KUSENTEI!
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(Subchaser No. 46 by Takeshi Yuki scanned from "Color Paintings of
Japanese Warships")
IJN Subchaser CH-39:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2005-2006 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
1941:
Harima. Laid down at Harima Zosensho K. K.
26 May 1942:
Launched and numbered CH-39
31 October 1942:
Completed and registered in the Kure Naval District.
November 1942:
Assigned to the Kure Guard Unit. Patrols the Bungo Straits.
1 March 1943:
Reassigned to the 8th Base Force at Rabaul.
18 March 1943:
CH-39 departs Sasebo for Rabaul.
30 March 1943:
Arrives at Rabaul.
7 April 1943:
CH-39 and CH-18 depart Rabaul for Palau escorting a convoy consisting of TOYO, KOKOKU, AKAGISAN and YUZAN (OYAMA) MARUs.
9 April 1943:
250 miles NNW of Kavieng, New Ireland. At about noon, the convoy is attacked by LtCdr Bernard F. McMahon's USS DRUM (SS-228). McMahon torpedoes and sinks YUZAN (OYAMA) MARU.
10 April 1943:
DRUM torpedoes and damages AKAGISAN MARU, but she does not sink and is able to make it to Truk.
13 April 1943:
The convoy arrives at Truk instead of its original destination of Palau.
28 August 1943:
CH-39, CH-38 and minesweeper W-22 depart Rabaul for Palau escorting convoy O-605 consisting of ASAKAZE, YAMAGIRI, NICHIRYO, TAISHO and TACOMA MARUs.
At 2255, the convoy is attacked by McMahon's USS DRUM. McMahon fires four torpedoes at one ship and two at another. A torpedo hits YAMAGIRI MARU in the starboard side between holds No. 2 and No. 3, but she does not sink and is able to make it back to Rabaul. The escorts drop 27 depth charges on DRUM, but she escapes.
2 September 1943:
The remainder of the convoy arrives at Palau.
7 September 1943:
CH-39 and CH-17 depart Rabaul for Palau escorting convoy 794 consisting of consisting of HIBI, SHICHISEI, MATSUE and UMEKAWA MARUs.
E 14 September 1943:
Arrives at Palau.
9 October 1943:
At 1300, CH-39 and CH-16 depart Rabaul for Palau escorting convoy O-903 consisting of KYOEI, TAKAOKA and NANMAN MARUs.
16 October 1943:
At 0830, arrives at Palau.
20 October 1943:
Departs Palau escorting convoy SO-002 consisting of TAJIMA and SHINKO MARUs.
28 October 1943:
Arrives at Rabaul.
13 November 1943:
At 1200, CH-39 and CH-24 depart Rabaul escorting convoy convoy O-305 consisting of HOKKAI, TAISHO, MACASSAR and LYONS MARUs and HOSHI MARU No. 5. The convoy is shadowed that evening by a USAAF B-24.
14 November 1943:
At 0003, the B-24 launches a slow low level attack and hits TAISHO MARU amidships in hold No. 3. TAISHO MARU is damaged but able to return to Rabaul arriving the following day.
20 November 1943:
Arrives at Palau.
25 November 1943:
CH-39 and CH-24 depart Palau escorting convoy SO-505 consisting of HOKKO, UCHIDE, YURI, COLUMBIA and CLYDE MARUs enroute to Rabaul.
28 November 1943:
At 1010, LtCdr James W. Davis' USS RATON (SS-270) attacks the convoy. YURI MARU is hit by three torpedoes. She blows up and sinks at 01-40N, 141-51E. Davis next torpedoes and hits HOKKO MARU aft and sinks her. Later that evening, RATON attacks the convoy again, but is unsuccessful.
29 November 1943:
LtCdr Robert J. Foley's USS GATO (SS-212) attacks the convoy unsuccessfully.
30 November 1943:
GATO launches a second attack. Foley torpedoes and sinks COLUMBIA MARU at 01-56N, 147-21E. CH-39 steams ahead. At 0300, CH-39 meets convoy O-006 from Rabaul consisting of WALES, NIKKI, SHOHO, SHINYU and AWA MARUs. Thereafter, CH-39 is the convoy's sole escort.
7 December 1943:
At 0900, arrives at Palau.
27 December 1943:
At 0800, CH-39 and CH-33 depart Rabaul for Palau escorting convoy O-706 consisting of SHIRANESAN, RYUA, HARUNA, HOKKAI and HITAKA MARUs and KOSHU MARU No. 2.
3 January 1944:
Arrives at Palau at 0800. Later that same day, CH-39, CH-33 and CH-24 depart Palau escorting convoy 8031 consisting of oiler OGURA MARU No. 3.
9 January 1944:
Arrives at Truk.
February 1944:
CH-39 departs Ponape escorting a convoy consisting of NIPPO, KITAGAMI and YUBAE MARUs, TAKUMAN MARU No. 2 and SHONAN MARU No. 5.
10 February 1944:
Arrives at Truk from Ponape.
16 February 1944:
Off Three Island Harbor, New Hanover. CH-39 is escorting cargo ship SANKO MARU that is towing a midget submarine. The convoy is attacked by Fifth Air Force B-25 "Mitchell" medium-bombers of the 500th Bomb Squadron of the 345 Bomb Group that bomb, strafe and sink CH-39 and SANKO MARU and damage the midget. [1]
That same afternoon, B-25s of the 499th Bomb Squadron of the 345 Bomb Group arrive at the scene and find CH-39 sunk by the stern on a reef and abandoned, but the midget submarine is still on the surface. They also bomb and strafe the midget and claim a sinking.
17 February 1944:
B-25s of the 500th Bomb Squadron return to the scene again and find the midget submarine still on the surface. They again bomb and strafe the midget and also claim a sinking. [2]
30 April 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
Authors' Notes:
[1] The midget submarine may have been HA-23. Some sources say the midget had just been taken off a mother submarine. It was to be provisioned, then put back on the mother sub to be deployed. Postwar, divers find the midget's two counter-rotating props still tied together and the sub's tie-down tackle still attached.
[2] Japanese sources claim the midget submarine's crew scuttled her after the B-25 attacks.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.
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