© 2008 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
1917:
Tokyo. A MOMI-class destroyer is ordered from Uraga Dock Co.
24 January 1918:
Designated HASU, DD-2.
2 March 1921:
Laid down at Uraga Dock Co.
8 December 1921:
Launched.
1 March 1922:
LtCdr (later Rear Admiral) Saito Jiro (36)(former CO of SUMIDA) is posted Chief Equipping Officer.
31 July 1922:
Completed and registered in the IJN. Assigned to DesRon 28. LtCdr Saito is the CO.
1 December 1923:
Lt (later Rear Admiral) Naotsuka Hachiro (38) assumes acting command.
1 December 1924:
Lt Naotsuka is promoted LtCdr and assumes command.
1 May 1925:
An unknown officer assumes command.
5 September 1929:
LtCdr (Vice Admiral, posthumously), the Baron, Ijuin Matsuji (43) assumes command.
1 November 1929:
LtCdr Ijuin assumes command of destroyer YOMOGI "on paper" as an additional duty.
30 November 1929:
LtCdr Ijuin is relieved of duties for YOMOGI.
1 December 1931:
LtCdr (later Rear Admiral) Takeuchi Kaoru (46) assumes command.
23 April 1932:
An unknown officer assumes command.
7 July 1937: The Marco Polo Bridge (The"First China Incident") Incident:
Hun River, Lukuokiao, China. Japanese troops at the bridge fire blank cartridges during night maneuvers. Chinese troops fire back. Later, the Japanese discover a soldier missing. They demand entry to the Peking
(Beijing) suburb of Wanping to look for him, but the Chinese refuse. The Japanese shell the city and an
undeclared war on China begins.
12 November 1937:
Shanghai is captured.
13 June 1938 - The Battle of Wuhan:
Yangtze River. The Japanese make a naval landing at Anqing supported by 100 vessels, including more than 40 destroyers, mine sweepers, naval and river gunboats and blockade boats. HASU is in Rear Admiral Kondo Eijiro’s 11th Sentai with second-class destroyers TSUGA and KURI. The landing force totals about 12,000 men and 80 to 90 guns. The Japanese begin the Battle of Wuhan to annihilate the Chinese Army and force them to surrender. The battle rages over for four months and ends in a stalemate.
15 October 1940:
LtCdr Matsuda Koru (56) assumes command.
20 August 1941:
Lt Iuchi Gisaburo (58) assumes command.
November 1941:
HASU is in Vice Admiral (Fleet Admiral, postumously) Koga Mineichi’s (34)(former CO of ISE) China Area
Fleet in Vice Admiral Makita Kakusaburo's (38)(former CO of KIRISHIMA) Shanghai Area Base Force with
second-class destroyers KURI and TSUGA.
8 December 1941:
Shanghai. Captain Otani Inaho (51) and a detachment of Special Naval Landing Force troops arrive and board
British river gunboat HMS PETEREL moored nearby. Otani informs her CO, Lt Stephen Polkinghorn, Royal
Navy Volunteer Reserve, that their countries are at war and demands the surrender of the ship. Polkinghorn
refuses and orders the Japanese off at gunpoint. Illuminated by coast defense ship (ex-armored cruiser)
IZUMO’s searchlights, HASU, gunboats TOBA, SETA and ATAMI and IJA artillery pieces ashore sink
PETEREL by gunfire. Six of PETEREL’s crew of 21 men are lost, but Polkinghorn, although wounded,
and the others survive and are made POWs.
1942:
HASU’s midships 4.7 mount is landed and replaced with two triple 25mm Type 96 AA mounts.
20 October 1942:
Lt Horie Hiroshi (59) assumes command.
21 December 1942: No. 6 Go Transportation Operation:
Convoy No. 35 assembles at Shanghai to transport the IJA’s 6th Infantry Division via Truk to Guadalcanal (after the decision is made to evacuate Guadalcanal, the convoy’s destination is changed to New Guinea).
The convoy consists of troop convoy Parts A, B and C. Part A consists of TEIYO, MYOHO MARUs and SHINSEI MARU No. 1; Part B consists of OIGAWA, KENKON, KYOKUSEI and PANAMA MARUs and Part C consists of MEIU, SOMEDOMO, SOURABAYA and SHINAI MARUs. HASU departs Shanghai for New Guinea escorting Part A and second-class destroyer KURI departs escorting Part B.
25 December 1942:
Part C departs Shanghai consisting of MEIU, SOMEDONO, SURABAYA and SHINAI MARUs escorted by second-class destroyer TSUGA.
5 January 1943:
Parts A and B arrive at Mako, Pescadores. The old China Area Fleet second-class destroyers are detached and replaced by the Southwest Area Fleet’s destroyers HOKAZE and NAGATSUKI tasked to escort the convoy to 136 degrees E longitude. The escort is further augmented by destroyer SHIRAYUKI, subchasers CH-2 and CH-11 and auxiliary gunboat CHOAN MARU No. 2.
11 April 1943:
Truk. HASU is damaged in a collision.
May 1943:
Undergoes repairs, probably at Shanghai.
25 October 1943:
Lt Horinouchi Yoshiro assumes command.
E 18 May 1944:
HASU departs Keelung for Moji with kaibokan AWAJI, torpedo boat SAGI, patrol boat PB-38 and auxiliary
gunboat PEKING MARU escorting convoy MI-02 consisting of TACHIBANA, NITTETSU, KENSEI, SANKO, TAKETSU (BUTSU), SHINCHO KAMO, CHIKUZEN and CHOSAN MARUs and OGURA MARU No. 1 and YAMAMIZU MARU No. 2.
23 May 1944:
At 1700, convoy MI-02 arrives at Moji.
3 July 1944:
At 1025, HASU departs Saei, Formosa with gunboat OKITSU escorting convoy No. 3311 consisting of CHOHAKUSAN, KORYU, SETSUZAN, SHOZAN, DAIICHI, FUKUEI, KAIKO, NICHIZUI, PEKING, YOKO, DAIKYU and SHOHO MARUs and TOYO MARU No. 5.
4 July 1944:
At 0700, YOKO Maru detaches for Keelung. Later that day, SHOHO MARU develops engine trouble and
falls behind.
6 July 1944:
At 0545, LtCdr (later Vice Admiral) Eli T. Reich's USS SEALION (SS-315) torpedoes and sinks SETSUZAN
MARU at 29-57N, 122-51E.
10 July 1944:
At 0130, anchors near Shanghai.
11 July 1944:
At 0600, departs the anchorage.
19 July 1944:
At 1040, arrives at Seito (Tsingtao).
20 July 1944:
At 1000, departs Seito.
25 July 1944:
At 1700, arrives at Moji.
16 August 1944:
At 1835, HASU departs Woosung, China for Naha, Okinawa with sister TSUGA and gunboat UJI escorting a
convoy consisting of WAHO, TSUSHIMA and GYOKU MARUs. The convoy is carrying about 6,000 troops of
the 62nd Infantry Division.
19 August 1944:
Arrives at Naha.
21 August 1944:
At 1835, HASU departs Naha for Moji with gunboat UJI escorting convoy NAMO-103 consisting of TSUSHIMA, GYOKU and KAZUURA MARUs. TSUSHIMA MARU is evacuating 826 school children from Okinawa and
carrying another 1529 passengers and crewmen.
22 August 1944:
Ryukyu Islands. Cdr John Corbus’ USS BOWFIN (SS-287) attacks the convoy. At 2212, Corbus torpedoes and
sinks TSUSHIMA MARU at 29-32N, 129-33E. Fearing submarine attack, no ships in the convoy stop to rescue survivors in the water. Later, only 59 of the children are saved.
Corbus makes four other attacks and fires numerous torpedoes. HASU and UJI do not counter-attack.
[1]
24 August 1944:
Arrives at Nagasaki.
3 September 1944:
Off Yangtze River estuary. HASU is damaged by a mine at 31-19N, 121-43E.
September 1944:
Shanghai. Undergoes repairs.
22 October 1944:
At 1700, HASU departs Foochow, China for Takao, Formosa with TSUGA escorting a convoy consisting of
KORI GO, TATSUJU, TOUN and WAKATAKE MARUs.
23 October 1944:
NNW of Mako, Pescadores. At 0336, Cdr (later Rear Admiral-Ret/MOH) Richard H. O’Kane’s USS TANG
(SS-306) attacks the convoy. O’Kane torpedoes and damages TOUN MARU that catches fire. Next, O’Kane torpedoes and sinks TATSUJU MARU. WAKATAKE MARU spots the half-surfaced TANG 400 yards ahead and tries to ram, but O’Kane goes hard to port, evades and then torpedoes and sinks WAKATAKE MARU at 24-49N, 120-26E.
24 October 1944:
O’Kane’s TANG torpedoes and sinks KORI GO at 24-42N, 120-21E.
25 October 1944:
While attacking another convoy, TANG is sunk in shallow water by a circular run of the last of her Mark-18 torpedoes. LtCdr O'Kane and eight of his crew survive and are captured and transported as POWs to Formosa and then to Japan.
28 November 1944:
At 1200, HASU departs Woosung, China for Mako escorting convoy TA-904 consisting of ROZAN, NITTO,
GYOYU, and TOSAN MARUs.
1 December 1944:
Arrives at Mako.
16 January 1945:
Hong Kong. Carrier aircraft of Vice Admiral John S. McCain’s Task Force 38 attack shipping and installations.
TF 38’s planes damage HASU severely. They also damage oiler KAMOI, fast transport T.108, kaibokan
SHINNAN, NOMI and CD-60 and sink transport HOKKAI MARU, tankers TENEI, MATSUSHIMA and SANKO MARUs and cargo ship ANRI GO No.2.
E February 1945:
Arrives at Shanghai. Undergoes battle-damage repairs.
20 March 1945:
Completes repairs.
April 1945:
Tsingtao (now Qingdao), China. HASU rejoins KURI in escort and transport work until enemy airpower forces abandonment of those routes.
6 May 1945:
Arrives at Xiamen to transport munitions.
15 May 1945:
Lt Nakamura Kugao (60) assumes command.
25 June 1945:
Arrives undamaged at Tsingtao.
15 August 1945:
Tsingtao. Lt Nakamura notifies HASU’s crew of the end of hostilities.
16 September 1945:
Tsingtao. HASU is surrendered.
25 October 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
1945-1946:
HASU is used for repatriation service until the spring of 1946.
1946-1948:
Moored at Sasebo.
1948:
Sasebo. Scrapped.
Author's Notes:
[1] Corbus claims four other ships sunk, but postwar, the claim is not substantiated.
[2] On 12 December 1997, TSUSHIMA MARU was positively identified by Dolphin 3K deep sea
detection equipment at a depth of 2, 858 feet (871 m), 6 miles NW of Akuseki Island, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Portions of the vessel were video taped and the ship's name was found painted on the hull.
Little data were found about HASU's movements during most of 1942 and 1943. Readers with
access to such data are requested to post the information on the
Discussion and Questions board or j-aircraft.org's IJN Ship Message
Board
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
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