© 2007-2009 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
20 October 1943:
Nagasaki. CD-10 is laid down at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’
shipyard.
11 January 1944:
Launched and numbered CD-10.
29 February 1944:
Completed and registered in the IJN.
25 March 1944:
Assigned to the General Escort Command’s First Surface
Escort Division.
20 April 1944:
At 0600, CD-10 departs Moji-Mutsure for Singapore with
kaibokan KURAHASHI, CD-11 and CD-20 escorting convoy HI-59 consisting of tankers
OKIKAWA, NIPPPO, EIHO, OTORISAN, BAN-EI and NIYO MARUs, NICHINAN MARU No.2 and
probably KINUGASA, NOSHIRO and TERITSU MARUs.
2 May 1944:
At 1200, HI-59 arrives at Manila and is dissolved.
12 June 1944:
At 0800, CD-10 departs Manila for Wasili harbor,
Halmahera Island with patrol boat P-105 escorting convoy H-29 consisting of
MAKASSAR, JUNHO, YAMAGIKU, FRANCE, KURAMASAN, HIBI and TAIYU MARUs.
17 June 1944:
HIBI MARU is detached for Zamboanga, Mindanao.
23 June 1944:
At 1710, convoy H-29 arrives at Halmahera Island.
25 June 1944:
At 0550, CD-10 departs Wasili harbor, Halmahera Island
for Manila with patrol boat P-105 escorting convoy M-25 consisting of MAKASSAR,
JUNPO, YAMAGIKU, FRANCE and TAIYU MARUs.
28 June 1944:
Moro Gulf, 35 miles east of Zamboanga, Philippines. At
0712, LtCdr Ian C. Eddy’s USS PARGO (SS-264) attacks the convoy. Eddy torpedoes
and sinks YAMAGIKU MARU and damages CD-10 at 06-50N, 121-30E.
29 June 1944:
At 1550, the convoy departs Zamboanga with KASAGI MARU
as an additional member.
1 July 1944:
Cebu Sea. FRANCE and TAIYU MARUs are detached.
3 July 1944:
The remainder of convoy M-25 arrives at Manila.
15 August 1944:
At 0600, CD-10 departs Moji for Takao with destroyer
HATSUSHIMO, kaibokan CD-20, torpedo boat HIYODORI, minesweeper W-20 and
subchaser CH-63 escorting convoy MOTA-23 consisting of FUKUREI, EDOGAWA, TAIJO,
EIJI, MANSHU, ATSUTA, CHINA, ROZAN, EIMAN, TOYOOKA, KOGYO, AWAJI MARUs, YOSHIDA
MARU No. 3, TOYO MARU No. 3 and an unidentified ship.
24 August 1944:
At about 0700, LtCdr Henry S. Monroe's USS RONQUIL
(SS-396) torpedoes and sinks YOSHIDA MARU No. 3 with all hands. At about the
same time, Monroe torpedoes and damages FUKUREI MARU. She floods and drifts
ashore where she is abandoned about three months later.
25 August 1944:
At 1400, the convoy arrives at Keelung.
30 August 1944:
At 1500, CD-10 departs Takao for Manila with minelayer
SHIRATAKA, minesweeper W-21, and kaibokan CD-20 escorting reorganized convoy
MI-15 that now consists of RIKKO, TAISHO, OKUNI (TAIKOKU) Maru, EIKYU, SHINYO,
NANSEI, HOSEN and CHIYODA MARUs with UNKAI MARU No. 5, OKINOYAMA MARU No. 5 and
KYOEI MARU No. 10.
31 August 1944:
Luzon Strait, S of Formosa. At about 0220, LtCdr
(later Rear Admiral) Charles E. Loughlin's QUEENFISH (SS-393) hits CHIYODA MARU
with four torpedoes and sets her afire. At 0240, as the moon sets, CHIYODA MARU
sinks. Loughlin also damages oiler RIKKO MARU steaming in ballast.
LtCdr (later Vice Admiral) Eli T. Reich's USS SEALION (SS-315), a member
of "Ben's Busters" with GROWLER (SS-215) and PAMPANITO, enters the Bashi Strait.
SEALION’s SJ radar picks up the convoy and Reich makes a night surface approach.
He sets up and fires six torpedoes, but they all run erratically. About 0500,
Reich swings SEALION and fires his four stern torpedoes at a large tanker. He
claims two hits.
Alerted by code-breaker's "Ultra" signals, LtCdr (later Rear Admiral)
Eugene B. Fluckey's USS BARB (SS-220) intercepts the convoy. At about 0700,
Fluckey torpedoes OKUNI MARU. She sinks stern first. Fluckey also sinks the 45th
Minesweeper Squadron's HINODE MARU No. 20 that was patrolling the area.
SEALION evades the convoy's escorts. Still surfaced, LtCdr Reich makes an
“end-around” approach and works his way ahead of the convoy. At 0715 (JST),
SHIRATAKA's lookouts spot a submarine on the surface at at 21-05N, 121-26E.
Reich misidentifies SHIRATAKA as a destroyer. He begins a submerged approach. At
0730, Reich hits SHIRATAKA with two of three torpedoes. At 1115, SHIRATAKA sinks
at 20-55N, 121-07E.
7 September 1944:
At 1000, the convoy arrives at Manila.
10 September 1944:
CD-10 departs Manila for Moji with CD-20 and minesweeper W-21 escorting
fleet convoy MAMO-03 consisting of GOKOKU, KAGU and KIBITSU MARUs.
11 September 1944:
S China Sea. 100 miles NE of the Paracel Islands.
Convoy MAMO-03 joins fleet convoy HI-72 that departed Singapore on 6 September
for Moji. HI-72 includes ASAKA, NANKAI, KIMIKAWA, RAKUYO, ZUIHO, KIBITSU
and KACHIDOKI MARUs (ex-PRESIDENT HARRISON). HI-72 carries oil, drummed aviation
gasoline, bauxite, mercury and rubber. RAKUYO MARU also carries 1,317 Allied
POWs and KACHIDOKI MARU carries another 950 POWs. Destroyer SHIKANAMI
and kaibokan MIKURA and KURAHASHI are in the escort.
12 September 1944:
At 0200, HIRADO is torpedoed by Cdr Thomas B.
Oakey’s GROWLER (SS-215). The frigate blows up and sinks. Rear Admiral Kajioka,
victor of Wake Island, now CO of the 6th Escort Convoy Command is killed. He is
promoted Vice Admiral, posthumously.
At 0500, RAKUYO MARU is torpedoed by LtCdr (later Vice Admiral) Eli
T. Reich's USS SEALION and hit in the No. 1 hold and engine room. RAKUYO
MARU takes down 1,159 POWs. About the same time, SEALION also torpedoes
NANKAI MARU. She is hit in Hold Nos. 3 and 6 and sinks about 0800. [1]
240 miles south of Hong Kong. Just before 0700, SHIKANAMI is torpedoed by GROWLER and sinks at 18-16 N, 114-40 E. Eight officers and 120 men rescued by the MIKURA. At 2300, KACHIDOKI MARU is hit by USS PAMPANITO (SS-383) and sinks. More than 400 POWs perish. [1]
15 September 1944:
The remainder of the convoy arrives at Yulin,
Hainan Island.
16 September 1944:
CD-10 departs Yulin for Moji with kaibokan MIKURA,
ETOROFU, CD-18 and CD-26 escorting the first echelon of reorganized convoy HI-72
consisting of ASAMA, KIBITSU MARU, GOKOKU and KAGU MARUs.
20 September 1944:
Off Formosa. At 0110, USAAF B-24 "Liberator" heavy
bombers attack the convoy’s first echelon (Moji-bound) at 23-20N, 119-12E.
GOKOKU MARU is damaged by a direct hit and ASAMA MARU suffers a near miss aft.
Both are towed into nearby Mako for repairs. KAGU MARU suffers hull damage by
near-misses. Kaibokan MIKURA is damaged and towed to Mako by CD-18. The bombers
also damage cargo vessels ASAKA and SHINCHO MARUs. KAGU MARU heads for Takao for
repairs escorted by CD-10, CD-11 and CD-20.
25 September 1944:
At 1300, CD-10 departs Takao for Moji with kaibokan CD-11 and CD-20 escorting KIBITSU and KAGU MARUs.
27 September 1944:
East China Sea, 100 miles NNW of Amami-O-Shima. LtCdr Clyde B. Stevens Jr's USS PLAICE (SS-390) torpedoes and sinks CD-10 at 29-26N, 128-50E. CD-11 rescues eight crewmen, but the rest of CD-10's crewmen are lost.
11 October 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.
Authors’ Note:
[1] The Japanese rescue some of the POWs from these two ships. All are
transferred to KIBITSU MARU and taken to Japan. The American submarines
later return to rescue a number of British and Australian POWs.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.
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