KUSENTEI!
(Subchaser No. 46 by Takeshi Yuki scanned from "Color Paintings of
Japanese Warships")
IJN Subchaser CH-27:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2006-2009 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
Revision 1
1941:
Tokyo. Laid down at the Ishikawajima Zosen Fukagawa Yard as Subchaser
No. 194.
5 November 1941:
Launched and renumbered CH-27.
28 January 1942:
Completed and registered in the Kure Naval District. Assigned to the Kure Guard Unit.
January 1942:
Patrols the Bungo Strait.
1 May 1942:
Assigned to Vice Admiral Hosogaya Boshiro's (former CO of MUTSU) 5th Fleet in SubChasDiv 13
with CH-26 and CH-27.
21 May 1942:
SubChasDiv 13 departs Yokosuka. Patrols in the Aleutians.
5 June 1942: Operation “AL”- The Invasion of the Aleutians:
Twenty ships of 5th Fleet, including light cruisers KISO and TAMA, three destroyers,
three corvettes, three minesweepers and four transports carry the Adak-Attu and
Kiska Occupation Forces to the Western Aleutians. The Adak occupation is
cancelled and the Adak-Attu Occupation Force is directed to seize only Attu.
6 June 1942:
At 1500, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Ono Takeji’s Occupation Force lands a battalion
of Special Naval Landing Force troops at Reynard Cove on Kiska without opposition.
7 June 1942:
At 0300, Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Omori Sentaro's (former CO of ISE) Adak-Attu Occupation Force lands a battalion of Army troops on Attu, also without opposition.
15 July 1942:
W of Sredni Point, Kiska. LtCdr Mannert L. Abele‘s USS GRUNION (SS-216) attacks three warships
he takes to be destroyers, but are, in fact, subchasers CH-25, CH-26 and Lt Shinoda's CH-27. Abele
torpedoes and sinks both CH-25 and CH-27 and possibly damages CH-26, all at 52-02N, 177-42E.
CH-26 searches for survivors, but none are found. [1]
20 July 1942:
Removed from the Navy List.
Authors’ Note:
[1] LtCdr Abele and GRUNION were lost on this, GRUNION's first war patrol. Japanese
sources indicate that on 30 July 1942, GRUNION was sunk by the deck gun of freighter
KANO MARU after the submarine attacked the maru with dud Mark XIV torpedoes, then
surfaced to engage with her own deck gun. KANO MARU herself, was sunk a week later
at Kiska Harbor by USN PBY "Catalinas".
Thanks go to Bruce Abele, son of LtCdr Abele, for identifying CH-27's final CO, Lt Shinoda.
Abele also located Shinoda's son and 97-year old widow, Shinoda Chiyo, shown below with pressed flowers
from Kiska sent by the sons of Catherine E. Abele.
>
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.
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