Japanese minelayer Shirataka
 Shirataka in 1938
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Shirataka |
| Ordered | Fiscal 1923 |
| Builder | Tōkyō Ishikawajima Shipyard |
| Laid down | 24 November 1927 |
| Launched | 25 January 1929 |
| Commissioned | 9 April 1929 |
| Stricken | 10 October 1944 |
| Fate | Sunk by USS Sealion, 31 August 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minelayer |
| Displacement | 1,345 long tons (1,367 t) (standard) |
| Length | 84 m (276 ft) (waterline) |
| Beam | 11.55 m (37 ft 11 in) |
| Draught | 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in) |
| Installed power | 2 kW ) |
| Propulsion | 2-shaft reciprocating steam engine |
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Range | 2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 148 |
| Armament |
|
Shirataka (白鷹, "White Hawk")
Background
Under the fiscal 1923 budget, the Imperial Japanese Navy authorized a new type of minelayer (Project H2) to supplement its aging minelayers, the former cruisers Aso and Tokiwa. The new vessel was designed to carry either 100 Type 5 naval mines, or to function as a netlayer based on design features developed through operational experience to counter German submarines gained in World War I.[3] At first the project plans called for Shirataka to be a 5,000-ton dedicated netlayer, and to be paired with a 3,000-ton-class minelayer (project number H1, later called Itsukushima). However, due to budgetary limitations and in response to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, the designs of both vessels were scaled down, and Shirataka was called on to serve as a dual-purpose netlayer/minelayer.
Shirataka was launched by the Tōkyō Ishikawajima Shipyard on 25 January 1929, and was commissioned into service on 9 April 1929.[4]
Operational history
After commissioning, Shirataka was assigned to the
In November 1940, Shirataka was reconstructed into an escort patrol vessel by addition of 36 depth charges and was reassigned to the IJN 3rd Fleet on 1 December 1941 under the overall command of Admiral Ibō Takahashi.
At the time of the
From 22 March 1944, Shirataka underwent refit and overhaul at
On 19 August, Shirataka escorted Convoy Mi-15 from Moji to
Shirataka was removed from the
References
Notes
- ^ Nelson. Japanese-English Character Dictionary. Page 635, 369
- ISBN 978-0-3850-9189-3.
- ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
- ^ a b Nevitt, Allyn D. (1997). "IJN Shirataka: Tabular Record of Movement". Long Lancers. Combinedfleet.com.
- ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
Books
- Brown, David (1990). Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
- D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
- Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-11402-8.
- Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
- Nelson, Andrew N. (1967). Japanese–English Character Dictionary. Tuttle. ISBN 0-8048-0408-7.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Watts, Anthony J (1967). Japanese Warships of World War II. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-3850-9189-3.
External links
- Nevitt, Allyn D. (1997). "IJN Shirataka: Tabular Record of Movement". Long Lancers. Combinedfleet.com.