KAIBOKAN!

(Type C Escort by Takeshi Yuki scanned from "Color Paintings of Japanese Warships")

IJN Escort Awaji:
Tabular Record of Movement

© 2006-2007 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall


1 June 1943:
Osaka. Laid down at Hitachi Zosen Co., Ltd.’s Sakurajima shipyard.

30 October 1943:
Launched and named AWAJI.

15 February 1944:
Completed and registered in the Kure Naval District. Assigned to the Kure Guard Unit. Cdr Niki Kouzou is Commanding Officer.

26 February 1944:
Assigned to the General Escort Command's First Surface Escort Division. That same day, AWAJI departs Moji for Takao, Formosa escorting convoy MOTA-06 consisting of an unknown number of unidentified merchant ships.

4 March 1944:
Arrives at Takao.

24 March 1944:
AWAJI departs Takao for Singapore escorting a convoy of unidentified merchant ships.

E 27 March 1944:
Arrives at Singapore.

29 March 1944:
At 0950, AWAJI departs Singapore escorting convoy HI-54 consisting of NANKAI, ARIMASAN, KYOKUHO and MIRI MARUs.

31 March 1944:
Arrives and anchors at Cap St. Jacques, Indochina.

11 April 1944:
Cap St. Jacques, Indochina. Convoy HI-54 is joined by convoy HI-56 consisting of tanker ASANAGI MARU and five unidentified ships and an unidentified escort vessel.

14 April 1944:
At 0800, the reconstituted HI-56 departs Cap St. Jacques for Takao, Formosa.

19 April 1944:
Arrives at Takao.

4 May 1944:
At 1030, AWAJI departs Miri, Borneo for Moji with torpedo boat SAGI and patrol boat No. 38 escorting convoy MI-02 consisting of TACHIBANA, NITTETSU, KENSEI, HAKUBASAN, SANKO, TAKETSU (BUTSU), TAIHEI, AKAGISAN, TENSHIN, MATSUMOTO, TAIYU, NISSHIN, SHINCHO and KURENAI MARUs and OGURA MARU No. 1 and YAMAMIZU MARU No. 2.

6 May 1944:
SW of Balabac Island. At 0801, LtCdr Francis D. Walker Jr's USS CREVALLE (SS-291) torpedoes and sinks NISSHIN MARU at 07-19N, 116-25E. At 16,801-tons, she was the largest ship in the convoy.

10 May 1944:
At 1330, convoy MI-02 arrives at Manila. SEIYO MARU joins the convoy. KENSEI, AKAGISAN, TAIHEI, TENSHIN, TAIYU and KURENAI MARUs are detached. Auxiliary gunboats PEKING and CHOJUSAN MARUs join the escort.

13 May 1944:
At 0552, convoy MI-02 departs Manila for Takao.

16 May 1944:
At 1705, the convoy arrives at Takao. SEIYO, HAKUBASAN and MATSUMOTO MARUs and auxiliary gunboat CHOJUSAN MARU are detached.

17 May 1944:
At 1527, convoy MI-02 departs Takao.

18 May 1944:
At 1520, convoy MI-02 arrives at Keelung. KAMO, CHIKUZEN and CHOSAN MARUs join the convoy as does old destroyer HASU.

23 May 1944:
At 1700, convoy MI-02 arrives at Moji.

25 May 1944:
Arrives at Sasebo.

29 May 1944:
At 0600, AWAJI departs Moji with escort carrier SHINYO, light cruiser KASHII, kaibokan CHIBURI and CD-11 and subchasers CH-19 and CH-60 escorting convoy HI-65 consisting of oilers SHIRETOKO, ITSUKUSHIMA, OMUROSAN, ZUIHO and TOHO MARUs, cargo liners ARIMASAN, MANILA, KASHII and TATSUWA MARUs and troop transport SHINSHU MARU.

E 30 May 1944:
Light minelayer TSUBAME joins the convoy's escort from Kagoshima.

2 June 1944:
Bashi Strait. AWAJI is torpedoed by LtCdr (later Captain) Enrique D. Haskins' GUITARRO (SS-363) and sinks near Yasho Island at 22-34N, 121-51E. Cdr Niki and 75 crew-members are KIA. CHIBURI and CD-19 rescue the remaining crewmen, but several die of their wounds.

10 July 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.


Authors' Note:
Thanks for assistance go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan. Thanks also go to Jeff Donahoo of Iowa for help in identifying kaibokan COs.

-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall

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