SOKAITEI!

© 2005-2009 Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall

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1922:
Osaka. Laid down at the Sakurajima ironworks factory.

29 March 1923:
Launched and numbered W-3.

30 June 1923:
Completed and registered in the IJN.

1 December 1923:
Lt (later Vice Admiral) Kimura Masatomi assumes command.

1 December 1925:
An unknown officer assumes command.

15 November 1933:
Lt (later Rear Admiral) Kawashima Yoshio assumes command.

15 November 1934:
An unknown officer assumes command.

11 July 1938:
Lt (later Rear Admiral) Kajiwara Masami assumes command.

28 July 1938:
An unknown officer assumes command.

1 November 1941:
Assigned to Vice Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo's Southern Expeditionary Fleet in Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Hiraoka Kumeichi's (former CO of HIEI) 9th Base Force, both based at Camranh Bay, Indochina.

8 November 1941:
Departs Kure.

17 November 1941:
Arrives at Sana (now Ya Xian), Hainan island and conducts patrols.

1 December 1941:
Departs Sana.

3 December 1941:
Arrives at Camrahn Bay, Indochina.

7 December 1941:
At 2340, arrives off Singora, Siam (Thailand). Thereafter, supports the invasion.

22 December 1941:
W-3 and W-6 depart Miri, Borneo escorting an invasion convoy transporting the Kawaguchi Detachment and the Yokosuka No. 2 Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) to Kuching, Sarawak (British Borneo). Other escorts include light cruiser YURA, destroyers DesDiv 12's SHIRAKUMO, MURAKUMO and USUGUMO. Cruisers KUMANO and SUZUYA, light cruiser KINU and destroyers FUBUKI and SAGIRI provide the covering force. West of the covering force is CruDiv 7/2's MIKUMA and MOGAMI with destroyer HATSUYUKI. Seaplane tender KAMIKAWA MARU provides air cover.

26 December 1941:
Off Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo. Dutch Army Glenn Martin B-10 bombers from Samarinda, Borneo bomb and sink W-6 and collier UNYO MARU No. 2 at 01-34N, 110-21E. W-3 participates in the rescue of an unknown number of W-6’s survivors.

4 January 1942:
Arrives at Camrahn Bay.

20 January 1942:
W-3, W-1 and W-4 depart Camranh with DesDiv 11's FUBUKI, HATSUYUKI and SHIRAYUKI, DesDiv 20's ASAGIRI, AMAGIRI and YUGIRI escorting eleven troop transports.

22 January 1942:
The convoy arrives at Singora.

26 January 1942:
The convoy arrives at Endau, Malaya.

January 1942:
Kaibokan SHIMUSHU receives a signal from Vice Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo's First Southern Expeditionary Fleet's flagship CHOKAI that orders the kaibokan to locate the wreck of British battleship HMS PRINCE OF WALES sunk off Kuantan, Malaya by IJN aircraft on 10 December.

29 January 1942:
South China Sea, E of Malaya. SHIMUSHU, escorted by minesweepers W-3, W-1, W-2, W-4 and W-5, locates the wreck of British battlecruiser HMS REPULSE and marks it with a buoy.

1 February 1942:
SHIMUSHU reports locating the wreck of PRINCE OF WALES at a depth of 60 meters. The site is marked with a buoy and the IJN ships are recalled.

2 February 1942:
Assigned to escort the Bangka-Palembang, Sumatra, Netherlands East Indies invasion force.

9 February 1942: Operation "L" - The Invasions of Palembang and Banka Island:
MineSweepDiv 1's minesweepers W-3, W-1, W-2, W-4 and W-5 and SubChasDiv 11's CH-7 and CH-8 depart Camranh Bay for Palembang escorting eight transports. Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Hashimoto Shintaro's DesRon 3's light cruiser SENDAI with DesDiv 11's FUBUKI, HATSUYUKI and SHIRAYUKI, DesDiv 20's ASAGIRI provide close cover.

11 February 1942:
W-3, W-1 and W-4 escort eleven transports of the invasion force.

16 February 1942:
The transports land troops near Palembang.

18 February 1942: Operation "J" - The Invasion of Java, Netherlands East Indies:
W-3 is in Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Hirose Sueto's (former CO of AOBA) 2nd Base Force's 1st MinesweepDiv 1 with W-1, W-2, W-4 and W-5 of Vice Admiral Takahashi Ibo's Third Fleet, Southern Force, Netherlands East Indies Force.

28 February 1942: The Battle of the Sunda Strait:
USS HOUSTON (CA-30) and Australian cruiser HMAS PERTH sortie for Tjilatjap via the Sunda Strait.

Bantam Bay. 27 transports land the main body of the IJA's 2nd Infantry Division. At 2215, HOUSTON and PERTH attack the Japanese troop transports that are screened only by destroyers HARUKAZE, HATAKAZE and FUBUKI and MineSweepDiv 1's W-3, W-1, W-2 and W-4. The escorts make smoke to mask the transports. FUBUKI charges and launches a salvo of torpedoes at HOUSTON and PERTH.

At 2300, the IJN’s Western Support Force's MIKUMA and MOGAMI, destroyer SHIKINAMI, Third Escort Force's light cruiser NATORI and destroyers SHIRAKUMO, MURAKUMO, SHIRAYUKI, HATSUYUKI and ASAKAZE arrive and engage HOUSTON and PERTH with gunfire and torpedoes.

1 March 1942:
At 0108, torpedoes strike both HOUSTON and PERTH. At 0142, PERTH sinks at 05-51-42S, 106-07-52E. At 0135, torpedoes fired by MOGAMI sink W-2 and sink or disable transports SAKURA, HORAI, TATSUNO and RYUJO MARUs, the latter carrying LtGen Imamura Hitoshi, Commander-in-Chief of the invading 16th Army. Imamura jumps into the sea, but survives. At 0142, PERTH sinks at 05-51-42S, 106-07-52E. At 0206, HOUSTON sinks at 05-48-45S, 106-07-55E.

8 March 1942:
MinesweepDiv 1 and DesRon 3's DesDiv 10 and DesDiv 20 depart Singapore escorting four invasion transport ships to Sabang and Koetaradja, Sumatra.

12 March 1942: Operation "T" - The Seizure of North Sumatra:
Sweeps for mines and covers troop landings at Kutaradja and Sabang.

19 March 1942:
MineSweepDiv 1's W-3, W-1 and W-4 and SubChasDiv 91's CHOKO MARU and SHONAN MARU Nos. 5 and 7 are assigned to the No. 2 Escort Unit comprised of light cruiser KASHII (F), escort SHIMUSHU, minelayer HATSUTAKA, destroyers of DesRon 3 and 5 and the 9th Base Force's gunboat EIKO MARU. The No. 2 Escort Unit departs Singapore escorting 32 transports carrying the IJA's 56th Infantry Division.

20 March 1942: Operation “D” – The Seizure of the Andaman Islands:
Indian Ocean. Sweeps for mines in the Andaman Islands area in support of the invasion landings.

8 April 1942:
Singapore. Arrives at Seletar Naval Base for repairs.

1 May 1942:
Repairs are completed.

15 May 1942:
Sweeps for mines in the Singapore area.

20 May 1942:
Reassigned to the Sasebo Naval District

27 May 1942:
Departs Seletar escorting an unidentified convoy.

11 June 1942:
Arrives at Sasebo.

23 June 1942:
Departs Sasebo on ASW patrol.

15 July 1942:
Reassigned to the Osaka Guard District. Patrols and sweeps for mines in the Kii Straits.

31 August 1942:
Reassigned to the Sasebo Guard Force.

2 September 1942:
Departs Sasebo. Escorts convoys off western Kyushu.

6 December 1942:
W-3 and W-5 depart Sasebo escorting an unnumbered convoy consisting of KAGU and NANKAI MARUs bound for Rabaul.

7 December 1942:
At 1700, the minesweepers depart. KAGU and NANKAI MARUs proceed unescorted.

1 April 1943:
Reassigned to the Yokosuka Guard Force.

25 April 1943:
Departs Yokosuka. Later, based at Megawa, escorts convoys.

October 1943:
Lt Nai Mitsugu assumes command from Lt Nikki Izaburo.

25 September 1944:
An unknown officer assumes command from Lt Nai.

9 April 1945:
Off Ofunato. Cdr’s Woodrow W. McCrory’s USS PARCHE (SS-384) torpedoes and sinks W-3 by the stern at 39-07N, 141-57E.

10 May 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.

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-Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall.

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