The were a class of seven

oilers Oiler may refer to: Ships * Replenishment oiler * Tanker (ship) Sports * Cape Breton Oilers, a former American Hockey League team * City Oilers, Ugandan basketball team * Edmonton Oilers, a National Hockey League team based in Edmonton, Alberta ...

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, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

(IJN), serving during the 1920s and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. They were also called the , after ''Notoro'' and ''Shiretoko'' were converted to other ship types.

Construction

They were built under pre-

Eight-eight fleet The was a Japanese naval strategy formulated for the development of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the first quarter of the 20th century, which stipulated that the navy should include eight first-class battleships and eight armoured cruisers or ...

plans, the Eight-four fleet plan and the Eight-six fleet plan. All ships of the class were named after capes in Japan (e.g. Irō is a cape at the southern tip of

Izu Peninsula The is a large mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture. The peninsu ...

Service history

The class devoted themselves to importing crude oil from North America and Southeast Asia. The ''Notoro'' and the es made 388 voyages carrying a total of 3,000,000 tons of oil up to 1941. During World War II they were not able to accompany the fleet, due to their low speed. Instead they were engaged in supply duties at naval bases.

Ships in class

Photo

Image:Japanese seaplane carrier Notoro.jpg, ''Notoro'' as seaplane tender on 28 May 1943 at

Seletar Seletar is an area located in the north-east of Singapore. Its name can also refer to the Seletar Planning Area (as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority), situated in the North-East Region of Singapore. The place name was derived from th ...

Image:IJN oiler SHIRETOKO and heavy cruiser CHOKAI in 1933.jpg, ''Shiretoko'' as collier in 1933 Image:Japanese oiler Erimo around 1938.jpg, ''Erimo'' in 1938 Image:Japanese oiler Sata in 1921.jpg, ''Sata'' in 1921 Image:Japanese oiler Shiriya in 1938.jpg, ''Shiriya'' on 28 April 1938 at

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, 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 ...

Bibliography

*Ships of the World special issue Vol.47, ''Auxiliary Vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy'', (Japan), March 1997 *The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.34 ''Japanese auxiliary vessels'', (Japan), December 1979 *

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.31, ''Naval armaments and war preparation (1), "Until November 1941"'', Asagumo Simbun (Japan), November 1969 {{DEFAULTSORT:Notoro-class oiler World War II naval ships of Japan World War II tankers Oilers Seaplane tenders of the Imperial Japanese Navy Colliers Auxiliary replenishment ship classes

Construction

Service history

Ships in class

Photo

See also

Bibliography