FUSETSUKAN!

© 2008 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall

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28 July 1939:
Tokyo. Laid down at Ishikawajima Shipbuilding as minelayer No. 61.

30 September 1939:
Named UKISHIMA.

9 December 1939:
Launched.

31 October 1940:
Completed and assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District. Attached to the Yokosuka Guard Unit at Tateyama. December 1941: (add new entry) Participates in ASW patrols in Yokosuka-Toba area.

12 March 1942:
At 0900, UKISHIMA departs Mutsure for Mako, Pescadores with minelayer HIRASHIMA and auxiliary gunboat PEKING MARU escorting a convoy consisting of FUKKAI, MAYA, SEIYO, KOCHI, TAIKAI, RYUZAN and TEIKAI MARUs and YOSHIDA MARU No. 1. The ships are carrying about 4500 personnel of an unidentified aviation group.

16 March 1942:
Arrives at Mako.

27 June 1942:
Auxilliary minesweeper MUSASHI MARU departs Tateyama escorting a convoy consisting of tanker CHIYODA MARU and possibly other unidentified ships. SE of Tateyama. LtCdr (later Rear Admiral, retired) William H. Brockman's USS NAUTILUS (SS-168) attacks the convoy and fires three torpedoes. At 1525, CHIYODA MARU's lookouts spot two incoming wakes. CHIYODA MARU evades both and contacts UKISHIMA patrolling in the area with subchasers CH-13 and CH-14. In the action, NAUTILUS sinks MUSASHI MARU NE of Nojimasaki at 34-38N, 140-08E.

UKISHIMA detects the submarine first and drops 11 depth-charges. Later, she and the subchasers are joined by minesweeper W-17 and two patrol bombers from the Tateyama Naval Air Group (NAG). NAUTILUS undergoes a severe depth charging, which forces her back to Pearl Harbor for repairs.

10 July 1942:
Reassigned to the Fifth Fleet.

24 July 1942:
Arrives at Kiska.

July 1942:
Lays a protective net in the vicinity of Kiska harbor.

31 July 1942:
Off Kiska, Aleutians. At 0547, LtCdr Mannert L. Abele‘s (former CO of USS S-31) USS GRUNION (SS-216), on her first war patrol, torpedoes freighter KANO MARU and gets a hit on the starboard machinery room. LtCdr Abele fires three more unreliable Mark-14 torpedoes. One runs deep and the others hit, but fail to explode. Abele attempts to surface and sink KANO MARU by gunfire, but an old 8-cm/40 (3-inch) Type 41 gun opens fire on GRUNION's periscope. KANO MARU's 84th shot hits the conning tower. GRUNION crash dives, but Abele‘s green crew loses control. GRUNION exceeds crush depth, implodes and is lost. [1]

Later that day, UKISHIMA, subchaser CH-26 and mine layer ISHIZAKI arrive on scene. They observe much oil, a piece of lifeguard buoy, submarine deck material and other things.

August 1942:
Returns to Yokosuka.

16 November 1943:
11 nm SE of Hatsushima, off the coast of Shizuoka. UKISHIMA is returning to Uraga after an ASW sweep, when she is lost due to unknown causes and sinks at 34-55N, 139-22E. [2]

31 January 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.

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Author's Notes:
[1] On 16 Aug 2006, the wreck of GRUNION was found N of McArthur Reef, Kiska by the Abele brother’s expedition. The cause of GRUNION's sinking is based on an Hypothesis Report made using pictures taken by an ROV of GRUNION's wreck in 2007 and published on the GRUNION Blog.

[2] Japanese sources claim UKISHIMA was torpedoed by an unidentified submarine. However, other souces claim she may have struck a mine laid by USS SUNFISH (SS-281).

No data were found on UKISHIMA’s movements during most of 1943. Readers with access to such data are requested to post the information on the Discussion and Questions board or j-aircraft.org's IJN Ship Message Board

-Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.

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