YUSOSEN!
(A wartime Standard Type 1TL tanker)
TAKANE MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2010-2011 Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall.
11 April 1944:
Kobe. Laid down by Kawasaki Jukogyo, K. K. as a 10,021-ton 1TL tanker for
Ishihara Kisen K. K.
21 July 1944:
Launched and named TAKANE MARU. [1]
30 September 1944:
Completed.
October 1944:
Civilian tankers TAKANE and JINEI MARUs are quickly converted to "at sea" refueling. The IJN does not requisition either ship.
20 October 1944: Operation SHO-I-GO ("Victory") – The Battle of Leyte
Gulf:
CD-43 departs Yashima anchorage with kaibokan CD-22, CD-29, CD-31,
CD-33, and CD-132 escorting oilers TAKANE and JINEI MARUs of Vice Admiral Ozawa
Jisaburo's (former CO of HARUNA) Northern "decoy" Mobile Force’s Second Supply
Force. The Supply Force supports CarDiv 3's ZUIKAKU, ZUIHO, CHITOSE and CHIYODA
and CarDiv 4's hybrid HYUGA and ISE.
TAKANE MARU and kaibokan CD-33 and CD-43 are detached for Tokuyama Navy
Fuel Depot. TAKANE MARU takes on a load of fuel for Ozawa's Mobile Force.
21 October 1944:
TAKANE MARU and kaibokan CD-33 and CD-43 depart
Tokuyama Navy Fuel Depot for Koniya, Kakaroma-Jima, Ryukyus.
22 October 1944:
Ozawa's force refuels at sea. Sound contact is made
with a submarine. At 2010, ZUIKAKU and light cruiser TAMA spot torpedo tracks
and make a sharp turn to port. Ozawa is forced to cancel the refueling after
receiving only one third of the required amount.
24 October 1944:
Destroyer AKIKAZE departs Kure to lead the escort of
the Second Supply Force.
25 October 1944: The Battle off Cape Engano:
Ozawa's force is attacked
by planes from Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Marc Mitscher's Task Force 38’s
ENTERPRISE (CV-6), ESSEX (CV-9), INTREPID (CV-11), FRANKLIN (CV-13), LEXINGTON
(CV-16), INDEPENDENCE (CVL-22), BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24), LANGLEY (CVL-27), CABOT
(CVL-28) and SAN JACINTO (CVL-30).
TF 38 launches 527 sorties in five strikes against Ozawa’s Northern
Force. During the day's action, carriers ZUIKAKU, ZUIHO and CHITOSE and
destroyer AKIZUKI are sunk.
That same day, S of Yaku Jima, LtCdr Orme C. Robbins’ USS STERLET
(SS-392) torpedoes and sinks oiler JINEI MARU at 30-15N, 129-45E.
28 October 1944:
CarDiv 4’s HYUGA and ISE refuel from oilers at
Amami-Oshima. CarDiv 4 and destroyers depart for the Inland Sea. At 2120, LtCdr
(later Vice Admiral) Vernon L. Lowrance’s USS SEA DOG (SS-401) attacks CarDiv 4.
He fires six torpedoes, but all miss. That same day, TAKANE MARU is ordered to
steam to Takao, but she has a faulty boiler that prevents her from complying.
30 October 1944:
LtCdr (later Vice Admiral) Frederick J. Harlfinger’s
USS TRIGGER (SS-237) picks up TAKANE MARU with her escorts and attacks. One
torpedo broaches alerting the oiler that avoids the other torpedoes. At 1620,
TRIGGER (SS-237) fires all four of her stern tubes. In the middle of squall,
kaibokan CD-22’s lookouts spot torpedo tracks and she evadees them, but TAKANE
MARU is hit by two in her stern area. They wreck the starboard engine-room and
bring her to a halt, but she does not sink. TRIGGER goes deep as 78 depth
charges rain down on her within the next hour, but cause no damaged.
130 nm SW of Toizaki, Kyushu. CD-22, CD-29 and CD-33 are guarding the
immobilized TAKANE MARU. At about 2100 that night, LtCdr Harley K. Nauman’s
SALMON (SS-182) fires four torpedoes for two hits. The escorts counter-attack.
SALMON crash dives, but is damaged badly by a severe depth charging. Her
pressure hull is dished in, an engine is knocked off its base plate, radio and
radar equipment damaged and she begins leaking heavily. SALMON sinks to 500 feet
out of control. Her diving officer finally checks her descent, but cannot hold
her. Nauman decides to battle surface and engage the escorts with SALMON’s deck
guns.
SALMON surfaces in the midst of a heavy squall. Nauman’s crew quickly
begins to correct a 15-degree list, puts two of SALMON’s diesel engines on line
and stops some leaks. At about 2200, CD-29 sights a surfaced submarine off her
starboard bow, 500 meters away. CD-29 switches on her searchlight and opens fire
with her 120-mm bow gun, but loses the target after the first salvo. At 2235,
CD-22 and CD-33 arrive and attack SALMON from different directions. CD-22
charges the submarine intent on ramming. Nauman, in turn, charges the kaibokan.
The two vessels pass each other just 50 yards apart. CD-22 opens fire on the
submarine with her 25-mm AA gun. SALMON’s machine-guns, 20-mm AA and deck guns
return fire and kill four of CD-22's sailors and wound another 14. CD-22 is also
hit in the bow by a dud shell that causes a temporary leak. Her speed drops to
11 knots.
31 October 1944:
SW of Kyushu. At about 0100, LtCdr Robbins’ STERLET
finds TAKANE MARU dead in the water and down by the stern. No escorts are in
sight. Robbins fires six torpedoes by radar bearings and gets four hits that
finish off the oiler. TAKANE MARU sinks at 30-09N, 132-45E. She was carrying 66 crewmen and an unknown number of passengers. There are no survivors.
CD-29 briefly chases STERLET but soon loses contact.
Authors' Note:
[1] Also known as KOREI MARU, an alternative reading of her name characters.
- Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall.
Back to the
Oilers Page
