© 2008-2009 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
Revision 2
16 May 1922:
Osaka. Laid down at Fujinagata Shipbuilding as a second-class WAKATAKE-class destroyer.
10 March 1923:
LtCdr (later Vice Admiral) Hara Kenzaburo (37) is posted Chief Equipping Officer.
19 March 1923:
Launched.
20 August 1923:
Completed and registered in the IJN. LtCdr Hara is the CO.
4 April 1924:
Designated destroyer No. 18.
1 December 1925:
Lt Nakahara Tatsuhei (38) assumes command.
1 November 1926:
Lt (later Rear Admiral) Inose Masamichi (40) assumes command.
1 December 1927:
Lt (later Vice Admiral) Yano Shikazo (43) assumes command.
1 August 1928:
Renamed KARUKAYA.
10 November 1928:
Maizuru. Placed on the First Reserve List. Undergoes repairs and refit.
10 December 1928:
Lt Ito Akira (39) assumes command.
11 November 1929:
Lt (later Vice Admiral) Shibuya Shiro (44) assumes command.
12 November 1929:
Maizuru. Completes repairs and refit that lasted one year.
1 April 1932:
Lt Arita Mitsugu assumes command.
25 May 1933:
LtCdr Fujita Tomozo (46) assumes command.
15 November 1933:
LtCdr Ichimon Zenki (48) assumes command.
1 February 1934:
LtCdr Sei Tsuneo (48) assumes command.
22 October 1934:
LtCdr Yamasumi Wakito (48) assumes command.
15 November 1935:
LtCdr Sasagawa Hiroshi (50) assumes command.
1 December 1936:
Kure. LtCdr Yashida Shoichi (52) assumes command. Placed on the First Reserve List. Undergoes repairs and refit.
10 May 1938:
DesDiv 16’s KARUKAYA, FUYO and ASAGAO participate in an amphibious assault on Amoy (Xiamen) with Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Koichi Shiozawa’s (32)(former CO of FURUTAKA) 5th Fleet consisting of CruDiv 9's MYOKO (F) and light cruiser TAMA, CruDiv 10's light cruisers TATSUTA and TENRYU, DesRon 5's light cruiser NAGARA, DesDiv 3’s NADAKAZE, SHIMAKAZE, SHIOKAZE, CarDiv 1's KAGA, DesDiv 29’s HAYATE and OITE, SORYU with DesDiv 30’s YAYOI and KISARAGI, auxiliary seaplane tender KAMIKAWA MARU, collier MUROTO, CarDiv 3's seaplane tender KAMOI, auxiliaries SYURI, CHOJU, DELHI, EIKO, IKUTA, KAZAN, KURI, HAYA MARUs and DAIICHI MARU No. 8, NANSHIN MARU No. 8, NANSHIN MARU No. 31, TAIKO, YODATI and auxiliary minelayers ENOSHIMA and ENTO (MAROSHIMA).
At dawn, the 5th Fleet’s warships, including DesDiv 16, bombard Ho-tsu, Ni-chin, and Wu-tung and cover an amphibious assault landing by more than 2,000 troops of the Yokosuka, Kure and Sasebo Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF). At the same time, NE of Xiamen (Amoy), Japanese aircraft from tenders KAMOI and KAMIKAWA MARU bomb bridges, roads, ferries and ships. The poorly equipped Nationalist Chinese 75th Division defenders suffer heavy casualties, are overrun by the SNLFs and withdraw.
12 May 1938:
That night, Chinese forces abandon Amoy to the Japanese.
15 November 1940:
LtCdr Hanami Kohei (57) assumes command.
December 1940 to August 1941:
Kure. Undergoes refit and repairs.
1 September 1941:
LtCdr (later Cdr) Nakao Kotaro (57) assumes command.
8 December 1941:
KARUKAYA is assigned to the Chinkai (Korea) Guard District in Cdr (Rear Admiral, posthumously) Yamamoto Iwata’s (46)(former CO of KAGERO) DesDiv 32 with ASAGAO and FUYO.
21 January 1942:
DesDiv 32's KARUKAYA, FUYO and ASAGAO depart Mutsure with CruDiv 9's light cruiser OI escorting transports TATSUNO, FUSHIMI, SOMEDOMO, TAKETOYO, TOFUKU, BRAZIL, COLUMBIA, MAEBASHI, GENOA, HOEISAN, ATSUTA, DAINICHI, TOKIWA, SYDNEY, MOMOYAMA, PACIFIC, KISAN, REIYO AND TSUYAMA MARUs. The transports are carrying the 2nd Infantry Division.
26 January 1942:
Arrives at Mako, Pescadores. Later, the convoy departs for Camranh Bay to mobilize for the Invasion of Java.
4 May 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 303 consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.
10 May 1942:
Arrives at St Jacques.
15 May 1942:
Departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 402 consisting of six unidentified merchants.
20 May 1942:
Arrives at Mako.
24 May 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 308 consisting of four unidentified merchant ships.
29 May 1942:
Arrives at St Jacques.
4 June 1942:
Departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 503 to Singapore consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.
E 6 June 1942 detaches and returns to St Jacques.
10 June 1942:
Departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 504 to Singapore consisting of threeunidentified merchant ships.
13 June 1942:
Arrives at Singapore.
17 June 1942:
Departs Singapore escorting convoy No. 609 consisting of seven unidentified merchant ships.
20 June 1942:
Arrives at St Jacques.
25 June 1942:
Departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 415 consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.
1 July 1942
Arrives at Mako.
3 July 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 318 consisting of four unidentified merchant ships.
9 July 1942
Arrives at St Jacques.
15 July 1942:
Departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 513 to Singapore consisting of three unidentified ships.
18 July 1942:
Arrives at Singapore.
21 July 1942:
Departs Singapore escorting convoy No. 618 consisting of TAGA MARU and four unidentified ships.
24 July 1942:
Arrives at St Jacques.
26 July 1942:
Departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 423 consisting of seven unidentified ships.
1 August 1942:
Arrives at Mako.
6 August 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 326 consisting of two unidentified merchant ships.
12 August 1942:
Arrives at St Jacques.
17 August 1942:
Departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 428 consisting of nine unidentified merchant ships. The convoy splits into two parts after departing port.
21 August 1942:
The first part arrives at Mako.
22 August 1942:
The second part arrives at Mako.
31 August 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 332 consisting of 12 unidentified merchant ships.
7 September 1942:
Arrives at St Jacques.
8 September 1942:
Departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 434 consisting of 11 unidentified merchant ships.
15 September 1942:
Arrives at Mako.
19 September 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 336 consisting of eight unidentified merchant ships. The convoy splits into two parts shortly after departing port.
25 September 1942:
The first part arrives St Jacques.
27 September 1942:
The second part arrives St Jacques.
3 October 1942:
Departs St Jacques escorting convoy No. 440 consisting of five unidentified merchant ships.
9 October 1942:
Arrives at Mako.
13 October 1942:
Lt Masamitsu Yukitaka (60)(former CO of W-7) assumes command.
20 October 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 722 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
23 October 1942:
Arrives at Manila.
26 October 1942:
Departs Manila escorting convoy No. 820 consisting of six unidentified merchant ships.
29 October 1942:
Arrives at Mako.
1 November 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 724 consisting of four unidentified merchant ships.
4 November 1942:
Arrives at Manila.
7 November 1942:
Departs Manila escorting convoy No. 821 consisting of 10 unidentified merchant ships.
11 November 1942
Arrives at Mako.
14 November 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 726 consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.
18 November 1942:
Arrives at Manila.
25 November 1942:
Departs Manila escorting convoy No. 824 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
29 November 1942:
Arrives at Mako.
4 December 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 729 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
6 December 1942:
Arrives at Manila.
9 December 1942:
Departs Manila escorting convoy No. 910 consisting of two unidentified merchant ships.
10 December 1942:
DesDiv 32 is disbanded. KARUKAYA is reassigned to the 1st Surface Escort Division, Southwest Area Fleet.
14 December 1942
Arrives at Balikpapan.
12 January 1943:
Departs Manila escorting convoy No. 830 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
15 January 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
27 January 1943:
Off Takao, Formosa. KARUKAYA is damaged by marine casualty while escorting convoy No. 354 south consisting of eight unidentified ships.
28 January 1943:
Departs Takao in convoy No. 225 consisting of six unidentified merchant ships.
3 February 1943
Arrives at Moji.
7 February 1943:
Departs Moji escorting convoy No. 125 consisting of four unidentified merchant ships.
12 February 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
17 February 1943:
Departs Takao escorting convoy No. 232 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
22 February 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
11 April 1943:
Departs Moji escorting convoy No. 143 consisting of 14 unidentified merchant ships. The convoy splits into two parts shortly after departing.
15 April 1943:
The first part arrives at Takao.
16 April 1943:
The second part arrives at Takao.
18 April 1943:
Departs Takao escorting convoy No. 253 consisting of seven unidentified merchant ships.
22 April 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
13 May 1943:
Departs Manila escorting convoy No. 3301 consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
17 May 1943:
Arrives at Singapore.
10 June 1943:
Departs Singapore in X convoy consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
12 June 1943:
Arrives at St Jacques.
13 June 1943:
Departs St Jacques escorting the T convoy consisting of ASAMA MARU. Tanker OTORISAN MARU joins at some point.
17 June 1943:
At 0500, at 14-55N, 118-44E OTORISAN MARU is detached and heads off alone to Manila.
18 June 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
20 June 1943:
Departs Takao escorting convoy No. 274 consisting of eight unidentified merchant ships.
25 June 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
2 July 1943:
At 0100, KARUKAYA departs Miike, Kyushu for Mako, Pescadores escorting convoy No. 172 consisting of transports MANKO, KOKI, LIVERPOOL, KASHIMA, HAKUBASAN, ATLANTIC, KENWA and TAIKOKU MARUs.
4 July 1943:
At 0230, LtCdr Charles O. Triebel‘s USS SNOOK (SS-279) torpedoes LIVERPOOL and KOKI MARUs. KOKI MARU sinks a few minutes later, but LIVERPOOL MARUs stays afloat until about 0600 when she sinks. At 0340, LtCdr Triebel torpedoes and damages ATLANTIC MARU that is later towed to Shanghai by TAIKOKU MARU.
6 July 1943:
Arrives at Mako.
13 July 1943:
Departs Takao escorting convoy No. 281 consisting of eight unidentified merchant ships.
18 July 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
19 July 1943:
At 1100, KARUKAYA departs Moji escorting convoy HI-03 consisting of transports AWA, NANKAI and SEIA MARUs and oilers NICHINAN and OMUROSAN MARUs.
22 July 1943:
Formosa Straits. At 0900, fast passenger liner ASAMA MARU joins the convoy. At 2355, SEIA MARU is torpedoed and badly damaged by three of six torpedoes fired in a surface radar attack by LtCdr Eugene T. Sands' USS SAWFISH (SS-276). Later, the ship is taken in tow by NICHINAN MARU. Together they head back to Japan.
23 July 1943:
In the morning, AWA and ASAMA MARUs are detached from the convoy and steam ahead.
25 July 1943:
Arrives at Takao. KARUKAYA is detached to assist torpedoed SEIA MARU. Later that day, the other ships arrive. Transport ARIMASAN MARU and kaibokan ETOROFU join the convoy. KARUKAYA does not rejoin HI-03.
26 July 1943:
At 1600, the convoy departs Takao.
31 July 1943:
Departs Moji escorting the O convoy consisting of five unidentified merchant ships.
1 August 1943:
At 1400, arrives at Singapore.
4 August 1943
Arrives at Takao.
8 August 1943:
Departs Takao escorting the T convoy consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.
12 August 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
15 August 1943:
Departs Moji escorting convoy No. 187 consisting of tanker KIYO MARU and 11 unidentified merchant ships.
20 August 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
24 August 1943:
Departs Takao escorting convoy No. 767 consisting of five unidentified merchant ships.
28 August 1943:
Arrives at Manila.
30 August 1943:
Departs Manila escorting convoy No. 3111 consisting of eight unidentified ships.
4 September 1943:
Arrives at Palau.
11 September 1943:
Departs Palau escorting convoy No. 3217 consisting of five unidentified merchant ships.
17 September 1943:
Arrives at Manila.
22 September 1943:
Departs Manila escorting the RINJI convoy consisting of one unidentified merchant ship.
23 September 1943
Arrives at Takao.
28 September 1943:
Departs Takao escorting convoy No. 207 consisting of nine unidentified merchant ships.
E 3 October 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
7 October 1943:
Departs Moji escorting convoy No. 104 consisting of seven unidentified merchant ships.
12 October 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
18 October 1943:
Departs Takao escorting convoy No. 212 consisting of six unidentified merchant ships.
23 October 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
15 November 1943:
KARUKAYA's 1st Surface Escort Division is reassigned from the Southwest Area Fleet to the General Escort Command.
23 November 1943:
Departs Moji escorting convoy No. 116 consisting of five unidentified merchant ships.
28 November 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
December 1943 to January 1944:
Kure. Undergoes refit and repairs.
7 January 1944:
At 1500, KARUKAYA departs Moji for Takao with minesweeper W-27 escorting convoy No. 127 consisting of ASUKA, YAHIKO, GETSUYO, NIKKI, HOKOKU, KINREI, ROKKO and IKUTAGAWA MARUs.
10 January 1944:
At about 1230, on the surface in heavy weather, LtCdr Royce L. Gross's USS SEAWOLF (SS-197) attacks the convoy. Gross torpedoes and damages YAHIKO MARU, then torpedoes ASUKA MARU that sinks at 1239. KARUKAYA and GETSUYO MARU, working in the storm, rescue 105 survivors. GETSUYO MARU then tows YAHIKO MARU towards Naha, Okinawa, but SEAWOLF tracks them and again torpedoes YAHIKO MARU. Hit by two more torpedoes, she sinks at 2345.
15 January 1944:
At 1110, the convoy arrives at Naha. At 1930, the same day, the convoy departs.
18 January 1944:
At 1455, arrives at Takao.
23 January 1944:
Departs Takao escorting a combined sailing of convoy No. 354, "Y" Convoy and TE-01 consisting of 15 unidentified merchant ships (8, 2 and 5 respectively). KARUKAYA escorts convoy No. 354, torpedo boat KARI escorts the Y convoy and destroyer SHIOKAZE escorts the TE-01 convoy.
24 January 1944:
The "Y" convoy is detached for Hong Kong.
26 January 1944:
The TE-01 convoy is detached for Yulin.
29 January 1944:
Arrives at St Jacques.
1 February 1944:
Departs St Jacques with auxiliary gunboat HUASHAN (KAZAN) MARU escorting convoy SATA-01 consisting of TATSUWA MARU and five unidentified merchant ships.
5 February 1944:
Early morning. Arrives at Yulin. HUASHAN MARU and KARUKAYA are detached.
6 February 1944:
Departs Yulin.
10 February 1944:
At about 2200, TATSUWA MARU is torpedoed and damaged by LtCdr Joseph W. Williams' USS SPEARFISH (SS-190) at 21-55N, 119-30E.
12 February 1944:
SATA-01 arrives at Takao. That same day convoy SASHI-03 consisting of 10 unidentified merchant ships departs St Jacques.
15 February 1944:
Arrives at Singapore.
20 February 1944 :
Departs Singapore escorting the RINJI convoy consisting of four unidentified merchant ships.
25 February 1944
Arrives at Miri.
28 February 1944:
Departs Miri with minesweeper W-17 escorting convoy MIMA-03 consisting of 10 unidentified merchant ships
4 March 1944:
Arrives at Manila.
5 March 1944:
Lt Shimada Kiyozo (62) assumes command.
7 March 1944:
Departs Manila with minesweeper W-17 escorting convoy MATA-10 consisting of 11 unidentified merchant ships
12 March 1944:
Arrives at Takao.
15 March 1944:
Departs Takao escorting convoy TAMA-11A consisting of two unidentified merchant ships.
16 March 1944:
KARUKAYA reports an encounter with an enemy submarine.
18 March 1944:
Arrives at Manila.
20 March 1944:
Departs Manila in convoy MAMI-05 consisting of five unidentified merchant ships Auxiliary submarine chasers CHa-45, CHa-55, CHa-70.
25 March 1944:
Arrives at Miri.
30 March 1944:
Departs Miri escorting convoy MIMA-06 consisting of four unidentified merchant ships.
4 April 1944:
Arrives at Manila.
7 April 1944:
Departs Manila with torpedo boat SAGI and auxiliary submarine chaser CHa-9 escorting convoy MATA-17 consisting of five unidentified merchant ships.
11 April 1944:
Arrives at Takao.
13 April 1944 :
Departs Kirun with auxiliary gunboat PEKING MARU escorting convoy TAMO-16 consisting of 15 unidentified merchant ships.
20 April 1944:
Arrives at Moji.
1 May 1944:
KARUKAYA departs Moji with torpedo boat HATO, auxiliary gunboat PEKING MARU and other unidentified warships escorting convoy MI-03 consisting of cargo ships SHOHEI, NIKKO, ETAJIMA, DAIJUN, SHINNO, TOUN, KANKYO and TAISEI MARUs tankers CHIYODA, KOTOKU, SHUNTEN MARUs and OGURA MARU No. 2 and UNKAI MARU No. 5 and possibly cargo ship KENWA MARU and six other unidentified ships.
E 7 May 1944:
Arrives at Takao and later departs port for Manila.
E 9 May 1944:
Kaibokan KURAHASHI probably joins the escort.
10 May 1944:
150 miles NW of Manila, Luzon. Cdr (later Rear Admiral) James C. Dempsey's USS COD (SS-224) attacks the large convoy. At 0647, Dempsey torpedoes and hits KARUKAYA. Her stacks collapse and she sags amidships, her back broken. A second torpedo hits her fantail. At 0655, she sinks at 15-47N, 119-32E. Thirteen crewmen are KIA and 60 MIA, not including Lt Shimada.
Dempsey then torpedoes and sinks transport SHOHEI MARU.
10 July 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
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