© 2007-2009 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
Revision 3
24 May 1919:
Laid down at Fujinagata Shipbuilding.
27 November 1920:
Launched and named FUJI.
31 May 1921:
Completed.
10 December 1928:
LtCdr (Vice Admiral, posthumously) Shimazaki Toshio (44) assumes command.
1 December 1930:
An unknown officer assumes command.
1 December 1931:
LtCdr (Rear Admiral, posthumously) Okamoto Yoshisuke (47) assumes command.
10 March 1932:
An unknown officer assumes command.
30 September 1933:
Lt (Rear Admiral, posthumously) Takahashi Kameshiro (49) assumes command.
15 November 1933:
Lt Takahashi is promoted LtCdr.
15 November 1934:
An unknown officer assumes command.
1939:
One of three Kampon boilers is removed reducing speed to 18 knots. Additionally, her torpedo tubes, aft 4.7-inch/45 cal main gun and minesweeping gear are removed. 25mm AA guns and depth charge racks and
throwers are fitted for 60 DCs. Extra ballast is added to compensate for the loss of topside weight and to increase stability. The changes increase her displacement to 935-tons.
1 April 1940:
Reclassified as a special duty patrol boat and renumbered PB-36.
1941:
PB-36 undergoes reconstruction to become a high speed transportation warship. Her aft funnel is removed and her stem is cut down to form a ramp. She is fitted to carry and launch a 46-ft Daihatsu landing craft. Her forward interior spaces are modified to accommodate up to 150 troops. The number of DCs carried is reduced to 18. Her 25mm AA suite is increased.
7 January 1942: The Invasion of Dutch Borneo:
PB-36, PB-37 and P-38 depart Davao, Philippines escorting Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Hirose Sueto's (former CO of AOBA) Tarakan Occupation Force carrying MajGen Sakaguchi Shizuo’s 56th Mixed Infantry Group (Sakaguchi Brigade) and the Kure No. 2 SNLF aboard Army transports TSURUGA, LIVERPOOL, HAVANA, KURETAKE, NICHIAI, HITERU, TEIRYU, HANKOW and EHIME MARUs, Navy transports KUNIKAWA, KANO, KAGU, KOKUYO and RAKUTO MARUs. Other escorts include MineSweepDiv 11’s W-13, W-14, W-15, W-16, MineSweepDiv 30’s W-17, W-18 and SubChasDiv 31’s CH-10, CH-11, CH-12 and other auxiliary ships.
Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Nishimura Shoji’s (former CO of HARUNA) DesRon 4’s light cruiser NAKA with DesDiv 2’s HARUSAME, SAMIDARE, YUDACHI and MURUSAME, DesDiv 9’s ASAGUMO and MINEGUMO, NATSUGUMO and DesDiv 24’s UMIKAZE, KAWAKAZE, YAMAKAZE and SUZUKAZE provide close cover. The 21st Air Flotilla’s seaplane tenders SANYO and SANUKI MARUs provide air cover.
11 January 1942:
Hirose's Force invades Tarakan.
12 January 1942:
PB-36 assists destroyer YAMAKAZE in shelling and sinking Dutch minelayer PRINS VAN ORANJE by gunfire.
21 January 1942:
PB-36 departs Tarakan with PB-37 and PB-38, minesweepers W-16, W-17 and W-18 and subchasers CH-10, CH-11 and CH-12 escorting 16 transports carrying the Sakaguchi Brigade’s Balikpapan, Borneo Invasion Force. Light cruiser NAKA provides cover with DesDiv 2's YUDACHI, SAMIDARE, HARUSAME, DesDiv 9's ASAGUMO, MURASAME, MINEGUMO, NATSUGUMO and DesDiv 24's KAWAKAZE, YAMAKAZE and UMIKAZE.
ABDA (American-British-Dutch-Australian) forces air reconnaissance is hampered by poor weather, but ABDA Air locates the IJN invasion force. ABDA deploys submarines USS S-40, PORPOISE (SS-172), PICKEREL (SS-177), STURGEON (SS-187), SAURY (SS-189) and SPEARFISH (SS-190) and Dutch submarines K-XIV and
K-XVIII to intercept the IJN force.
Timor, Kupang Bay. Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) William A. Glassford's Task Force 5's light cruisers USS MARBLEHEAD (CL-12), BOISE (CL-47) and Cdr Paul H. Talbot's DesDiv 59's old destroyers PARROTT (DD-218), POPE (DD-225), JOHN D. FORD (DD-228) and PAUL JONES (DD-230) are ordered by ADBA
Command to stop the IJN invasion force before it reaches Balikpapan.
Glassford heads north to find the IJN invasion force, but BOISE runs aground on an uncharted reef in the Sape Strait. She is forced to retire for repairs. MARBLEHEAD develops engine trouble and can make no more than 15 knots. DesDiv 59 is detached and increases speed to 27 knots to arrive at Balikpapan at midnight on January 23rd.
23 January 1942: The Invasion of Balikpapan, Borneo:
Storms protect the IJN invasion force until it is almost to Balikpapan. At 1525, nine Dutch Martin Model 166 (B-10) bombers from Samarinda attack and hit transports TATSUGAMI and NANA MARU. The latter has to be abandoned and later sinks. TATSUGAMI MARU continues on to Balikpapan. At 2130, the transports begin disembarking troops.
24 January 1942:
Dutch Navy LtCdr C. A. J. van Well Groeneveld's (former CO of K-XIV) submarine K-XVIII, operating on the surface due to the weather, fires four bow torpedoes at NAKA, but they all miss. At 0045, Groeneveld attacks and sinks transport TSURAGA MARU at 00-10N, 118-0E. Nishimura moves his covering force eastwards to carry out antisubmarine sweeps.
Cdr Talbot's DesDiv 59 arrives from the south. Since Nishimura's covering forces are to the east searching for submarines, the four destroyers are virtually unopposed. At 0316, they begin their first attack firing their 4-inch guns and launching ten torpedoes at the anchored transports, but all their torpedoes miss.
Talbot orders another attack. At 0330, POPE hits and sinks transport SUMANOURA MARU. At 0335, PARROTT and PAUL JONES torpedo and sink already damaged transport TATSUGAMI MARU. At 0345, FORD sinks transport KURETAKE MARU with gunfire and torpedoes. Two other transports suffer damage from gunfire and torpedoes but remain afloat. POPE and PARROTT sink the 2nd Base Force's patrol boat PB-37 with torpedoes and gunfire.
At 0350, their torpedoes gone, DesDiv 59 departs southward. Aboard NAKA, Rear Admiral Nishimura, alerted to the ABDA surface forces attacking the transports, abandons the antisubmarine sweep and heads west at high speed in an unsuccessful pursuit of the American destroyers.
24 January 1942:
At 0300, Rear Admiral Hirose’s No. 2 Base Force begins landing troops at Balikpapan. SANUKI and SANYO MARUs provide air cover. That same day, troops invade Kendari, Celebes.
18 March 1942:
PB-36 and PB-34 are assigned to the Guard Force of the Christmas Island Seizure Force with light cruiser NAKA, DesDiv 9's MINEGUMO and NATSUGUMO and transports KIMISHIMA and KUMAGAWA MARUs.
29 March 1942: Operation "X" - The Invasion of Christmas Island:
PB-36 and PB-34 depart Bantam Bay, Java with the Second Southern Expeditionary Fleet's Occupation Force under ComDesRon 4 Rear Admiral Nishimura. The Occupation Force consists of flagship NAKA, CruDiv 16's light cruisers NAGARA and NATORI, DesDiv 9's MINEGUMO and NATSUGUMO, DesDiv 16's AMATSUKAZE and HATSUKAZE, DesDiv 22's SATSUKI, MINAZUKI, FUMITSUKI and NAGATSUKI, oiler AKEBONO MARU and transports KIMISHIMA and KUMAGAWA MARUs carrying about 850 men of the 21st, 24th Special Base Forces and the 102nd Construction Unit.
31 March 1942:
At 0945, Nishimura lands men of the 21st, 24th Special Base Forces and 102nd Construction Unit and occupies the island. The small British-Indian garrison surrenders at once. The phosphate-rich island is too small on which to build a port or an airstrip.
1 April 1942:
Off Christmas Island. NAKA is torpedoed and damaged extensively by USS SEAWOLF (SS-197).
3 May 1942:
PB-36 arrives at Kure.
21 August 1942:
PB-36, PB-38 and PB-39 arrive at Rabaul.
17 January 1943:
PB-36 transports SNLF troops and supplies to Munda, New Georgia, central Solomons.
22 February 1943
PB-36 departs Moji escorting convoy No. 130 consisting of nine unidentified merchant ships. The convoy splits into three parts shortly after leaving port.
27 February 1943
The first part arrives Takao.
28 February 1943
The second and third parts arrives Takao.
4 March 1943
PB-36 departs Takao escorting convoy No. 237 consisting of nine unidentified merchant ships.
11 March 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
15 March 1943:
PB-36 departs Moji escorting convoy No. 137 consisting of SHOKO MARU and five unidentified merchant ships.
20 March 1943 :
Arrives at Takao.
26 March 1943
PB-36 departs Takao escorting convoy No. 245 consisting of six unidentified merchant ships.
31 March :
Arrives at Moji.
16 April 1943
PB-36 departs Takao escorting convoy No. 252 consisting of 12 unidentified merchant ships.
22 April :
Arrives at Moji.
26 April 1943
PB-36 departs Moji escorting convoy No. 151 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
28 April 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
18 May 1943
PB-36 departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 3602 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
21 May 1943 :
Arrives at Manila.
2 June 1943:
At 0715, PB-36 departs Takao as the sole escort for convoy No. 268 consisting of TSUSHIMA, WALES, FUJI, UCHIDE, SHOJIN, MIYO, REIYO, BATAVIA, YAMAHAGI, KAYO, KOSO and HEIAN MARUs.
5 June 1943:
At 1013, TSUSHIMA MARU is hit by a dud Mark 14-3A torpedo from LtCdr Lawrence R. Daspit's USS TINOSA (SS-283), but is undamaged. PB-36 attacks with depth charges, but TINOSA escapes.
6 June 1943:
At 0925, MIYO MARU detaches for Jinsen (Inchon).
7 June 1943:
At 0740, arrives at Moji.
15 June 1943:
At 0650, PB-36 departs Sasebo escorting convoy No. 166 consisting of oilers GOYO, TACHIBANA, KIYO, HAKKO, CHIYODA, CHIHAYA and NICHIRIN MARUs and transports CEYLON, NORFOLK, SHOGEN, TAIAN and ISUZU MARUs.
18 June 1943:
At 1000, TAIAN MARU is detached for Kirun (Keelung), Formosa.
20 June 1943:
At 1400, arrives at Takao, Formosa.
23 June 1943:
At 0815, PB-36 departs Takao for Moji escorting convoy No. 275 consisting of TEIKO, SEKKO, MAEBASHI, SAN LUIS, TEIKAI, CHOJUN, YASUKUNI, ROKKO and RISSHUN MARUs.
25 June 1943:
At 0850, arrives at Moji.
7 July 1943:
At 1400, PB-36 and torpedo boat HAYABUSA depart Moji escorting convoy No.173 consisting of MURORAN, ASAKA, RYUKO, TAIYU, HIROTA, GYOKUREI, KYOKKO, KOSHIN, NACHISAN MARUs and tankers ZUIYO and KYOEI MARUs.
13 July 1943:
At 0950. arrives at Takao.
17 July 1943:
At 0800, PB-36 departs Takao for Moji escorting convoy No. 283 consisting of KINREI, SHONAN, TOFUKU and HAGURO MARUs and KYOEI MARU No. 5.
24 July 1943:
At 0850, arrives at Moji.
30 July 1943:
PB-36 departs Mutsure with destroyer Sanae escorting convoy No. 174 consisting of Aratama Maru and 17 other unidentified merchant ships.
4 August 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
11 August 1943:
PB-36 departs Takao en route to St Jacques escorting the “U” convoy consisting of six unidentified merchant ships.
12 August 1943:
PB-36 is detached and returns to Mako. At 1240, PB-36 departs Mako, Pescadores for Saigon, Indochina escorting convoy No. 315 consisting of SUEZ, TOSAN, BISAN, SUNGSHAN (SUZAN), BELGIUM, CHINKO, NIKKO, RISSHUN, CHILE, JAMBI, SEISHIN, KOKKO and WALES MARUs.
15 August 1943:
At 0500, KOKKO and WALES MARUs are detached for Keelung and Hong Kong respectively.
21 August 1943:
At 1005, arrives at Cap St. Jacques, then proceeds to Saigon.
24 August 1943:
PB-36 departs St Jacques in convoy No. 421 consisting of five unidentified merchant ships escorted by Patrol Boat No.36.
30 August 1943:
Arrives at Manila.
3 September 1943:
At 0840, PB-36 departs Mako for Sasebo escorting convoy No. 299 consisting of GYOKUREI, COLUMBIA, HONAN, REIYO, NAPLES, ASO and HASSHU (YASHIMA) MARUs.
4 September 1943:
SUGIYAMA and MATSUURA MARUs join the convoy at sea.
7 September 1943:
HASSHU (YASHIMA) MARUdetaches for Pusan.
8 September 1943:
At 1230, arrives at Sasebo.
28 September 1943:
At 1615, PB-36 departs Mutsure for Takao escorting convoy No. 102 consisting of TIERYU, SUEZ, BELGIUM, CHIYODA, MISAKI, TAIAN, TEIFU, HAVRE, FRANCE and YUBAE MARUs.
3 October 1943:
At 1925, arrives at Takao.
8 October 1943:
PB-36 departs Takao for Moji escorting convoy No. 210 consisting of MALTA, HOKKO, NORWAY, KOKKO, KOSHIN, KISO, TOKUSHIMA, SHINNO and YAMABATO MARUs.
15 October 1943:
Arrives at Moji less SHINNO, and YAMABATO MARUs that were detached earlier.
18 October 1943:
At 1420, PB-36 departs Moji for Takao escorting convoy No. 107 consisting of MURORAN, JINZAN, MANTAI, SAN PEDRO, KENSEI, NITATSU, NICHINAN, HOKOKU, KOHOKU and SHOEI MARUs, OGURA MARU No. 3 and SHINSEI MARU No. 1.
24 October 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
29 October 1943:
At 1120, departs Takao escorting convoy No. 215 consisting of DURBAN, REIYO, KOFUKU MARUs, tankers RIKKO and ZUIYO MARUs and an unidentified ship (either TATSUHA or TATSUWA MARU).
30 October 1943:
Arrives at and later that day departs Keelung. NICHINAN MARU joins convoy.
4 November 1943:
At 0740, arrives at Moji.
10 November 1943:
PB-36 departs Mutsure for Takao, Formosa escorting convoy SA-17 consisting of fleet oiler ASHIZURI, tankers OKIKAWA, KYOKUTO and MIRI MARUs, troop transports NIGITSU and MAYASAN MARUs and cargo-passenger ship USSURI MARU.
14 November 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
15 November 1943:
PB-36 is reassigned to the General Escort Command’s 1st Surface Escort Division.
21 November 1943:
PB-36 departs Takao for Moji escorting convoy No. 221 consisting of TAKETOYO, CHILE, SHOYU, HIROTA, SEIWA and SAN RAMON MARU and two unidentified ships.
27 November 1943:
Off Uki Jima, Goto Retto. At 0005, LtCdr (later Captain) Slade D. Cutter’s USS SEAHORSE (SS-304) torpedoes and sinks tanker SAN RAMON MARU carrying a full load of 10,600 tons of crude oil from Miri, Borneo. She sinks at 33-35N, 128.45E. Later that day, the remainder of convoy No. 221 arrives at Moji.
11 December 1943:
At 0900, PB-36 departs Takao for Moji escorting convoy No. 226 consisting of ENJU, OYO, ATLAS, HIDA, AMERICA, HANAGAWA and NEIKAI MARUs.
17 December 1943:
Convoy No. 226 arrives at Moji, less ENJU MARU detached at Okinawa due to engine trouble.
25 December 1943:
PB-36 is reassigned to the 22nd Special Base Force at Balikpapan, Borneo.
26 December 1943:
At 0920, PB-36 departs Sasebo for Takao escorting convoy No. 124 consisting of HIDA, HAVRE, NICHIYO, HAKUSHIKA, MOJI and FUJI MARUs.
31 December 1943:
The convoy arrives at Takao less FUJI and HAKUSHIKA MARUs detached earlier.
10 January 1944:
At 1900, departs Manila escorting oiler ASHIZURI only.
21 January 1944:
At 0945, PB-36 departs Balikpapan with subchasers CH-37 and CH-41 escorting convoy O-103 consisting of oilers JAMBI MARU, IRO and SATA.
23 January 1944:
JAMBI MARU is detached from the convoy and steams to Tarakan.
28 January 1944:
At 1350, arrives at Palau.
30 January 1944:
At 0800, PB-36 departs Palau for Tarakan with auxiliary subchasers CHa-15 and CHa-22 escorting convoy NE-002 consisting of OGURA MARU No. 3 and KYOEI MARU No. 2.
31 January 1944:
At 1400, auxiliary subchaser CHa-22 is detached to return to Palau.
2 February 1944:
At 1300, auxiliary subchaser CHa-15 is detached for Davao.
5 February 1944:
Arrives at Tarakan.
22 February 1944:
At 1845, departs Tarakan escorting an unnumbered convoy consisting of tanker SEIAN MARU and weather ship RYOFU MARU.
24 February 1944:
At 1045, arrives at Balikpapan.
17 May 1944: Operation "Transom":
Surabaya, Java. Planes from Admiral (later Admiral of the Fleet, Sir) James F. Somerville’s (former CO of HMS NORFOLK) Allied task force’s carriers HMS ILLUSTRIOUS and SARATOGA (CV-3) attack Surabaya. SARATOGA’s planes damage PB-36. [1]
21 May 1944:
At 1631, USN codebreakers intercept and decrypt a message from Surabaya regarding the bombing attacks that reads in part: “Patrol Boat No. 36 was severely damaged as she entered port and will require 6 months for repair.”
May 1944:
Surabaya. PB-36 begins extensive repairs.
15 August 1945: Cessation of Hostilities:
PB-36 is at Surabaya.
10 August 1946:
Removed from the Navy List.
1946:
Ceded to the Netherlands as a war reparation.
1947:
Broken up and scrapped.
Authors Note:
[1] Operation "Transom" was one of the first major offensive air raids in which aircraft of the British Pacific Fleet participated.
Thanks go to John Whitman of the USA for info on CNO intercepts of Japanese messages.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
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