© 2006 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
26 May 1944:
Osaka. Laid down at Hitachi Zosen’s Sakurajima shipyard.
15 August 1944:
Launched and named KUME.
25 September 1944:
Completed and registered in the Kure Naval District. LtCdr Nihei Kou is the Commanding Officer.
Assigned to the Kure Guard Unit. Begins training and workup.
4 November 1944:
Assigned to the Grand Escort Command's First Surface Escort Division.
14 November 1944:
KUME departs Imari Bay for Singapore with escort carrier SHINYO, destroyer KASHI, Eighth Escort Convoy’s flagship kaibokan ETOROFU and kaibokan TSUSHIMA, DAITO, SHONAN, CD-9 and CD-61 escorting convoy HI-81 consisting of SHINSHU, KIBITSU, AKITSU, MIRI, ARITA, HASHIDATE, KIYOKAWA, MAYASAN, OTOWASAN and TOA MARUs. HI-81 makes an overnight stop off Goto Island, Japan.
15 November 1944:
Departs Goto Island. At 1156, LtCdr (later Rear Admiral) Charles E. Loughlin's USS QUEENFISH (SS-393) torpedoes and sinks AKITSU MARU at 33-17N, 32-00E with the loss of over 2,000 men aboard.
16 November 1944:
Convoy HI-81 anchors off Korea, near Strange Island.
17 November 1944:
At 0800, HI-81 departs Strange Island for the Shushan Islands near Shanghai. At 1815, LtCdr Evan T. Shepard's USS PICUDA (SS-382) torpedoes and sinks MAYASAN MARU with the loss of over 3,000 men aboard. At 2303, Cdr (later Captain) Gordon W. Underwood’s USS SPADEFISH (SS-411) torpedoes and sinks SHINYO at 32-59N, 123-38E. Rear Admiral (Vice Admiral, posthumously) Ishii Shizue (former CO of CHUYO) and more than 700 men are lost. Kaibokan SHONAN counter-attacks, but with uncertain results.
18 November 1944:
At 0220, CD-61 is ordered to locate and assist SHINYO. At 0315, TSUSHIMA drops 15 depth-charges on a submarine, At 0426, based on fuel oil and other debris, TSUSHIMA reports a sinking. At 0800, Rear Admiral Sato, aboard ETOROFU, orders TSUSHIMA to proceed to the scene and take SHINYO’s survivors aboard. At 1600, HI-81 arrives off Raffles Island, E of Shanghai, and awaits the rescue escorts to rejoin the convoy.
21 November 1944:
HI-81 departs for Mako, Pescadores.
23 November 1944:
The convoy splits into two sections, one heads for Singapore via Mako and the other for Luzon via Takao. That evening, KUME and the Singapore contingent arrive at Mako.
27 November 1944:
HI-81’s second section departs Mako for Singapore screened by KUME, ETOROFU, CD-9, CD-61 and escort destroyer KASHI.
4 December 1944:
HI-81 arrives at Singapore.
12 December 1944:
At 1600, KUME departs Singapore with kaibokans ETOROFU, SHONAN, CD-9 and CD-19 escorting covooy HI-82 consisting of tankers OTOWASAN, OMUROSAN, ARITA, PALEMBANG and HASHIDATE MARUs.
17 December 1944:
Arrives at Camranh Bay, Indochina.
19 December 1944:
Departs Camranh Bay.
22 December 1944:
At 0550, OTOWASAN, OMUROSAN and ARITA MARUs are all torpedoed by LtCdr (later Captain) George W. Grider's USS FLASHER (SS-249). All three burst into flames and sink at 15-02N, 109-08E.
24 December 1944:
At 0900, the surviving ships arrive at Takao. HASHIDATE MARU discharges her cargo of petrol and later returns to Singapore.
E 25 December 1944:
KUME, ETOROFU, SHONAN, CD-9 and CD-19 depart
Takao with PALEMBANG MARU. The ship steams north hugging the Chinese continental coast in shallow waters.
9 January 1945:
Arrives at Moji.
26 January 1945:
At 0800, KUME, departs Moji for Singapore with destroyers NOKAZE and KAMIKAZE and kaibokans SHONAN, CD-25 and CD-53 escorting convoy HI-91 consisting of transport/cargo liners SANUKI and KITSURIN MARUs and tankers TOJO and EIYO MARUs.
28 January 1945:
Yellow Sea. NE of Shanghai, China, off Kokuzan To. Cdr Underwood’s SPADEFISH and LtCdr (later Captain) Stephen H. Gimber's POMPON (SS-267) make contact with a three-ship convoy with four escorts. POMPON makes two night submerged approaches, but the escorts drive her off each time. At about 0200, while two escorts pin down POMPON astern of the convoy, Underwood’s submerged SPADEFISH slips in on the disengaged side of convoy and attacks.
At 0313, Underwood fires three torpedoes at SANUKI MARU and all three hit. She sinks at 33-55N, 122-55E. Underwood also torpedoes and sinks KUME at 33-54N, 122-55E. 89 crewmen are lost.
Destroyer KAMIKAZE rescues survivors from both ships, including KUME's CO LtCdr Nihei, and is detached to Chinkai to land them.
10 March 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
Authors' Note:
Thanks for assistance go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan. Thanks for assistance in identifying kaibokan COs goes to Mr. Aki of Japan and Matthew Jones of Ohio.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
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