG (Res.) / LT (Res.) NAKAJIMA Teizo 中島汀蔵: 15 February 1941 - 25 March 1943
LT (Res.) / LT (Res.) MATSUSHITA Yukio 松下幸夫: 25 March 1943 - 25 August 1943
LTJG (Res.) / LT (Res.) / LCDR* ENDO Hiroshi 遠藤博: 25 August 1943 - 31 May 1944 (KIA)
Mine Officers 機雷長
The post created on 1 July 1942
LTJG (S.D.) / LT (S.D.) / LCDR* SUZUKI Tomezo 鈴木留蔵: ??? - 31 May 1944 (KIA)
Engineer Officers 機関長
LTJG (Res.) / LT (Res.) ISHIKAWA Motojiro 石川元次郎: 10 March 1943 - 15 November 1943
LTJG (Res.) / LT (Res.) / LCDR KANSHO Junkichi 間所淳吉: 15 November 1943 - 31 May 1944 (KIA)


菊の御紋章.jpg

樫野.jpg

石垣.jpg
石垣.jpg (51.44 KiB) Viewed 1424 times

fontessa
Last edited by fontessa on 19 Aug 2021, 23:37, edited 1 time in total.

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ijnfleetadmiral
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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#117

Post by ijnfleetadmiral » 19 Aug 2021, 23:35

fontessa wrote:
19 Aug 2021, 23:07
She hasn't even left a single photo.
Actually, there are three photos pertaining to KASHINO that I know of.

Taken on her commissioning day, 10 July 1940.
Image

On-board photo taken in 1940; the officer in the center is Chief Engineer LCDR (Eng.) FUJINO Kiyohide (Eng. 31).
Image

On-board photo taken in 1941; on the left is Paymaster LTJG (Sup.) AKIYAMA Toshio (Pay. 27) and to the right is Surgeon LT YASUMA Takamasa (1936) (later Surgeon of SHINANO).
Image
MSG, MS State Guard (Ret.) - First Always!

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fontessa
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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#118

Post by fontessa » 19 Aug 2021, 23:58

ijnfleetadmiral wrote:
19 Aug 2021, 23:35
fontessa wrote:
19 Aug 2021, 23:07
She hasn't even left a single photo.
Actually, there are three photos pertaining to KASHINO that I know of.
Thanks.
I have seen the top photo.
The second and third I saw for the first time.
I have never seen a whole picture of her hull.

fontessa

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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#119

Post by IANHULKMCLEOD » 20 Aug 2021, 01:11

Hello Fontessa
Nothing in her USS Barb patrol reports alluding to any survivor from the Ishigaki and the Herring was sunk by SHORE BATTERIES on the 01/06 1944 with no survivors.
Anything regarding the Awaji? :roll:

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Re: FOR FONTESSA!

#120

Post by ijnfleetadmiral » 20 Aug 2021, 03:10

fontessa wrote:
19 Aug 2021, 23:58
I have never seen a whole picture of her hull.
Neither have I, my friend.
MSG, MS State Guard (Ret.) - First Always!

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