© 2006-2011 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
Revision 5
21 February 1942:
Tsurumi, Yokohoma. Laid down at Nihon Kokan K. K's yard.
28 November 1942:
Launched and named SADO.
20 February 1942:
Cdr Matsubayashi Motonari (50) is posted as Chief
Fitting-Out Officer.
27 March 1943:
Completed and registered in the Yokosuka Naval
District. Cdr Matsubayashi is posted as Commanding Officer.
1 April 1943:
Assigned to the Southwest Area Fleet's First Surface
Escort Division.
18 April 1943:
Participates in escorting convoys from Moji.
3 May 1943:
SADO departs Takao in convoy No. 258 consisting of six
unidentified merchant ships.
7 May 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
12 May 1943:
SADO departs Moji escorting the “P” convoy consisting of
KINUGASA MARU and two unidentified merchant ships.
15 May 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
18 May 1943:
SADO departs Takao escorting convoy No. 263 consisting
of KOTO MARU No. 2 Go and seven unidentified merchant ships.
23 May 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
31 May 1943:
SADO departs Moji escorting convoy No. 161 consisting of
four unidentified merchant ships.
4 June 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
8 June 1943:
SADO departs Takao escorting convoy No. 270 also
consisting of TATSUNO and KEMBU MARUs and six unidentified merchant ships.
13 June 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
28 June 1943:
SADO departs Moji escorting the “W” convoy consisting of
three unidentified merchant ships.
1 July 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
3 July 1943:
SADO departs Takao escorting the “H” convoy consisting of
one unidentified merchant ship.
6 July 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
10 July 1943:
At 1200, SADO departs Moji for Singapore as the sole
escort for convoy HI-01, the first of the formal "HI" fast convoys between Moji
and Singapore and return. The convoy consists of the tanker ITSUKUSHIMA MARU and
an unidentified ship.
19 July 1943:
At 1130, arrives at Singapore.
23 July 1943:
At 1600, SADO departs Singapore escorting convoy HI-02
consisting of tanker TATEKAWA MARU and cargo ship TARUSHIMA MARU.
29 July 1943:
At 1020, arrives at Takao.
30 July 1943:
At 1400, departs Takao with three unidentified ships.
3 August 1943:
At 1030, arrives at Moji.
10 August 1943:
At 1400, SADO departs Moji escorting convoy No. 185
consisting of passenger-cargo ships KACHIDORI and GINYO MARUs, cargo ship ASUKA
MARUs and tankers MATSUMOTO, TACHIBANA, TONAN, SAN RAMON, YAMAMIZU and NICHIRIN
MARUs and four unidentified ships.
15 August 1943:
Arrives at Mako.
30 August 1943:
Convoy HI-07, consisting of oilers ITSUKUSHIMA, GOYO
(ex cargo), NAMPO, OMUROSAN and NANEI MARUs (ex-MANATAWNY) and cargo-passenger
ship USSURI MARU, arrives at Mako from Moji. SADO replaces kaibokan ETOROFU as
escort.
8 September 1943:
Arrives at Saigon.
9 September 1943:
Departs Saigon.
11 September 1943:
At 1100, convoy HI-08, consisting of oiler
ITSUKUSHIMA MARU and four unidentified merchant ships, joins SADO at sea and
proceeds north. [1]
19 September 1943:
Arrives at Tomie, Goto Retto.
21 September 1943:
At 0725, departs Tomie and arrives at Moji at
noon.
29 September 1943:
SADO departs Moji escorting convoy TE-01
consisting of seven unidentified merchant ships.
3 October 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
5 October 1943:
Recalled Cdr Taniguchi Nobuyoshi (45) assumes
command.
13 October 1943:
SADO departs Takao escorting n convoy No. 211
consisting of KOTO MARU No. 2 GO and 8 unidentified ships.
20 October 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
3 November 1943:
SADO departs Moji escorting convoy No. 111 consisting
of OMINE, FUJIKAWA and TATSUHARU MARUs and tanker YUHO MARU and 7 unidentified
ships.
8 November 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
13 November 1943:
SADO departs Keelung escorting convoy TAMO-1A
consisting of 11 unidentified merchant ships.
15 November 1943:
Assigned to the General Escort Fleet's First
Surface Escort Division.
20 November 1943:
Arrives at Moji.
31 December 1943:
At 0600, SADO departs Moji escorting convoy HI-29
consisting of oilers KUROSHIO MARU, cargo passenger ships KACHIDOKI and ASOSAN
MARUs. That same day, Navy oilers ASHIZURI and SHIOYA depart Sasebo and join the
convoy.
4 January 1944:
At 1600, convoy HI-29 arrives at Takao. GOYO MARU
joins the convoy. ASHIZURI and SHIOYA are detached.
6 January 1944:
At 1500, SADO departs Takao to Balikpapan with patrol
boat No. 36 escorting the Rinji (special) M convoy consisting of IJN oilers
ASHIZURI and SHIOYA and OKIKAWA MARU.
9 January 1944:
At 1530, convoy HI-29 arrives at Manila. The Rinji M
convoy is detached.
10 January 1944:
At 1200, departs Manila still in convoy.
15 January 1944:
At 2000, convoy HI-29 arrives at Singapore.
19 January 1944:
SADO departs Singapore for Moji escorting convoy
HI-30 consisting of oilers GOYO and ARIAKE MARUs and two unidentified ships.
28 January 1944:
At 1100, arrives at North San Fernando, Philippines.
Departs that same day at 1800.
30 January 1944:
At 1200, the convoy arrives at Takao.
31 January 1944:
Departs Takao.
2 February 1944:
LtCdr Russell Kefauver’s USS TAMBOR (SS-198) sights
the convoy and begins tracking the five ships.
3 February 1944:
East China Sea, 200 miles SE of Shanghai, China. At
about 0400, Kefauver makes a visual attack on the surface. He fires three
torpedoes at ARIAKE MARU and gets one hit amidships. At about 0415, ARIAKE MARU
sinks at 28-53N, 124-19E. Kefauver fires three more torpedoes at GOYO MARU. At
0416, he gets two hits in her engine room. She erupts in flames. drifts away and
disappears into a rain squall. From 0418 to 1315, SADO conducts depth charge
attacks on TAMBOR and drops more than 70 depth charges, but TAMBOR slips away.
Two days later, GOYO MARU is presumed sunk at about 28-44N, 123-38E.
6 February 1944:
After reversing course, the convoy arrives at
Keelung, Formosa at 1615.
7 February 1944:
SADO departs Keelung escorting convoy TAMO-1A
consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.
12 February 1944:
Arrives at Moji.
21 February 1944:
At 0700, SADO departs Moji for Singapore with
kaibokan ETOROFU escorting convoy HI-47 consisting of oilers AMATSU, OMINESAN,
OTOWASAN and KYOKUHO MARUs and NOSHIRO MARU.
26 February 1944:
At 0850, the convoy arrives at Takao.
27 February 1944:
At midnight, SADO departs Takao for Singapore with
kaibokans ETOROFU and IKI escorting convoy HI-47 consisting of oilers AMATSU,
OMINESAN, OTOWASAN and KYOKUHO MARUs and NOSHIRO MARU and five unidentified
merchants.
28 February 1944:
SADO is detached from convoy HI-47 and returns to
Takao joining convoy HI-49 probably consisting of tanker EIHO MARU and four
unidentified merchant ships and kaibokan SHIMUSHU.
29 February 1944:
At 2100, the convoy departs Takao.
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.
6 March 1944:
At 2315, arrives Cape St Jacques.
7 March 1944:
At 1700, departs Cape St Jacques with destroyer
SHIOKAZE as additional escort.
9 March 1944:
SADO departs Singapore escorting convoy SHISA-09A
consisting of KOTO MARU No. 2 GO and four unidentified merchant ships.
11 March 1944:
At 1810, arrives Singapore.
14 March 1944:
Arrives at St Jacques.
15 March 1944:
At 1000, SADO departs Singapore with destroyer
SHIOKAZE escorting convoy HI-50 consisting of tankers MANEI, EIHO and OKIKAWA
MARUs and ten unidentified merchant ships.
18 March 1944:
At 1600, arrives Cape St Jacques.
20 March 1944:
At 1500, departs Cape St Jacques.
24 March 1944:
At 1900, arrives Manila.
27 March 1944:
At 1400, departs Manila.
30 March 1944:
At 1000, arrives Takao.
1 April 1944:
At 1600, departs Takao.
2 April 1944:
At 1700, arrives Mako.
4 April 1944:
At 1600, departs Mako.
8 April 1944:
At 1010, arrives Moji.
3 May 1944:
A 0445, SADO departs Moji for Singapore via Manila with
escort carrier TAIYO, destroyers ASAGAO, HIBIKI and INAZUMA, kaibokan KURAHASHI,
CD-5, CD-7, CD-13, escorting convy HI-61 consisting of tankers AKANE, TATEKAWA,
NICHIEI, AZUSA, JINEI, EIYO, OTORISAN, SARAWAK and ASANAGI MARUs, transport
MIZUHO and fleet oiler HAYASUI.
7 May 1944:
JINEI MARU develops engine troubles and is detached for
Takao.
8 May 1944:
LtCdr Victor B. McCrea's USS HOE (SS-258) attacks convoy
HI-61. AKANE MARU suffers minor damage.
9 May 1944:
At 2055, HI-61 arrives at Manila. TATEKAWA, NICHIEI and
AZUSA MARUs are detached.
12 May 1944:
HI-61 departs Manila for Singapore.
18 May 1944:
Arrives at Singapore.
23 May 1944:
A 0700, SADO departs Singapore for Moji with escort
carrier TAIYO and kaibokans KURAHASHI, CD-5, CD-7 and CD-13 escorting convoy
HI-62 consisting of transports KINUGASA, NOSHIRO, NISSHO, TAMATSU and TEIRITSU
(ex-French LeCONTE de LISLE) MARUs and tankers OTORISAN, SARAWAK and NICHINAN
MARUs.
29 May 1944:
HI-62 arrives at Manila.
1 June 1944:
At 0400, HI-62 departs Manila.
8 June 1944:
Arrives at Mutsure anchorage, later proceeds to Moji
arriving at 0230.
13 July 1944:
At 1600, SADO departs Mutsure for Manila with Rear
Admiral Sato Tsutomu (former ComSubRon 1) Eighth Escort Convoy Command’s escort
carrier SHINYO, light cruiser KASHII and kaibokans CHIBURI, CD-7 and CD-17
escorting convoy HI-69 consisting of escort carriers KAIYO and TAIYO each loaded
with aircraft, KIMIKAWA, KOEI, AKI, ASAMA, SAIGON, HAKKO MARU, OTOWASAN,
OMUROSAN, KUROSHIO, HARIMA, SERIA, KACHIDOKI (ex-PRESIDENT HARRISON), MANKO,
MANJU and TENEI MARUs.
18 July 1944:
Near Takao, Formosa. About 0600, LtCdr John J.
Flachsenhar's USS ROCK (SS-274) fires four torpedoes at HARIMA MARU, but misses.
Cdr Alan Banister's USS SAWFISH (USS 276) then fires nine torpedoes at the
convoy. HARIMA MARU is hit by a single torpedo, but she remains able to steam.
At 1055, LtCdr Roger M. Keithy's USS TILEFISH (SS-307) torpedoes and heavily
damages CD-17. The convoy continues to Manila without stopping at Takao as
originally planned (less MANKO MARU detached the day before and damaged HARIMA
MARU and CD-17 that put into Takao).
20 July 1944:
Arrives at Manila at 2100. KAIYO and TAIYO begin
unloading aircraft.
25 July 1944:
At 0530, SADO departs departs Manila for Singapore with
escort carrier SHINYO, light cruiser KASHII and kaibokans CHIBURI, CD-7, CD-9,
CD-13 and CD-17 escorting convoy HI-69 that now consists of KIMIKAWA, HAKKO,
OTOWASAN, OMUROSAN, KUROSHIO, SERIA, KACHIDOKI and TENEI MARUs.
31 July 1944:
Arrives at Singapore.
4 August 1944:
At 2100, SADO departs Singapore for Moji with escort
carrier SHINYO, light cruiser KASHII, destroyer SHIMOTSUKI and kaibokans CHIBURI
and CD-13 and CD-19 escorting convoy HI-70 consisting of MANJU, KINUGASA,
ARIMASAN MARUs and oilers SERIA, KUROSHIO, HAKKO, OMUROSAN and OTOWASAN MARUs.
12 August 1944:
SADO is detached to hunt an enemy submarine. Later,
she proceeds to Kirun separately.
17 August 1944: Operation "SHO-1-GO" (Victory) - The Defense of the
Philippines:
HIBURI and old destroyer ASAKAZE and kaibokans MATSUWA, ETOROFU
and SADO arrive from Takao on the orders of 1st Surface Escort Division to
strengthen convoy HI-71's escort forces. HI-71 is comprised of oilers AZUSA,
TEIYO, EIYO, ZUIHO, AMATSU and KYOKUTO MARUs, fleet oiler HAYASUI, transports
TEIA, AWA, NOTO, HOKKAI, TAMATSU, NOSHIRO and MAYASAN MARUs and cargo ships
KASHII, NISSHO and MARUs. The convoy's screen is provided by Rear Admiral (Vice
Admiral, posthumously) Kajioka Sadamichi (former CO of KISO) of 6th Escort
Convoy with destroyers FUJINAMI and YUNAGI, kaibokans HIRATO, KURAHASHI, MIKURA,
SHONAN and CD-11 and escort carrier TAIYO. At 0800, in typhoon weather, HI-71
sorties from Mako for Manila.
18 August 1944:
At 0524, LtCdr (Rear Admiral-Ret) Louis D. McGregor's
USS REDFISH (SS-395) torpedoes and damages EIYO MARU. ASAKAZE and YUNAGI are
detached to escort her back to Takao. Off Cape Bolinao, Luzon. At 2210, LtCdr
(later Captain) Henry G. Munson's USS RASHER (SS-269) torpedoes and sinks oiler
TEIYO MARU in a surface radar attack. At 2222, Munson torpedoes and sinks
carrier TAIYO at the rear of the convoy. At 2310, RASHER, still on the surface,
hits transport TEIA MARU with three torpedoes using radar bearings. The
ex-French liner is set afire and sinks.
19 August 1944:
The convoy splits into two groups. Just past
midnight, RASHER, still running on the surface, closes on an eastbound group of
three large ships and one escort. At 0033, LtCdr Munson puts two radar-directed
torpedoes into the port sides of AWA and NOSHIRO MARUs. Both ships beach
themselves near Port Currimao. LtCdr Charles M. Henderson's USS BLUEFISH
(SS-222) and LtCdr (later Captain) Gordon W. Underwood's SPADEFISH (SS-411) join
in the attack on HI-71. At 0320, BLUEFISH hits and sinks HAYASUI. SPADEFISH hits
TAMATSU MARU with two torpedoes and the big landing craft depot ship rolls over
and takes down 4,755 men. HI-71 makes for San Fernando.
21 August 1944:
Rear Admiral Kajioka orders SADO, HIBURI and MATSUWA
to proceed to Manila.
22 August 1944:
Hidai Bay, 25 nms W of Manila Bay. At 0456, Cdr (MOH,
posthumously) Samuel D. Dealy’s USS HARDER (SS-257) torpedoes both MATSUWA and
HIBURI in their port sides and stops them dead in the water. SADO signals for
assistance.
At 0524, SADO is torpedoed by LtCdr (Rear Admiral-Ret) Chester W. Nimitz
Jr’s USS HADDO (SS-255). At 0649, MATSUWA is sunk by HARDER.
At 0720, HADDO fires three torpedoes at the two remaining derelicts. One
torpedo misses, but the others hit SADO squarely and sink her at 14-15N 120-25E.
Cdr Taniguchi and 72 crewmen are KIA. Cdr Taniguchi is posthumously promoted
Captain.
At 0755, HIBURI also sinks bow first at 14-15N, 120-25E.
10 October 1944:
Removed from the Navy List:
Authors' Note:
[1] It is unclear from existing records whether SADO first
went to Singapore with HI-07 that docked there on 12 Sep '43.
Thanks for assistance go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan. Thanks also
go to Mr. Aki of Japan and Matthew Jones of Ohio for help in identifying
kaibokan COs.
-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
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