© 2006-2009 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
Revision 1
24 May 1944:
Tokyo. Laid down at the Uraga Dock Co. shipyard.
5 September 1944:
Launched and named SHINNAN.
21 October 1944:
Completed and registered in the Naval District.
LtCdr Ikeda Go is the Commanding Officer. Assigned to the Kure Guard Unit for workup and training.
26 November 1944:
Reassigned to the General Escort Command’s First
Surface Escort Division.
30 November 1944:
At 0900, SHINNAN departs Moji with destroyer ASAGAO, kaibokan IKUNA, KANJU, CD-41, CD-66, subchaser CH-28 and auxiliary subchaser CHa-223 escorting convoy MI-29 consisting of CLYDE, BRAZIL, AKISHIMA, MEIRYU, HAWAII, ENOURA, DAII, SHINYU, AKIKAWA and KAZUURA MARUs, HOSHI MARU No. 11 and KONAN MARU No. 1 and tankers ENGEN, ENCHO and ENKEI MARUs.
2 December 1944:
LtCdr (later Captain-Ret) Ralph C. Styles' USS SEA DEVIL (SS-400) torpedoes and sinks HAWAII and AKIKAWA MARUs at 30-24N 128-17E. KONAN MARU No. 1 rescues survivors from AKIKAWA MARU. The convoy formation breaks up. BRAZIL MARU goes to Keelung, DAII MARU and three others go to Koniya, Amami-Oshima. CLYDE MARU and HOSHI MARU No. 11 go to Takao with IKUNA. Later, the Koniya ships rejoin at Takao, but at this point the convoy is officially dissolved.
10 January 1945:
SHINNAN departs Takao for Mako with kaibokan YASHIRO, MIYAKE, KANJU, KURAHASHI, NOMI, CD-13, CD-60, CD-205, and destroyer SHIGURE escorting convoy HI-87 consisting of fleet tanker KAMOI and tankers SARAWAK, TENEI, HASHIDATE, MATSUSHIMA and MITSUSHIMA MARUs. At 1830, MITSUSHIMA MARU suffers an engine breakdown and returns to Takao.
12 January 1945:
At 0600, TENEI MARU's steering breaks down and she is escorted by CD-60 to Hong Kong. Soon after, the rest of the convoy, advised of a pending air raid on Mako, turns about and heads for Hong Kong.
13 January 1945:
At 1100, enters Hong Kong port.
15 January 1945:
At 0915, an air raid warning sounds and carrier aircraft begin attacks. Bomb and machine gun attacks harry the ships all day, but they escape major damage.
16 January 1945:
Hong Kong. The air attacks continue from 0820 to 1830. KAMOI, TENEI and MATSUSHIMA MARUs suffer direct hits. SHINNAN, kaibokan NOMI and CD-60 are lightly damaged. The Japanese claim 22 aircraft shot down.
2 February 1945:
SHINNAN departs Keelung with kaibokan KURAHASHI, CD-22, CD-56 and subchaser CH-19 escorting convoy TAMO-40 consisting of four unidentified merchant ships.
6 February 1945:
Arrives at the Ssu Chiao Shan anchorage.
8 February 1945:
Departs the Ssu Ciao Shan anchorage.
12 February 1945:
Arrives at Moji.
18 March 1945:
Tanker MITSUSHIMA MARU, formerly a part of convoy HI-96,
departs Hong Kong hugging the coast.
19 March 1945:
SHINNAN is damaged by aircraft at 33-47N, 131-35E.
22 March 1945:
Amoy Sea. At 0100, while SHINNAN and kaibokan UKU are escorting cargo ship AKISHIMA MARU they join the “Mitsushima Maru” convoy consisting of tanker MITSUSHIMA MARU escorted by kaibokan MIKURA and CD-33.
23 March 1945:
Anchors at the Shushan Islands.
27 March 1945:
At 0600, arrives at Moji.
15 August 1945:
Sasebo. SHINNAN’s crew receives notice of the termination of the war.
30 November 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
1 December 1945:
Assigned to mine sweeping duties by the Allied
Occupation Forces.
20 July 1946:
Designated a minesweeper tender.
1 November 1947:
Released as a minesweeper tender.
26 December 1947:
Transferred to the Marine Transportation Bureau.
Assigned as a Central Meteorological Observatory weather survey ship. Renamed SHINNAN MARU. Participates in summer season typhoon patrols with former kaibokans CHIKUBU, IKUNA and UKURU.
1 January 1949:
Transferred to the Maritime Safety Agency.
Reclassified a patrol boat and renamed TSUGARU.
3 June 1966:
Discarded.
1967:
Remodelled at Hitachi Zosen Co., Ltd., as an accommodation ship.
October 1967:
Transferred to the Petroleum Development Public
Corporation for support of development operations in Borneo.
1975:
Scrapped.
Authors' Note:
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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