KUSENTEI!

© 2005-2007 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall

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25 January 1938:
Yokohama. Laid down at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard.

28 July 1938:
Launched and numbered CH-5.

6 December 1938:
Completed and registered in the IJN.

8 December 1941:
Takao, Formosa. 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. Attached to the Philippines Seizure Force in Cdr Ota Haruo's SubChasDiv 21 with CH-4, CH-6, CH-16, CH-17 and CH-18.

18 December 1941:
At 1200, departs Mako, Pescadores escorting the second echelon of the Lingayen Seizure Force.

22 December 1941: The Invasion of the Philippines:
Lingayen Gulf. Three echelons of 76 transports carrying the main part of LtGen Homma Masaharu's Fourteenth Army land at Lingayen. SubChasDiv 21 escorts Rear Admiral Hirose's third echelon of 22 transports from Keelung, Formosa.

January 1942:
Carries out patrols in the Davao area

24 February 1942: Operation "J" - The Invasion of Java, Netherlands East Indies:
Participates in the landings at Bantam Bay, near Batavia (Jakarta), Java.

8-12 March 1942:
Participates in the capture of Surabaya, Java.

10 March 1942:
Assigned to Vice Admiral Takahashi's Southwest Area Fleet's newly formed Second Southern Expeditionary Fleet in Special Base Force 22 organized at Surabaya. CH-5 escorts convoys to Balikpapan and Borneo area.

29 July 1942: Operation "T" - Banda Sea Operations:
At 1500, the 3rd Attack Force departs Ambon, Moluccas. The force includes CH-5 of Special Base Force 22 carrying a platoon of the 3rd Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) and Special Base Force 23's CH-21, carrying one company of Special Base Force 24. Cover is provided by DesDiv 5's ASAKAZE, HAURUKAZE and MATSUKAZE of the 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet.

30 July 1942:
CH-5 lands troops on the Tanimbar Islands.

31 July 1942:
Returns to Ambon.

22 December 1942:
Departs Balikpapan at 1600 escorting oiler SAN CLEMENTE MARU and another ship to longitude 121.

25 May 1943:
At 0800, departs Balikpapan escorting TAIKAI, SEIZAN and SONTO MARUs towards Makassar. Then probably escorts IKUSHIMA MARU back to Balikpapan.

26 May 1943:
At 0800, CH-5 departs Balikpapan. Escorts oiler AKEBONO MARU, enroute to Rabaul, as far as 2 degrees N latitude.

27 May 1943:
At 1600, takes over escort of convoy near Balikpapan consisting of oiler KYOEI MARU and cargo ships TOBI, SHONAN and MIYAURA MARUs en route to Tarakan.

29 May 1943:
At 1400, arrives at Tarakan.

30 May 1943:
Escorts oiler AZUMA MARU from Tarakan to Balikpapan.

8 October 1943:
CH-5 departs Tarakan escorting a convoy consisting of oilers TOA and NIPPON MARUs.

9 October 1943:
At 1700, arrives at Balikpapan.

16 October 1943:
Departs Palau with destroyer SANAE escorting convoy 2511 consisting of NICHIRYO and SHOEI MARUs at 9 knots.

23 October 1943:
At 0700, arrives Balikpapan. Prior to arrival, NICHIRYO MARU detached and sailed independently to Ambon. Later that day, CH-5 is ordered to Kau to escort SENKO MARU to Balikpapan.

17 February 1944:
CH-5 and auxiliary gunboat PEKING MARU depart Balikpapan for Palau escorting a convoy consisting of oilers OGURA MARU No. 3 and KYOEI MARU No. 2.

23 February 1944:
At about 2300, LtCdr (later Rear Admiral) James C. Dempsey's USS COD (SS-224) makes a surface attack, torpedoes and sinks OGURA MARU No. 3 at 03-53N, 129-17E.

26 February 1944:
Arrives at Palau.

2 May 1944:
Arrives at Makassar escorting a convoy consisting of SUITEN MARU, oiler ENOSHIMA MARU and another unidentified ship.

25 October 1944:
At 0650, CH-5, CH-31 and patrol boat No. 2 depart Tarakan escorting convoy M-246 consisting of UNKAI MARU No. 12, CAROLINE MARU and oilers TAKASAGO MARU No. 2, NANSHIN MARU No. 8, NANKO MARU No. 1 and HORAI MARU No. 7 At 1437 that day, UNKAI MARU No. 12 runs aground. Patrol boat No. 2 is detached to guard the ship.

29 October 1944:
Arrives at Honda Bay, N of Puerto Princesa. Later that day, UNKAI MARU No. 12 and patrol boat No. 2 rejoin the convoy at Puerto Princesa.

31 October 1944:
At 2000, arrives at Taytay Bay, NE Palawan.

1 November 1944:
Departs Taytay Bay. Later that day, the convoy is attacked by LtCdr George H. Laird's USS BLACKFIN (SS-322) and LtCdr William T. Kinsella's RAY (SS-271). At 0923, Laird torpedoes and sinks UNKAI MARU No. 12 and CAROLINE MARU, both at 12-57N, 120-12E. At 1042, Kinsella sinks HORAI MARU No. 7 at the same location. Later that day, the rest of the convoy arrives at Manila.

9 January 1945:
Bantem Bay, E of Bawean Island, Borneo. Ltz 1 (LtCdr) Jacob F. Drijfhout van Hooff's Dutch submarine O-19, operating under ComSubSoWesPac, is alerted by an "Ultra" signal that a small convoy is steaming eastwards S of Borneo. Just before sunset. a mast appears on the horizon near Tandjung Puting. Van Hooff executes an "end around" to get ahead of the convoy.

Van Hooff surfaces at sunset and sights a small freighter and an escort. He fires three torpedoes and gets a hit that sinks SHINKO MARU No. 1 at 03-41S-111-54E. CH-5 depth charges O-19 and causes heavy damage. During the action, CH-5 may have sustained damage. The O-19 safely returns to Fremantle via Darwin, Australia. [1]

31 March 1945:
Makassar Strait, off Balikpapan, Borneo. USAAF B-24 "Liberator" heavy-bombers attack convoy BASU-05 enroute from Balikpapan to Surabaya, Java and damage CH-5.

30 June 1945:
N of Bali, Java. CH-5 departs Makassar, Celebes escorting convoy MASU-705 to Surabaya. The convoy consists of sea-trucks NASHIN MARU No. 16, SUGI MARU, SHONAN MARU No. 2 and dredge BANDAI MARU. At about 0200, the convoy is attacked by LtCdr Benjamin C. Davis' USS BAYA (SS-318) and LtCdr Ernest S. Friedrick's CAPITAINE (SS-336). The submarines engage and damage CH-5 with their 5-inch deck guns and sink BANDAI MARU at 06-27S, 117-13E. CH-5 does not sink and later is towed to Batavia for repairs.

15 August 1945:
Batavia (Jakarta), Java (Indonesia). The crew of CH-5 is notified of the termination of hostilities with the Allied Powers. Later, CH-5 is taken over by British Forces in severely damaged condition. She is moved to Singapore at an undetermined date.

11 July 1946:
Off Singapore. Scuttled by the Royal Navy.

10 August 1946:
Removed from the Navy List.

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[1] Sources vary concerning the identification of the escort. Ultra signals, based on decrypts, claim it was CH-5. The extent of damage, if any, to CH-5 in the attack is unknown.

-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.

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