FUSETSUKAN!
(Japanese cargo ship)
IJN Minelayer EIJO:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2010 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
1944:
Shanghai, China. Laid down at Kiangnan shipyard as a 3,224-ton Type 2D
Standard Merchant.
11 August 1944:
Launched and named EIJO.
2 September 1944:
Completed.
29 January 1945:
Requisitioned by the IJN.
10 March 1945:
Registered in the Kure Naval District. Assigned to the 1st Escort Fleet, 7th Fleet.
10 April 1945:
Reassigned to the 18th Escort Squadron, 7th Fleet, Combined Fleet.
11 April 1945:
EIJO's CO, Lt Saimu Ishizue arrives aboard.
12 April 1945:
At Kure Navy Yard. Begins conversion to a minelayer.
13 April 1945:
Completes conversion. The Rising Sun naval ensign is raised on the flagstaff signifying she is now a warship. Departs Kure.
14 April 1945:
Arrives at Yashima and departs later that day.
15 April 1945:
Arrives at Saeki.
16-22 April 1945:
Loads mines and fresh water.
22 April 1945:
Departs Saeki. Later that day, she suffers a machinery breakdown.
23 April 1945:
Arrives at Iwaishima.
24 April 1945:
Loads mines to minelayers SAISHU, NIIZAKI, NUWAJIMA and KYOSAI.
28 April 1945:
Temporary repairs are completed. Later that day arrives at Kure.
31 May 1945:
At Yobuko harbor. Embarks a cargo of mines from auxiliary minelayer KOEI MARU.
5 June 1945:
Attached to the Seventh fleet, Combined Fleet.
June 1945:
Tsushima Straits. EIJO lays mines.
17 June 1945:
Off Motsutanozaki, Hokkaido. LtCdr William J. Germershausen's USS SPADEFISH (SS-411) makes a night surface radar attack on a convoy hugging the coastline consisting of two cargo ships and one escort. At 0141 (I), Germershausen fires two Mark-14-3A torpedoes and gets one hit aft on EIJO. Four minutes later she sinks at 42-43N, 139-57E.
10 August 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
Authors' Notes:
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
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