IJN Submarine RO-113:
Tabular Record of
Movement
© 2001-2016 Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp
Revision 3
11 July 1942:
Kobe. Laid down at Kawasaki Jukogyo K.K. as
the 525-ton Kaisho (KS) class submarine No. 404.
5 February 1943:
Renumbered RO-113.
and provisionally attached to Kure Naval District.
24 April 1943:
Launched.
20 August 1943:
Lt (later LtCdr) Watanabe Hisashi (64)(former torpedo
officer of I-174) is appointed Chief Equipping Officer.
12 October 1943:
Completed and attached to Kure Naval District.
Assigned to SubRon 11 for working-up. Lt Watanabe Hisashi is the Commanding
Officer.
15 October 1943:
RO-113 is attached to Rear Admiral Ishizaki Noboru's
(42) (former CO of HYUGA) SubRon 11 of Vice Admiral (Admiral, posthumously)
Takagi Takeo's (39)(former CO of MUTSU) Sixth Fleet (Submarines).
9 November 1943:
Inland Sea. During a simulated torpedo attack,
RO-113 accidentally grazes Captain (later Rear Admiral) Hisamune Yonejiro’s
(41)(former CO of NAGATO) battleship YAMASHIRO in the Iyo Nada. The damage is
minor and there are no casualties. Inspection and repairs are carried out at
Kure.
2 December 1943:
RO-113 resumes her working-up exercises. Arrives at
Tokuyama Fuel Depot to refuel.
6 December 1943:
Departs Tokuyama.
31 January 1944:
Reassigned to SubDiv 30.
23 February 1944:
Departs Kure, under the Grand Escort Command, for
an ASW patrol in the Nansei Shoto (Ryukyu Islands).
25 March 1944:
Reassigned to SubDiv 51 of Rear Admiral Owada
Noboru's (44)(former CO of YAMASHIRO) SubRon 7, Sixth Fleet
21 May 1944:
Departs Kure for Saipan.
29 May 1944:
Arrives at Saipan.
30 May 1944:
Departs Saipan for Truk.
8 June 1944:
Departs Truk on her first war patrol to join a patrol
line N of New Ireland in the Bismarcks.
14 June 1944:
Redirected to the area N of Guam.
16 June 1944:
Reassigned to the "C" patrol unit with RO-114, RO-115
and RO-117.
22 June 1944:
Receives an order to return to base.
27 June 1944:
Arrives at Truk.
10 July 1944:
Departs Truk for Sasebo.
17 July 1944:
Arrives at Sasebo.
1 August 1944:
Lt (LtCdr, posthumously) Harada Kiyoshi (66)(former
torpedo officer of RO-111) is appointed CO.
15 August 1944:
SubDiv 51 disbanded on this day. Reassigned with
RO-115 directly to Rear Admiral Uozumi Jisaku's (42)(former CO of HAGURO) SubRon
8, Sixth Fleet.
7 September 1944:
Departs Kure for Penang, Malaya.
27 September 1944:
Arrives at Penang.
25 October 1944:
Departs Penang on her second war patrol for the Bay
of Bengal, Indian Ocean.
6 November 1944:
Bay of Bengal. RO-113 torpedoes and sinks 3,827-ton
British merchant MARION MOLLER at 10-40N, 81-10E. She is the last Allied vessel
torpedoed by IJN submarines in the Indian Ocean.
After the attack, RO-113 is chased by destroyers HMS QUALITY, QUADRANT
and ROEBUCK that arrive at the scene a few hours later. British Task Force 66,
with escort carriers HMS BEGUM and SHAH, is also involved in the chase of
RO-113.
13 November 1944:
Returns to Penang.
28 November 1944:
Departs Penang on her third war patrol to the Bay
of Bengal on a patrol and supply mission.
3 December 1944:
Bay of Bengal, off Madras. RO-113 is attacked by an
RAF Consolidated B-24 "Liberator", but sustains no damage.
18 December 1944:
Lt Harada reports sinking a transport in the Bay of
Bengal.
19 December 1944:
Lt Harada reports sinking a second transport in the
Bay of Bengal. Postwar, neither of his two claims are substantiated.
28 December 1944:
Off Penang. About noon, returning RO-113 is
attacked by LtCdr Alastair Mars submarine HMS THULE. Mars fires a spread of six
torpedoes. All explode prematurely, but Mars thinks he has sunk the submarine
and claims a kill.
9 January 1945: American Operation "MIKE ONE" - The Invasion of Luzon :
Lingayen Gulf, Philippines. Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Thomas C. Kinkaid's
(USNA '08) Task Force 77 lands almost 175,000 men of General Walter Krueger's
Sixth Army under cover of heavy gunfire from Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Jesse
B. Oldendorf's (USNA '09) TG 77.2 bombardment force and aircraft of Rear
Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Calvin T. Durgin's (USNA '16) TG 77.4. In a
five-month campaign, the Sixth Army defeats General Yamashita Tomoyuki's
defenders.
20 January 1945:
Departs Penang for Singapore. That same day, departs
Singapore for the western coast of Luzon, Philippines.
26 January 1945:
Reassigned to the Advance Patrol Unit.
4 February 1945:
Vice Admiral Miwa Shigeyoshi (39) orders RO-46,
RO-112, RO-113 and RO-115 to prepare to participate in the evacuation of the
stranded pilots from the Aparri area on Luzon, Philippines. All above submarines
are also ordered to land their deck gun ammunition and reserve torpedoes at
Takao prior to the rescue mission.
7 February 1945:
Arrives at Takao, Formosa.
9 February 1945:
RO-113 departs Takao for Batulinao, northern Luzon,
Philippines to evacuate stranded pilots and return them to Takao.
13 February 1945:
Babuyan Island, Luzon Strait, Philippines. Cdr John
K. Fyfe's (USNA '36) USS BATFISH (SS-310) is on patrol on the surface At 0215,
Fyfe's SJ radar picks up a contact at 220 degrees, range 10,700 yards. At 0241,
the range is 7,150 yards, but the target submerges and contact is broken.
At 0310, RO-113 resurfaces and is picked up by BATFISH's APR radar
detector. The target now bears at 336 degrees, range 9,800 yds. At 0412, at
6,800 yds range, Cdr Fyfe dives on the target's track and comes to radar-depth.
He sets his torpedoes for 6 ft on an 80 starboard track, gyros set at zero for
a 1,500 yd torpedo run, using a 1 knot speed spread. At 0448, Fyfe fires three
stern torpedoes at the target.
At 0449, the first torpedo hits. Fyfe sees a large yellow ball of fire
through his periscope as the target blows apart and sinks immediately. The
second and third torpedoes miss because RO-113 sinks very quickly at 19-10N,
121-23E.
16 February 1945:
FRUMEL decodes the following message timed 171827:
"Submarines RO-112 and RO-113 left Takao on 9th and and 10th respectively and
were due to arrive at Batulinao on 12th and 14th. RO-115 has not yet returned to
Takao from her operating area."
20 February 1945:
Presumed lost with all all 59 hands off Luzon.
10 May 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
Authors' Note:
Special thanks for assistance in researching the IJN officers
mentioned in this TROM go to Mr. Jean-François Masson of Canada. Thanks also go
to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan.
– Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp.
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