was a large

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

in service during the early stages of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was named after the

Tsugaru Peninsula The is a peninsula in Aomori Prefecture, at the northern end of Honshū island, Japan. The peninsula projects north into the Tsugaru Strait separating Honshū from Hokkaidō. The western coast is on the Sea of Japan, while on its eastern coast ...

in northwest

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. She was commissioned immediately before the start of

, and sunk by the American submarine USS ''Darter'' in June 1944.

Building

Under the ''Maru-3'' Supplementary Naval Expansion Budget of 1937, a new large minelayer incorporating design improvements realized through operational experience with was funded. In addition to carrying 600 Type 6

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

s, the new ship was equipped with an

aircraft catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to help fixed-wing aircraft gain enough airspeed and lift for takeoff from a limited distance, typically from the deck of a ship. They are usually used on aircraft carrier flight decks as a form of assist ...

and carried a

Kawanishi E7K The Kawanishi E7K was a Japanese three-seat reconnaissance seaplane mainly in use during the 1930s. It was allocated the World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft, reporting name Alf by the Allies of World War II. Design and development In ...

reconnaissance seaplane. Physically very similar to ''Okinoshima'' in size, appearance and layout, its main armament was changed to four 127 mm Type 89

dual-purpose gun A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets. Description Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and ...

s, intended to give ''Tsugaru'' better AA capabilities than its predecessor. ''Tsugaru'' was launched by the

Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama. History In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate govern ...

on 5 June 1940 and was commissioned into service on 22 October 1941.

Operational history

After commissioning, ''Tsugaru'' was assigned to Admiral

Kiyohide Shima was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography A native of Miyazaki prefecture, Shima was a graduate of the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1911, ranking 69th out of 148 cadets. As a midship ...

’s Mine Division 19 under Admiral

Shigeyoshi Inoue was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was commander of the Japanese 4th Fleet and later served as Vice-Minister of the Navy. A noted naval theorist, he was a strong advocate of naval aviation within the Japanese ...

’s

IJN 4th Fleet The 4th Fleet was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Fourth Fleet designation was used during three separate periods. The initial designation was for a group of ships that were assigned to work together during the Russo-Japanese conflict ...

and deployed to

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

. At the time of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

in December 1941, ''Tsugaru'' was assigned to support the invasion of Guam. Following the success of this mission, in January 1942, ''Tsugaru'' deployed from

Jaluit Jaluit Atoll ( Marshallese: , , or , ) is a large coral atoll of 91 islands in the Pacific Ocean and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon with a ...

with ''Okinoshima'', under the overall command of Admiral Sadamichi Kajioka, to participate in “Operation R” (the invasion of

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

and

Kavieng Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2009, it had a population of 17,248. Kavi ...

). On 5 March, ''Tsugaru'' and ''Okinoshima'', under the overall command of Admiral Kuninori Marumo, were assigned to “Operation SR” (the invasion of

Lae Lae (, , later ) is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River on the northern coast of Huon Gulf. It is at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is ...

and

Salamaua Salamaua () was a small town situated on the northeastern coastline of Papua New Guinea, in Salamaua Rural LLG, Morobe province. The settlement was built on a minor isthmus between the coast with mountains on the inland side and a headland. The c ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

). On 10 March, the invasion force was attacked by ninety

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

aircraft from and , with ''Tsugaru'' suffering light damage. On 4 May, ''Tsugaru'' was assigned to Admiral Shima's Tulagi invasion force, which was part of “

Operation Mo or the Port Moresby Operation was a Japanese plan to take control of the Australian Territory of New Guinea during World War II as well as other locations in the South Pacific. The goal was to isolate Australia and New Zealand from the Allie ...

” (the invasion of

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1896 t ...

and

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

). However, the invasion plans were cancelled after the

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle ...

, and ''Tsugaru'' was assigned instead to “ Operation RY" (the invasion of

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

and Ocean Island). This operation was also cancelled after the loss of ''Okinoshima'' on 12 May 1942, and ''Tsugaru'' was stationed at

. On 14 July, ''Tsugaru'' was reassigned to Admiral

Gunichi Mikawa was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that defeated the United States Navy (USN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at the Battle of Savo Island in Ironb ...

’s IJN 8th Fleet and supported “Operation RI” (the invasion of Buna in New Guinea). Subsequently, in August and September, ''Tsugaru'' was used on missions to supply reinforcements and equipment to

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

, and was hit by bombs from

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

bombers on 3 September, with 14 crewmen killed and 30 wounded. After repairs, she continued making transport runs to Guadalcanal,

Shortland Island Shortland Island (once known as ''Alu'') is the largest island of the Shortland Islands archipelago, in the Western Province (Solomon Islands), Western Province of Solomon Islands, at . The original name was a Melanesian word, while the curren ...

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province (Solomon Islands), Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the List of islands by area, 203rd-largest island in the world. Since July 1978, the island has been par ...

and

Santa Isabel Island Santa Isabel (also known as Isabel, Ysabel and Mahaga) is the largest island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split ...

in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

until February 1943. From March to May 1943, ''Tsugaru'' underwent repairs and refits at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, returning to Rabaul in early August. However, en route to Rabaul, she was attacked by on 5 August, NNE of Rabaul, with one torpedo hit. The damage was enough to warrant an immediate return to Truk for emergency repairs and a return to Yokosuka by mid-September, where she remained until the end of the year. On 1 December 1943, ''Tsugaru'' was reassigned to the Third Southern Expeditionary Fleet. On 24 March 1944, she deployed from

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

to mine the

Balabac Strait The Balabac Strait (; ) is one of the straits that connects the South China Sea with the Sulu Sea. It separates Balabac Island (Palawan province), Philippines, from Balambangan and the Banggi Islands north of Borneo that are a part of Malaysi ...

in the Philippines, after which she was stationed at

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. One of the mines from this mission is credited with sinking the in July 1944. On 31 May, ''Tsugaru'' was assigned to “Operation KON” (the Relief of

Biak Biak is the main island of Biak Archipelago located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The largest popula ...

), transporting reinforcements from Zamboanga on

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

to counter the American landings. On 21 June, after departing

Sorong Sorong is the largest city and the capital of the Indonesian province of Southwest Papua. The city is located on the western tip of the island of New Guinea with its only land borders being with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia ...

, New Guinea, for Halmahera Island, ''Tsugaru'' was torpedoed by the

Royal Dutch Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

submarine ''K-XIV'', which caused severe damage. After temporary repairs, she attempted to reach

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, but was sighted on 29 June near Biak by , which fired a full spread of six torpedoes. Two hit ''Tsugaru'', which sank at position less than 25 minutes later with loss of most of her crew, including her CO, Captain Nakatsu. ''Tsugaru'' was removed from the

navy list A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 10 August 1944.

References

Notes

Books

* * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsugaru Minelayers of the Imperial Japanese Navy World War II mine warfare vessels of Japan Ships built by Yokosuka Naval Arsenal 1940 ships Maritime incidents in June 1944 World War II shipwrecks in the Molucca Sea Ships sunk by American submarines