''Ha-101'' was an

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 ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

. Completed and commissioned in November 1944, she served during the final months 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 ...

, carrying out operations in Japanese waters and a single supply run. She surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945 and was disposed of in October 1945.

Design and description

The ''Ha-101''-class submarines were designed as small, cheap transport submarines to resupply isolated island garrisons. They displaced surfaced and submerged. The submarines were long, had a beam of and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . They were designed to carry of cargo.Carpenter & Dorr, p. 140 For surface running, the boats were powered by a single

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

that drove one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect o ...

. When submerged the propeller was driven by a

electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...

. They could reach on the surface and underwater.Chesneau, p. 204 On the surface, the ''Ha-101''s had a range of at ; submerged, they had a range of at . The boats were armed a single mount for a Type 96

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

.Bagnasco, p. 195

Construction and commissioning

''Ha-101'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 8 June 1944 by Kawasaki at Senshu,

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 ...

, as ''Small Supply Submarine No. 4601'', the lead submarine of the ''Ha-101'' class. She was launched on 22 August 1944 and was named ''Ha-101'' that day. She subsequently was

towed Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. ...

to the Kawasaki yard at

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, Japan, for

fitting-out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

. She was completed and commissioned at Kobe on 22 November 1944.

Service history

Upon commissioning, ''Ha-101'' was assigned to Submarine Squadron 11 for workups. In mid-January 1945 she conducted workups with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s and in the Iyo Nada in the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Ba ...

. She was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 7 on 27 January 1945 and in early February 1945 moved to

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

, Japan, to take part in a series of exercises with ''Ha-102''. Submarine Squadron 7 was disbanded on 20 March 1945, and ''Ha-101'' was reassigned that day to Submarine Division 16 for supply operations. On 13 May 1945, she took part in deep-diving tests of an

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

''Yu''-type transport submarine north of

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

off Iyomishima Island. On 17 June 1945, ''Ha-101'' got underway from Yokosuka to make a supply run to Marcus Island, which she reached on 28 June 1945. After unloading her cargo, she began her return voyage the same day and returned to Yokosuka on 7 July 1945. After arriving, she began a conversion to carry

aviation gasoline Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, wh ...

. Hostilities between Japan and the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

ended on 15 August 1945, and on 2 September 1945, ''Ha-101'' surrendered to the Allies at Yokosuka. The Japanese struck her from the Navy list on 15 September 1945. She was disposed of in Japan in October 1945; historians disagree on whether she was scrapped at Uraga Dockyard in Uraga or

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

off Shimizu that month.

Notes

References

* * * * * * , ''History of Pacific War Extra, "Perfect guide, The submarines of the Imperial Japanese Forces"'', Gakken (Japan), March 2005, * Ships of the World special issue Vol.37, ''History of Japanese Submarines'', , (Japan), August 1993 * The Maru Special, ''Japanese Naval Vessels No.43 Japanese Submarines III'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), September 1980, Book code 68343-43 * The Maru Special, ''Japanese Naval Vessels No.132 Japanese Submarines I "Revised edition"'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), February 1988, Book code 68344-36 *

Senshi Sōsho The , also called the , is the official military history of Imperial Japan's involvement in the Pacific War from 1937 to 1945. The task of compiling the official account of the Japanese involvement in World War II began in October 1955 with the ope ...

Vol.88, ''Naval armaments and war preparation (2), "And after the outbreak of war"'', Asagumo Simbun (Japan), October 1975 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ha-101 Ha-101-class submarines Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries 1944 ships World War II submarines of Japan Maritime incidents in October 1945 Scuttled vessels Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Shipwrecks of Japan