Japanese T,103 Class Landing Ship Tank

Tokusetsu-Yusokan

IJN T.103 Class Landing Ship Tank
By Bob Hackett

with Sander Kingsepp

(Landing Ship Tank by T. Yuki)

IJN LST T.105: Tabular Record of Movement
© 2014 Bob Hackett

5 February 1944:
Numbered T.105.
12 March 1944:
Osaka. Laid down at Osaka Zosenjo as Hull No. 5.
12 April 1944:
Launched.
15 June 1944:
Completed. Attached to the Kure Guard Force, Combined Fleet. Lt Fujisawa Takeshi is the Commanding Officer,
23 June 1944:
T.105 departs Kure for Iwo Jima.
11 July 1944:
Transports troops between Chichi-Jima and Iwo Jima as requested by the Commanding Officer of the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands.
14 July 1944:
T.105 departs Yokosuka for Tateyama and at 1440, departs Tateyama for Chichi-jima and Iwo Jima in convoy No. 3714 also consisting of HASSHO, KATASURAGAWA and NISSHU MARUs, UNKAI MARU No. 10 and fast transport T.2 escorted by kaibokan CD-4 and subchasers CH-50 and CH-51.
17 July 1944:
At midnight, UNKAI MARU No. 10 straggles behind the convoy.
18 July 1944:
NW Of Chichi-Jima. At about 0200, LtCdr 's Albert L. Becker's (USNA '34) USS COBIA (SS-245) torpedoes and sinks UNKAI MARU No. 10 at 28-58N, 139-04E. 19 crewmen are KIA and her cargo of aircraft spare parts is lost.
At 0650, COBIA attacks the convoy. At about 0700, Becker torpedoes and sinks NISSHU MARU at 28-40N, 139-25E. She is carrying over 1,000 soldiers and LtCol (Colonel, posthumously) Baron Nishi Takeichi’s (1932 Olympic Equestrian Gold Medallist) 26th Tank Regiment from Pusan, Korea consisting of 600 men and 28 Type 95 "Ha-Go" light tanks. 48 IJA soldiers including two tankers, three crewmen and 45 gunners are KIA. The other marus and the escorts rescue LtCol Nishi and 1,247 soldiers, 127 Navy personnel and 74 crewmen.
24 July 1944:
Arrives at Yokouska.
10 August 1944:
Departs Yokosuka
13 August 1944:
Arrives at Chichi-Jima.
15 August 1944:
Chichi-Jima. T.105 suffers minor damage by naval gunfire.
5 September 1944:
Rerated a 2nd Class Yusokan. Attached to the Kure Guard Force.
11 October 1944:
S of Yokosuka. At 0120, Cdr (later Rear Admiral) Roy M. Davenport's (USNA '33) USS TREPANG (SS-412) make SJ radar contact on three targets at 19,360 yards. The contacts are soon identified as a convoy of two very large ships and one small ship. At 0444, Davenport submerges to radar depth ahead of the convoy and begins an approach. At 0505, the targets are identified as two large oilers escorted by an “old destroyer”. TREPANG fives four torpedoes between 0512 ~ 0545 and Davenport claims three hits on a tanker. In fact, he misses the tankers, but sinks T.105 at 33.18N, 137.42E
10 December 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.

-Bob Hackett

Back to T.103 Class Landing Ship Tank Page