KUSENTEI!

© 2005-2008 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall

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1938:
Yokohama. Laid down at Tsurumi Ironworks shipyard.

1939:
Launched and numbered CH-11.

15 June 1939:
Completed and registered in the Maizuru Naval District.

7 December 1941: Operation "M" - The Invasion of the Northern Philippines:
CH-10 is assigned to Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Hirose Sueto's (former CO of AOBA) 2nd Base Force of Vice Admiral Takahashi Ibo's (36) (former CO of KIRISHIMA) Third Fleet and attached to the Philippines Seizure Force in Cdr Sawamura Seiji's SubChasDiv 31 with CH-10 and CH-12. At 1630, departs Mako, Pescadores.

10 December 1941:
Luzon, Philippines. Six transports, carrying 2,000 men of the Kanno Detachment of the 48th Infantry Division, land troops near Vigan, but are bombed and strafed by five Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" and escorting Seversky P-35A "Guardsman" and Curtiss P-40B "Kittyhawk" fighters of the U. S. Army's Far East Air Force. During the action, a minesweeper is sunk and two transports are so damaged they have to be beached. 7 January 1942: The Invasion of Dutch Borneo:
CH-11 departs Davao with CH-10 and CH-12, patrol boats PB-36, PB-37 and PB-38, Minesweeper Division 11’s W-13, W-14, W-15 and W-16, 30th Minesweeper Division’s W-17 and W-18 and other auxiliary ships escorting Rear Admiral Hirose’s Tarakan Occupation Force. Hirose's Force includes Army transports TSURUGA, LIVERPOOL, HAVANA, KURETAKE, NICHIAI, HITERU, TEIRYU, HANKOW and EHIME MARUs carrying MajGen Sakaguchi Shizuo’s 56th Mixed Infantry Group and the Kure No. 2 Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) and Navy transports KUNIKAWA, KANO, KAGU, KOKUYO and RAKUTO MARUs.

Rear Admiral Hirose's Force is provided close cover by Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Nishimura Shoji’s 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, KAWASKAZE, YAMAKAZE and SUZUKAZE. The 21st Air Flotilla’s tenders SANUKI and SANYO MARUs provide air cover.

11 January 1942:
Rear Admiral Hirose's Force invades Tarakan.

21 January 1942:
CH-10, CH-11 and CH-12 depart Tarakan with patrol boats PB-36, PB-37 and PB-38, minesweepers W-16, W-17 and W-18 escorting 16 transports carrying the Balikpapan Invasion Force consisting of the Sakaguchi Brigade. 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.

23 January 1942: The Invasion of Balikpapan, Borneo:
Storms protect the invasion force until it is almost to Balikpapan, Borneo. 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 their 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.

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) arrive from the south. At 0316, they begin their first attack firing their main 4-inch guns and launching ten torpedoes at the anchored transports, but all the torpedoes miss. Talbot orders another attack. At 0330, POPE hits and sinks transport SUMANOURA MARU. At 0335, PARROTT and PAUL JONES sink already damaged transport TATSUGAMI MARU with torpedoes. 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 patrol boat PB-37 with torpedoes and gunfire.

At 0350, DesDiv 59 departs southward. Aboard NAKA, Rear Admiral Nishimura, alerted to the ABDA surface forces attacking the transports, heads west at high speed in an unsuccessful pursuit of the American destroyers.

10 March 1942:
Manila. CH-11 is reassigned to the Southwest Area Fleet’s Third Southern Expeditionary Fleet’s 31st Special Base Force. Patrols Manila Bay.

1 May 1942:
Saeki. CH-11 is reassigned to the Kure Guard Unit. Patrols the Bungo Straits.

2 October 1942:
CH-11 departs Saeki for Rabaul, New Britain with subchasers CH-10 and CH-12 escorting convoy Oki-6 consisting of HAVANA, TOYO, EHIME, YASKUNI and SUMIYOSHI MARUs.

14 October 1942:
LtCdr Lucius H. Chappell's USS SCULPIN (SS-190) torpedoes and sinks SUMIYOSHI MARU at 03-15S, 149-50E.

15 October 1942:
Arrives at Rabaul.

16 October 1942:
Truk. Reassigned to the 4th Base Force. Escorts convoys near Truk.

21 December 1942: No. 6 Go Transportation Operation:
Convoy No. 35 assembles at Shanghai to transport the IJA’s 6th Infantry Division via Truk to Guadalcanal (after the decision is made to evacuate Guadalcanal, the convoy’s destination is changed to New Guinea). The convoy consists of troop convoy Parts A, B and C. Part A consists of TEIYO, MYOHO MARUs and SHINSEI MARU No. 1; Part B consists of OIGAWA, KENKON, KYOKUSEI and PANAMA MARUs and Part C consists of MEIU, SOMEDOMO, SOURABAYA and SHINAI MARUs. Second-class destroyer HASU departs Shanghai for New Guinea escorting Part A and second-class destroyer KURI departs escorting Part B.

25 December 1942:
Part C departs Shanghai consisting of MEIU, SOMEDONO, SURABAYA and SHINAI MARUs escorted by second-class destroyer TSUGA.

5 January 1943:
Parts A and B arrive at Mako, Pescadores. The China Area Fleet's second-class destroyers are detached and replaced by the Southwest Area Fleet’s destroyers HOKAZE and NAGATSUKI tasked to escort the convoy to 136 degrees E longitude. CH-11 and CH-2, destroyer SHIRAYUKI and auxiliary gunboat CHOAN MARU No. 2 further augment the escort at Mako.

19 January 1943:
Part C departs Truk.

20 January 1943:
286 miles from Truk. LtCdr Creed C. Burlingame’s USS SILVERSIDES (SS-236) attacks Part C. SILVERSIDES sinks MEIU MARU and damages heavily SURABAYA MARU at 03-52N, 153-26E. CH-11 and gunboat CHOAN MARU No. 2 rescue survivors. Later, destroyer ASAGUMO arrives from Truk and scuttles SURABAYA MARU.

24 January 1943:
Arrives at Rabaul.

15 February 1943:
Truk. At 1200, CH-11 escorts oiler KOKUYO MARU through the Northern channel.

May 1943:
Reassigned to the Eighth Fleet’s 1st Base Force. That same month, arrives at Maizuru. Undergoes repairs and overhaul.

12 August 1943:
At 0730, CH-11 departs Saeki for Palau with patrol boat PB-46, auxiliary minesweepers TAMA MARU and TAKUNAN MARU No. 3 escorting convoy O-208 consisting of HIBI, MATSUE (SHOKO), YASUKUNI, MOJI, FUKKAI, YASUSHIMA, SHICHISEI and UMEKAWA MARUs. At latitude 29N, TAKUNAN MARU and TAMA MARU No. 3 are detached to return to Saeki.

21 August 1943:
Arrives at Palau.

September 1943:
Arrives at Rabaul. Escorts convoys.

6 November 1943:
W of Buka, Bougainville, New Guinea. USAAF B-25 “Mitchell” medium bombers attack and sink CH-11, water tanker CHOZAN MARU and ASAHI MARU No. 9.

30 September 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.

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-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.

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