SOKAITEI!

© 2005-2010 Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall

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1943:
Tokyo. Laid down at Ishikawajima Shipbuilding.

1943:
Launched and numbered W-30.

5 February 1944:
Completed and commissioned in the IJN. Lt Kubota Rikuzo is the Commanding Officer.

1 March 1944:
At 1635, W-30 departs Moji for Takao, Formosa with destroyer AMAGIRI escorting convoy MOTA-07 consisting of TEIKO, YAMAHAGI, RONZAN, CHIYODA, SUGIYAMA, KENSEI, SARAWAK, HAKUROKO, RIKKO, ATAGAO and NITATSU MARUs.

4 March 1944:
MAESHIMA and destroyer ASAGAO join the escort of convoy MOTA-07 and probably LONDON MARU and two unidentified merchant ships (from MOTA-05).

7 March 1944:
HAKUROKO MARU falls behind with engine problems, but later catches up at 1620.

8 March 1944:
YAMAHAGI and TEIKO MARUs are detached for Kirun (Keelung), Formosa (Taiwan).

9 March 1944:
Arrives at Takao.

13 March 1944:
W-30 departs Takao escorting convoy TAMA-11 consisting of six unidentified merchant ships.

16 March 1944:
Arrives at Manila.

20 March 1944:
At 0630, W-30 departs Manila for Kau Bay, Halmahera Island, Moluccas with torpedo-boat HAYABUSA escorting convoy H-22 consisting of KUNIKAWA, SHINKYO, ATLAS, ANSHU, TOYOOKA, BENGAL, KURAMA and MITO MARUS.

23 March 1944:
Zamboanga Sea. At about 1530, auxiliary subchaser KYO MARU No. 12 joins the escort and W-30 is detached.

24 May 1944:
At 0920, USN codebreakers intercept and decrypt a message from the CO of fleet oiler SHIOYA that reads: “From one hour commencing at 0713 we attacked an enemy submarine with the cooperation of planes in position 01-45N, 121-04E.” [1]

25 July 1944:
At 0155, W-30 departs Davao for Zamboanga, Philippines with kaibokans CD-6, CD-16, subchasers CH-49, CH-58, auxiliary subchaser KYO MARU No. 12, auxiliary netlayer TOKACHI MARU, auxiliaries TOKO MARU and HIYODORI MARU No. 2 escorting convoy Z-258 consisting of AZUCHISAN, OYO, TATSUHARU, RYUKA and KITAGAMI MARUs and HISHI MARU No. 2, KYOEI MARU No. 2 and LST No. 127. The convoy is provided air cover.

27 July 1944:
At about 0100, LtCdr (later Captain) Bladen D. Claggett's USS DACE (SS-247) attacks the convoy and sinks tanker KYOEI MARU No. 2. At about 1400, the convoy is attacked by aircraft in the Pilas Channel, but suffers no damage. At 1830, the convoy arrives at Zamboanga.

5 August 1944:
At 0148, W-30 departs Davao for Zamboanga with auxiliary subchasers CHa-11 and KYO MARU No. 12 escorting the "TSURUMI convoy" consisting of TSURUMI and cargo ships BINGO and OSEI MARUs.

S of Mindanao. At 1113, TSURUMI is attacked by LtCdr Edward F. Dissette’s CERO (SS-225) at 05-53N, 125-41E. In an underwater attack, Dissette fires six torpedoes and claims four hits. At 1130, TSURUMI capsizes and sinks in Davao Gulf. W-30 may also have suffered damage. The convoy resverses course back to Davao.

7 August 1944:
SHINSEI MARU joins the convoy that is renamed the "BINGO MARU" convoy. At 0853, the convoy departs Davao.

9 August 1944:
Arrives at Malalag, Davao Gulf. Subchaser CH-33 joins the escort.

11 August 1944:
The convoy departs Malalag. SHINSEI MARU is detached at 1800.

13 August 1944:
At 1800, arrives at Zamboanga.

24 October 1944:
W-30, W-17 and W-18 depart Miri escorting tanker NICHINAN MARU No. 2.

28 October 1944:
Arrives at Manila.

9 November 1944:Operation "TA No. 3" - The Reinforcement of Leyte:
In the early dawn, reinforcement convoy TA No. 3 departs Manila consisting of CELEBES, TAIZAN (ex-British ST. QUENTIN), MIKASA, SAIHO and TENSHO MARUs escorted by destroyers SHIMAKAZE, HAMANAMI, HATSUHARU, TAKE, W-30 and subchaser CH-46. The convoy is carrying 4,000 men, 6,000-tons of munitions and heavy equipment of the IJA's 26th Division to Leyte.

10 November 1944:
Sibuyan Sea. CELEBES MARU runs hard aground on outlying reefs of Luzon's Bondoc Peninsula and is left behind. CH-46 is detached to guard her until the homeward-bound TA No. 4 could remove her troops and crew.

11 November 1944:
As the convoy enters Ormoc Bay, Leyte, it is attacked by a total of 347 aircraft from Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Alfred E. Montgomery's (former CO of RANGER, CV-4) TG 38.1, Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Frederick C. Sherman’s (former CO of LEXINGTON, CV-2) TG 38.3 and Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Ralph E. Davison's TG 38.4's.

The planes sink Lt Kubota's W-30, destroyers HAMANAMI, NAGANAMI, SHIMAKAZE and WAKATSUKI and cargo ships MIKASA, SEIHO, TENSHO and TAIZAN MARUs at 10-50N, 124-31E. Of the 4,000 troops carried on the four transports only about 500 survive. American planes strafe and kill the survivors wading ashore who otherwise would still be able fighting men.

10 January 1945:
Removed from the Navy List

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Authors' Notes: :
[1] According to CNO analysts, W-30 was in company with SHIOYA.

Thanks go to John Whitman of the USA for info on CNO intercepts of Japanese messages.

Photo credit goes to Gakken via J. Ed Low.

-Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall.

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