KUSENTEI!
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(Subchaser No. 46 by Takeshi Yuki scanned from "Color
Paintings of Japanese Warships")
IJN Subchaser CH-42:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2008 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
1942:
Innoshima. Laid down at the Hitachi Zosen K.K. shipyard.
1942:
Launched and numbered CH-42.
31 May 1943:
Completed and registered in the Yokosuka Naval District. Attached to the Yokosuka Guard Force. Escorts convoys between Yokosuka and Kobe.
12 June 1943:
Escorts convoy No. 5614 consisting of unidentified ships.
August 1943:
Escorts convoys between Hachinohe, Honshu and Onagawa.
31 December 1943:
Relinquishes escort of convoy No. 2229 consisting of unidentified ships to auxiliary subchaser CHa-1.
February 1944:
Yokosuka. Undergoes maintenance. Thereafter, escorts convoys to Chichi-Jima, Bonin Islands.
March 1944:
Off Sanriku, NE Honshu. Conducts patrols.
August 1944:
Yokosuka. Undergoes repair and maintenance.
27 September 1944:
At 1300, CH-42 departs Yokosuka for Chichi-Jima with minelayer AJIRO escorting convoy No. 3927 consisting of SEIAN and KISARAGI MARUs.
1 October 1944:
NW of the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. At 0903, LtCdr William W. Walker's USS SNAPPER (SS-185) torpedoes and sinks SEIAN MARU at 28-20N 139-25E. At 0914, SNAPPER also torpedoes and sinks AJIRO. CH-42 launches depth charge attacks without success.
2 October 1944:
CH-42 and KISARAGI MARU are attacked by nine B-24 bombers, but suffer no damage. That evening, they arrive safely at Chichi-Jima.
12 December 1944:
At 1415, CH-42 departs Tateyama for Chichi-Jima with kaibokan CD-6, CD-12 and minesweeper W-29 escorting convoy No. 3209 consisting of JUZAN, YAEI, KAIKO and SHOTO MARUs.
13 December 1944:
The convoy encounters bad weather and at 1136 puts into Hachijo-Jima. At 1653, the same day, it departs.
16 December 1944:
44 miles W of Chichi-Jima. At 0229, in a night surface radar attack, LtCdr Robert R. Williams' USS FINBACK (SS-230) torpedoes and sinks JUZAN MARU at 27-24N, 141-44E. Williams also fires torpedoes at minesweeper W-29 and subchaser CH-42 for no results, but the escorts do not counter-attack. At 1249, the convoy enters Futami Harbor, Chichi-Jima. Unloading is begun immediately.
17 December 1944:
Unloading is finished by mid-morning. At about 1530, the same ships, now renumbered as convoy No. 4217, depart Chichi-Jima for Tateyama.
20 December 1944:
Enroute stormy weather is encountered. The convoy again shelters at Hachijo-Jima.
21 December 1944:
At 0700, departs Hachijo Jima.
22 December 1944:
At 0314, arrives at Tateyama.
28 December 1944:
CH-42 departs Chichi-Jima for Tateyama with kaibokan CD-6 and auxiliary subchaser SHONAN MARU No. 8 escorting convoy No. 4127 consisting of MIYO MARU and oil tanker No. 3995. CH-42 is detached at an unknown point in the journey and returns to Chichi-Jima.
1 January 1945:
At 1700, departs Chichi-Jima with kaibokan CD-12 and minesweeper W-29 escorting convoy No. 4101 consisting of SHIBAZONO, YONEYAMA, YAEI and NANYO MARUs.
3 January 1945:
At 2030, LtCdr Talbot E. Harper's USS KINGFISH (SS-234) torpedoes and sinks SHIBAZONO and YAEI MARUs at 30-21N, 142-15E. CH-42 and CD-12 launch unsuccessful depth charge attacks.
6 January 1945:
At 0918, arrives at Tateyama.
16 January 1945:
At 1200, CH-42 departs Tateyama with kaibokan CD-12, CD-56 and minesweeper W-29 escorting convoy No. 3115 consisting of KURETAKE, YONEYAMA and NANYO MARUs and UNYO MARU No. 6.
19 January 1945:
At 1046, the convoy is attacked by a group of large American aircraft, but the attack is beaten off. At 1142, arrives at Futami Port, Chichi-Jima.
22 January 1945:
Of Chichi-Jima. CH-42 is damaged by a mine.
January–February 1945:
Yokosuka. Undergoes battle damage repairs.
May 1945:
Off Sanriku. Escorts convoys.
22 July 1945:
At 1600, CH-42 departs Yokohama for Hakodate, Hokkaido with minesweeper W-1 escorting a convoy consisting of ENBUN MARU and HAKUTETSU MARU No. 5. The convoy assembles at Tateyama and departs at 2100. At 2350, off Cape Nojima, the convoy comes under fire from eight American destroyers of DesRon 61 at 34-50N, 139-50E. At a range of 3.5 miles, both ENBUN MARU and HAKUTETSU MARU No. 5 are hit. Fires are started on HAKUTETSU MARU No. 5.
23 July 1945:
Early morning. Carrier-based planes arrive and bomb and strafe the convoy. ENBUN MARU reverses course back to Tateyama. HAKUTETSU MARU No. 5 sinks while under tow to Yohohama. The convoy is dissolved.
9 August 1945:
Onagawa Bay. CH-42, kaibokan INAGI and AMAKUSA, supply ship SOYA, minesweeper W-33 and target ship OHAMA are at anchor when they are attacked by F-4U Mark IV "Corsair" fighter-bombers of Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Sir Bernard J. Rawlings, RN, Task Force 37’s (British Pacific Fleet) carrier HMS FORMIDABLE. INAGI and OHAMA are sunk. CH-42 is hit by a 500-lb bomb, badly damaged and beached at 38-24N, 141-15E.
A bomb dropped by Lt Robert H. Gray, RCNVR, sinks AMAKUSA at 38-26N, 141-30E, but Lt Gray is brought down by heavy AA fire and crashes in flames into the Bay. [1]
That same day, Major (later Brig Gen, ANG) Charles W. Sweeney's B-29 "Superfortress", nicknamed "BOCKSCAR", of Sweeney's 393rd Bomb Squadron of the 509th Composite Group drops "Fat Man", the second atomic bomb, this time on Nagasaki. Fearful that Tokyo and his palace will be the next target of atomic bombing, Emperor Hirohito soon agrees to an end of hostilities provided no harm comes to him.
15 August 1945: The End of Hostilities:
Stranded at Onagawa Bay.
15 September 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
Authors' Note:
[1] Lt Gray is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the fourth and last Commonwealth naval airman to be so honored.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.
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