Japanese submarine Ro-49
History | |
---|---|
Japan | |
Name | Submarine No. 390 |
Builder | |
Laid down | 16 November 1942 |
Renamed | Ro-49 on 31 July 1943 |
Launched | 3 August 1943 |
Completed | 19 May 1944 |
Commissioned | 19 May 1944 |
Fate |
|
Stricken | 25 May 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Kaichū type submarine (K6 subclass) |
Displacement |
|
Length | 80.5 m (264 ft 1 in) overall |
Beam | 7 m (23 ft 0 in) |
Draft | 4.07 m (13 ft 4 in) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
|
Range |
|
Test depth | 80 m (260 ft) |
Crew | 61 |
Armament |
|
Ro-49 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in May 1944, she served in World War II and patrolled off the Philippines and the Ryukyu Islands. She was lost during her third war patrol sometime in late March or April 1945.
Design and description
The submarines of the K6 sub-class were versions of the preceding K5 sub-class with greater range and diving depth.[1] They displaced 1,133 tonnes (1,115 long tons) surfaced and 1,470 tonnes (1,447 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 80.5 meters (264 ft 1 in) long, had a beam of 7 meters (23 ft 0 in) and a draft of 4.07 meters (13 ft 4 in). They had a diving depth of 80 meters (260 ft).[2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 2,100-
The boats were armed with four internal bow 53.3 cm (21.0 in)
Construction and commissioning
Ro-49 was
Service history
Upon commissioning, Ro-49 was attached formally to the Maizuru Naval District and assigned to Submarine Squadron 33 for workups.[4] In mid-July 1944, she and the submarine I-157 took part in tests of a submarine version of the Type 13 air-search radar.[4] She was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 11 on 15 August 1944[4] and then to Submarine Division 34 in the 6th Fleet on 10 November 1944.[4]
First war patrol
On 16 November 1944, Ro-49 departed
Second war patrol
Ro-49 set out from Kure on 1 January 1945 to begin her second war patrol, again in the Philippine Sea east of the Philippines.
Third war patrol
On 18 March 1945, Ro-49 got underway from Saeki for her third war patrol, assigned a patrol area southeast of the Ryukyu Islands.[4] After she sent a routine situation report on 25 March 1945, the Japanese never heard from her again.[4]
Loss
On 26 March 1945, a Japanese submarine attacked United States Navy Task Group 54.3 off the Ryukyus. At 09:32, the heavy cruiser USS Wichita (CA-45) sighted a periscope to starboard, and she made an emergency turn to starboard to evade a torpedo.[4] The light cruiser USS St. Louis (CL-49) also sighted torpedo wakes.[4] The attacking submarine scored no hits but escaped without facing a counterattack by the cruisers′ escorts.[4] The identity of the attacking submarine remains unknown, although historians have attributed the attack both to Ro-49 and to a Type C Kō-hyōteki-class midget submarine, in the latter case also claiming that the attack took place on 27 March 1945.[4]
On 5 April 1945, the destroyer
The identity of the submarine Hudson sank remains unclear. It could have been Ro-49. Some Japanese sources claim that Ro-49 was already missing by 5 April 1945 and that Hudson sank the submarine
On 15 April 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared Ro-49 to be presumed lost southeast of Okinawa with all 79 men on board.[4] She was stricken from the Navy list on 25 May 1945.[4]
Notes
- ^ a b c Carpenter & Dorr, p. 124
- ^ Bagnasco, p. 187
- ^ Chesneau, p. 203
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2017). "IJN Submarine RO-49: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2008). "IJN Submarine I-56: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
References
- Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
- Carpenter, Dorr B. & Polmar, Norman (1986). Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904–1945. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-396-6.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2017). "IJN Submarine RO-49: Tabular Record of Movement". SENSUIKAN! Stories and Battle Histories of the IJN's Submarines. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp (2003). "Kaichu Type". Sensuikan!. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- Hashimoto, Mochitsura (1954). Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet 1942 – 1945. Colegrave, E.H.M. (translator). London: Cassell and Company. ASIN B000QSM3L0.