FUSETSUKAN!

© 2008-2009 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall

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11 December 1940:
Tsurumi. Laid down at the Nippon Kokan K. K. shipyard.

5 August 1941:
Named TAKASHIMA.

18 October 1941:
Launched.

25 March 1942:
Completed and registered in the Sasebo Naval District. Assigned to the Sasebo Guard Unit.

14 May 1942:
Departs Moji escorting an unnumbered convoy consisting of MANILA and KOHOKU MARUs.

17 May 1942:
At 1000, arrives at Takao.

23 May 1942:
Departs Moji escorting convoy No. 117 consisting of three unidentified merchant ships.

24 May 1942:
TAGONOURA MARU joins the convoy from Nagasaki.

28 May 1942:
Arrives at Mako. At 1200, TAKASHIMA departs Mako for Ujina with old destroyer SANAE escorting convoy No. 216 consisting of SAIHO, HANAN, MIYADONO, SUEZ, KENZAN, IIDA, HOKUSHIN and SANFUKU MARUs and FUKUEI MARU No. 2.

31 May 1942:
NW of Amami-O-Shima. The convoy detects an enemy submarine. Minelayer TSUBAME arrives on the scene and she and TAKASHIMA drop depth charges. No submarine attacks develop.

3 June 1942:
Arrives at the port of Ujina, Hiroshima.

23 July 1942:
Departs Mako escorting convoy No. 238 consisting of five unidentified merchant ships.

27 July 1942:
Arrives at Mutsure.

4 May 1943:
At 1500, TAKASHIMA departs Woosung, China for Mutsure, Kyushu escorting convoy SHI-13 consisting of TAGONOURA, TAIRYU, HAKOZAKI and JUNPO MARUs.

6 May 1943:
Arrives at Mutsure.

19-20 June 1944:
Off Okinawa. The 18th Squadron consisting of TAKASHIMA, TOKIWA (F), armed merchant cruiser SAIGON MARU and auxiliary minelayers KOEI and SHINKO MARUs lays 1,650 mines. Torpedo boat TOMOZURU, subchaser CH-58 and patrol boat KAII provide escort.

July 1944:
S of Kyushu. Lays mines near Tanegashima Island.

4 August 1944:
Departs Moji for Takao with kaibokan HIBURI, FUKUE, ETOROFU, CD-8, CD-10, CD-25, CD-32 and CH-49 and gunboat UJI escorting convoy MOTA-22 consisting of KENJO, GASSAN, HAKUSAN, TEIKO, TERUKUNI, TACHIBANA, NANREI, GENKAI, TEIHOKU, HIOKI, MANSHU, SHIRANESAN, SHONAN and KOSHIN MARUs and YAMAMIZU MARU No. 2, DAIBOSHI MARU No. 6 and six other unidentified ships.

6 August 1944:
Off SW Kyushu. At 0411, LtCdr (later Admiral/CINCPACFLT) Bernard A. Clarey’s USS PINTADO (SS-387) torpedoes and sinks SHONAN MARU at 30-53N, 129-45E.

9 August 1944:
At 1310, KOSHIN MARU's ammunition cargo explodes and the ship sinks at 26-10N, 124-15E.

10 August 1944:
Arrives at Kirun.

11 August 1944:
At 0330, departs Kirun.

12 August 1944:
At 1430, arrives at Tsoying.

10 October 1944:
NNW of Okinawa. Off Nago Bay. Aircraft of Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher’s TF 38 attack shipping and installations on Okinawa as a prelude to the landings at Leyte. TF 38 planes sink TAKASHIMA at 26-39N, 127-52E.

10 December 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.

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Authors' Notes:
[1] Little data were found for TAKASHIMA's movements during Aug '42 - May '44. 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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