Kamishima class minelayer
Encyclopedia
The was a class of minelayers of the Imperial Japanese Navy
(IJN), serving during and after World War II
. 9 vessels were planned under the Maru Sen Programme
, however only 1 vessel was completed until the end of war.
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
(IJN), serving during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. 9 vessels were planned under the Maru Sen Programme
Wartime Naval Armaments Supplement Programme (Japan, 1944)
The was the final armaments expansion plan of the Imperial Japanese Navy .-Background:Early 1944, the IJN started building warships for war. The plan did not include any large warships which were suitable for offensive operations.-Table of vessels:...
, however only 1 vessel was completed until the end of war.
Background
- End of 1944, Japanese sea lanes were cut apart by United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. The IJN wanted to secure only the security of the Sea of JapanSea of JapanThe Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
. - Therefore, the IJN had to lay a naval mine in La Pérouse StraitLa Perouse StraitLa Pérouse Strait is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east....
, Tsugaru StraitTsugaru Straitis a channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture...
and Tsushima StraitTsushima Straitis the eastern channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.The Tsushima Strait is the broader eastern channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Island, with the Japanese islands of Honshū to the east and northeast, and...
. However, the IJN already exhausted minelayers. - The IJN planned two kinds of minelayers. One was the large-sized Minoo classJapanese minelayer Minoowas a minelayer of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was in service during the final stages of World War II. She was the lead ship of what was intended to be a two-vessel class, but her sister ship, designated Vessel #1822 was not completed before the end of the war.-Building :During the very final...
, the other the small-sized Kamishima class.
Design
- The Navy Technical Department (Kampon)Imperial Japanese Navy Technical DepartmentThe was the externally operating division of the Ministry of the Navy of Japan responsible for the administration of naval vessel construction. From 1923 onward, it took on the role of a research institution for the research and development of naval technologies and engineering...
revised the HirashimaSokuten class minelayer (1938)The was a class of minelayers of the Imperial Japanese Navy , serving during and after World War II. The class consists of three subclasses, which this article handles collectively.-Background:...
's drawings, and gave escort ship (Kaibōkan) armaments. - Their Type 5 40 mm AA was the latest anti-aircraft gun in the Imperial Japanese ArmyImperial Japanese Army-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
and Navy. It was a Japanese version of the Bofors 40 mm.
Ships in class
| Ship # | Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
| 1801 | Sasebo Naval Arsenal | 20 February 1945 | 12 June 1945 | 30 July 1945 | Decommissioned 5 September 1945. Surrendered to Soviet Union Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... at Nakhodka Nakhodka Nakhodka is a port city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, situated on the Trudny Peninsula jutting into the Nakhodka Bay of the Sea of Japan, about east of Vladivostok... , 3 October 1947. |
|
| 1802 | Sasebo Naval Arsenal | 20 February 1945 | 26 July 1945 | 18 April 1946 | Incomplete until the end of the war (90%). Surrendered to United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... on 1 October 1947. Sunk as target at 35°24′N 123°53′E on 7 October 1947. |
|
| 1803 - 1806 | Cancelled in May 1945. | |||||
| 1807 | Sasebo Naval Arsenal | |||||
| 1808 - 1809 | ||||||