© 2006-2011 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.
Revision 2
5 February 1942:
Tamano. Laid down at Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding’s
yard as kaibokan No. 315.
5 February 1943:
Launched and named
IKI.
31 May 1943:
Completed and registered in the Kure Naval District. LtCdr Nakao Kushuo is the Commanding Officer. Assigned to the Kure Guard Unit.
1 June 1943:
Arrives at Kure.
7 June 1943:
At Kure. [1]
10 June 1943:
Departs Kure for Saeki. That same day, fleet oiler IRO is torpedoed by LtCdr Lawrence R. Daspit's USS TINOSA (SS-283) S of Bungo Suido.
E 11 June 1943:
IKI and minelayer NUWAJIMA are dispatched to find and destroy the submarine that attacked IRO. A contact is made and depth-charged after 0900, but the results are unknown. Later that day, IKI joins convoy P-607 consisting of HOFUKU, HIYOSHI and SAIPAN MARUs escorted by patrol boat P-31, torpedo boat HATO, minelayers NUWAJIMA and YURISHIMA. Joined by KONAN and NANKAI MARUs off Toi Misaki. [2]
13 June 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
20 June 1943:
At 0630, IKI departs Saeki for Palau with minesweeper
W-18 and torpedo boat HATO escorting convoy O-007 consisting of KAZUURA, RYOYO, NISSHU, TOKO, SHOHO, TAIRIN and UMEKAWA MARUs.
E 22 June 1943:
W-18 is detached at latitude 29N.
29 June 1943:
Arrives at Palau.
6 July 1943:
Departs Palau escorting convoy FU-601 consisting of KAZUURA MARU.
E 10 July 1943:
The convoy is joined by minelayer NUWAJIMA at 29-10N, 134-30E.
11 July 1943:
The escorts are detached off Saeki. KAZUURA MARU proceeds alone to Ujina.
24 July 1943:
Departs Saeki with minelayer YURIJIMA and auxiliary minesweeper TAKUNAN MARU No. 8 escorting convoy O-406 consisting of FUKUYAMA, UCHIDE, KINE, KAZUURA, NISHIYAMA (SEIZAN), TENKAI MARUs.
E 26 July 1943:
YURIJIMA and TAKUNAN MARU No. 8 are detached at 29N.
2 August 1943:
Torpedo boat HATO joins the convoy at 11N. Later that day, the convoy arrives at Palau.
5 August 1943:
Departs Palau escorting convoy FU-507 consisting of seven unidentified merchant ships.
E 13 August 1943:
Auxiliary minesweepers TAKUNAN MARU No. 8 and TAMA MARU No.7 join the convoy at 31-30N, 134-10E.
14 August 1943:
Arrives at Saeki.
23 August 1943:
Departs Saeki with minesweeper W-33 escorting convoy O-603 consisting of transports KANSAI and KINUGASA MARUs and IJA landing craft depot ship MAYASAN MARU.
E 24 August 1943:
W-33 is detached at 29N.
1 September 1943:
Arrives at Palau.
7 September 1943:
At 1030, IKI departs Palau escorting convoy FU-706 consisting of TAISHO, SHINKO, NICHIRYO, TOHO and DELAGOA MARUs and EIKO MARU No. 2 GO.
E 16 September 1943:
Auxiliary minesweepers AOI, KOZAN, YACHIYO MARUs, TOKUHO MARU No. 10 and auxiliary patrol boats MATO MARU and MYOGEN MARU No. 16 join the convoy at 30-50N, 133-50E.
17 September 1943:
Arrives at Saeki.
21 September 1943:
IKI departs Saeki with auxiliary minesweepers TAKUNAN MARU No. 3, AOI, YACHIYO, KOZAN MARUs and TOKUHO MARU No. 10 escorting convoy O-209 consisting of HOZUGAWA, NITTAI, KANAYAMASAN, KAYO, FUKUYO, ERIE, DAKAR, BRAZIL MARUs and SHINTO MARU No.1.
E 22 September 1943:
Auxiliary minesweepers KOZAN MARU and TOKUHO MARU No. 10 are detached at 30N.
E 23 September 1943:
Auxiliary minesweepers AOI and YACHIYO MARUs are detached at 28N.
2 October 1943:
Arrives safely at Palau.
5 October 1943:
IKI departs Palau escorting convoy FU-506 consisting of TOYU, TOYOKAWA, MOJI, TOTAI, TENCHO and YAGUMO MARUs.
E 14 October 1943:
Auxiliary minesweepers YACHIYO, OI MARUs and TAMA MARU No. 7 join the convoy at 23N.
15 October 1943:
Arrives at Saeki.
25 October 1943:
IKI departs Saeki with auxiliary minesweepers OI, TAMA MARUs, and TAMA MARU No. 7 escorting convoy O-507consisting of KOKAI, SHOHO, WALES, KISO, TOTAI, YAMATO and KIBI MARUs.
E 26 October 1943:
All the auxilary minesweepers are detached at 30N.
E 2 November 1943:
Auxiliary subchasers CHa-3, CHa-10 join the convoy near Palau.
3 November 1943:
Palau. IKI is with auxiliary subchasers CHa-22 and SHOWA MARU.
4 November 1943:
Off Babelthaup Island, Palau. At 0905, LtCdr William. B. Sieglaff's USS TAUTOG (SS-199) sights a six ship convoy escorted by a "destroyer" and several smaller escorts. At 1045, Sieglaff fires four Mark-18 electric torpedoes, but TAUTOG broaches in full view of the Japanese. All the torpedoes miss. The escorts drop five DCs, but TAUTOG evades and escapes.
At 1200, USN codebreakers intercept a message from IKI that reads: “At 1045, convoy 0 [-507] sustained torpedo attack...no damage. Position 07-45 N, 134-09 E .”
5 November 1943:
Arrives Palau.
7 November 1943:
At 1000, departs Palau escorting convoy FU-703 consisting of TAITO, NITTAI and SAIHO MARUs.
E 15 November 1943:
Torpedo boat SAGI joins the escort at 29N.
16 November 1943:
Arrives at Saeki.
27 November 1943:
At 0800, depart Saeki with auxiliary minesweepers OI MARU and TAMA MARU No. 6 escorting convoy O-703 consisting of KOYO, RYUA and SAMARANG MARUs.
E 28 November 1943:
Both auxiliary minesweepers probably are detached.
E 7 December 1943:
Arrives at Palau.
10 December 1943:
At 1000, IKI departs Palau for Fukujima escorting convoy FU-004 consisting of NIKKI, WALES, KANTO and YAMAZURU MARUs.
20 December 1943:
At 1300, convoy FU-004 arrives at Fukujima. IKI departs for Saeki.
11 January 1944:
At 1400, departs Palau for Saeki with minelayer NUWAJIMA escorting convoy FU-203 consisting of CHOSEN and RYUA MARUs and KOSHU MARU No. 2.
24 January 1944:
Near Fukujima light house. At 0225, in bad weather, LtCdr Charleton L. Murphy’s old USS STURGEON (SS-187) torpedoes and sinks CHOSEN MARU. IKI does not counter-attack. NUWAJIMA is detached.
25 January 1944:
The remainder of the convoy arrives at Saeki.
19 February 1944:
At 1500, IKI departs Mutsure for Takao, Formosa escorting convoy MOTA 05 consisting of HOREI, GYOKO, SHONAN and TEIKON MARUs.
23 February 1944:
At 0510 LtCdr Ralph M. Metcalf’s USS POGY (SS-266) torpedoes TEIKON MARU, but she does not sink. A few minutes later, Metcalf also torpedoes HOREI MARU that goes dead in the water. IKI does not counter-attack.
SHONAN MARU takes HOREI MARU in tow, but she splits in two and sinks off Naha harbor, Okinawa. That same day, GYOKO MARU is attacked by ten aircraft and sunk.
26 February 1944:
The remainder of the convoy arrives at Takao.
27 February 1944:
At midnight, IKI departs Takao for Singapore with kaibokans ETOROFU and SADO escorting convoy HI-47 consisting of oilers AMATSU, OMINESAN, OTOWASAN and KYOKUHO MARUs and NOSHIRO MARU and five unidentified
merchants.
4 March 1944:
LtCdr Charles M. Henderson's USS BLUEFISH (SS-222) torpedoes and sinks OMINESAN MARU at 05-29N, 108-46E.
5 March 1944:
At 1100, the remainder of the convoy arrives at Singapore.
11 March 1944:
At 0730, IKI departs Singapore with kaibokan MIYAKE and ETOROFU escorting convoy HI-48 consisting of transport-cargo SANUKI, TEIA, HOKUROKU and AWA MARUs and tankers OMUROSAN, OTOWASAN, TATEKAWA, ITSUKUSHIMA, SEIYO, NICHIEI and KUROSHIO MARU and two unidentified ships.
14 March 1944:
Gulf of Thailand. Transport SANUKI MARU is damaged by a mine or torpedo that causes her to drop out of the convoy on the Indochina coast. At 1700, convoy HI-48 arrives at Ban Phong Bay, Indochina.
15 March 1944:
At 1100, HI-48 departs Ban Phong Bay.
18 March 1944:
At 0114, HOKUROKU MARU is hit by four torpedoes fired by LtCdr Lowell T. Stone's USS LAPON (SS-260) and sinks at 19-24N, 116-50E. Later that day, KASHII MARU joins the convoy.
19 March 1944:
At 0600, SHIMUSHU runs aground, but that same day she is refloated. At 1600, the convoy arrives at Takao.
20 March 1944:
At 1300, departs Takao.
25 March 1944:
At 0500, arrives at Moji.
1 April 1944:
IKI departs Moji with escort carrier KAIYO, kaibokan ETOFORU, CD-8, CD-9 and torpedo boat SAGI escorting convoy HI-57 consisting of oilers ITSUKUSHIMA, OTOWASAN, RYOEI and OMUROSAN MARUs, landing craft depot ships SHINSHU and MAYASAN MARUs and three unidentified ships.
2 April 1944:
The convoy encounters extremely severe weather and returns to Moji.
3 April 1944:
At 0600, the unchanged convoy departs Moji.
7 April 1944:
At 1450, arrives at Takao.
8 April 1944:
At 1000, departs Takao.
12 April 1944:
At 1930 arrives at Camranh Bay.
13 April 1944:
At 1200, departs Camranh Bay.
16 April 1944:
At 1240, arrives at Singapore.
20 April 1944:
IKI is reassigned to the General Escort Command’s First Surface Escort Division.
21 April 1944:
At 0700, IKI departs Singapore with escort carrier KAIYO, kaibokan ETOFORU, CD-8 and CD-9 escorting convoy HI-58 consisting of oilers ITSUKUSHIMA, RYOEI, OMUROSAN and OTOWASAN MARUs, IJA landing craft depot ship SHINSHU MARU, and probably ZUIHO MARU and IJA landing craft depot ship MAYASAN MARU.
3 May 1944:
HI-58 arrives at Moji.
13 May 1944:
At 0400, Rear Admiral, the Baron, Ijuin Matsuji’s (43)(former CO of KONGO) 1st Escort Convoy Command’s IKI (F) departs Moji for Singapore with kaibokan MATSUWA, CD-9 and CD-15 escorting convoy HI-63 consisting of cargo-transports SANUKI, AWA, TEIA, USSURI and NISSHO MARUs and IJA landing craft depot ships TAMATSU and KIBITSU MARUs, tankers KYOKUHO, SANYO, RYOEI and OTOWASAN MARUs. The transports all carry troops bound for Burma, except NISSHO MARU and IJA landing craft depot ships TAMATSU and KIBITSU MARUs.
18 May 1944:
At 1800, arrives at Manila. TAMATSU, KIBITSU and NISSHO MARUs are detached for Cagayan, Philippines.
20 May 1944:
At 2000, the remaining eight ships in HI-63 depart Manila
with the same escort.
24 May 1944:
150 miles W of Sarawak, Borneo. LtCdr James W. Davis' USS RATON (SS-270) attacks the convoy. At about 0220 (JST), IKI is by two torpedoes. One hits aft, one hits below the bridge. IKI breaks into three sections and sinks in less than twenty minutes. A total of 160 sailors, including IKI’s skipper Cdr Nakao are KIA; 18 are rescued by ETOROFU. Rear Admiral Ijuin is also KIA. He is promoted Vice Admiral, posthumously. [3]
LtCdr Davis also torpedoes and lightly damages MATSUWA at 01-17N 107-53E. The rest of HI-63 escapes unscathed and arrives at Singapore on 27 May.
10 July 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.
Authors' Notes:
[1] Some sources place IKI in the escort of convoy P-607 that departed Palau for Moji on 7 Jun '43, but this is clearly in error since she was not completed until 31 May '43.
[2] KAHOKU MARU was also in the convoy, but was sunk by USS FINBACK on 8 June.
[3] Australian diver/photojournalist Kevin Denlay reports that in 2004 divers from M/V EMPRESS out of Singapore located the bow section of IKI laying on its starboard side in about 50m/165ft of water. However, although they searched nearby, they did not find the rest of the wreck.
Thanks go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.
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