© 2006 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
8 September 1944:
Tokyo. Laid down at the Uraga Dock Co. Ltd’s yard.
5 October 1944:
Named CHIKUBU.
24 November 1944:
Launched.
31 December 1944:
Completed and registered in the Sasebo Naval
District.
26 February 1945:
Assigned to the General Escort Command's First Escort Fleet.
16 March 1945:
At 0900, CHIKUBU departs Moji for Keelung with
kaibokan CD-40, CD-102 and CD-106 escorting convoy MOTA-43. The convoy consists
of transports KIYOKAWA, HAKOZAKI, TATSUHARA and NIKKO MARUs.
19 March 1945:
225 miles NNE of Shanghai. At 0258, at 33-07N,
122-05E, LtCdr Robert K. Worthington's USS BALAO (SS-285) attacks the convoy and
torpedoes TATSUHARA and HAKOZAKI MARUs. Another torpedo just misses CD-40. HAKOZAKI MARU is torn apart by internal explosions as her cargo of gasoline, shells and torpedoes ignites and blows off her stern. She quickly sinks, but her forward section stays afloat blazing until finally sinking at
0320. The combination of fire, explosions and 5 degree centigrade water means that almost all aboard perish. 928 passengers, 51 gunners and 139 crew, a total
of 1,118 are KIA.
The torpedo strike on TATSUHARA MARU kills 149 military personnel, but
the ship remains afloat and later makes Shanghai. CHIKUBU and CD-102 launch an
unsuccessful depth charge counter-attack on BALAO, then rescue 130 survivors.
1 April 1945:
At 0615, CHIKUBU departs Keelung for Moji with kaibokan
CD-40, CD-102 and CD-106 escorting convoy TAMO-53 consisting of the survivors of
convoy MOTA-43, NIKKO and KIYOKAWA MARUs. Both merchant ships are loaded with
sugar needed for conversion to aviation fuel and butane and evacuees from
Formosa, mostly women and children.
9 April 1945:
Yellow Sea. LtCdr (later MOH/Captain) George L. Street
III’s USS TIRANTE (SS-420), alerted by an “Ultra” signal based on code-breaker’s
intelligence, stalks convoy TAMO-53 enroute from Shanghai to Japan. Street fires
three Mark 18-2 electric torpedoes at each of two targets at 36-50N,123-55E. One
spread misses, but the other hits NIKKO MARU in the bow and engine room. She
sinks taking down 563 passengers, 14 gunners, 16 guard force soldiers, two
signalers and 73 crewmen.
The convoy’s escorts counter-attack TIRANTE. Street fires a Mark-27
"Cutie"acoustic homing torpedo at CD-102. TIRANTE’s crew hears "breaking-up
noises," but the kaibokan does not sink. CD-102 loses seven men blown off the
fantail when the Cutie hits. CHIKUBU tows the damaged kaibokan to safety and rescues
some of the NIKKO MARU's survivors. The remainder of the convoy heads for Moji.
12 April 1945:
CHIKUBU and CD-102 arrive at Pusan, S Korea.
26 April 1945:
Reassigned to the 22nd Coast Defense Group.
30 November 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
1 December 1945:
Assigned to minesweeping duties by the Allied
Occupation Powers.
7 October 1946:
Reassigned as a minesweeper tender.
1 November 1947:
Discarded by the Allies.
26 December 1947:
Transferred to the Japanese Marine Transportation
Bureau’s Central Meteorological Observatory as a weather survey ship. Renamed
CHIKUBU MARU. Participates in summer season typhoon patrols with former kaibokans SHINNAN, IKUNA and UKURU.
1 January 1949:
Transferred to the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency as
a patrol ship. Renamed ATSUMI.
4 October 1962:
Discarded.
Authors' Note:
Thanks for assistance go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.
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