The was a class of

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 ...

s 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 ...

(IJN), serving during and after 1929 through

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 ...

Ships in class

* 17 September 1928: Laid down as the at Yokohama Dock Company. * 22 March 1929: Reclassified to . * 24 April 1929: Launched. * 10 July 1929: Completed. * 30 May 1931: Reclassified to . * In 1936: Rebuilding by the ''Tomozuru'' Incident at

Sasebo Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...

. * In 1938: Sortie for the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

. * 18 December 1941: Sortie for the invasion of the

Lingayen Gulf Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central (Luzon), Cordillera Central. The Agno ...

. * (after): She spent all her time on convoy escort operations in

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

and

Java Sea The Java Sea (, ) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its northwest links it to the South Ch ...

. * 1 February 1944: Reclassified to . * 1 March 1945: Sunk by air raid from U.S. Navy aircraft carrier at

Ishigaki Island , also known as ''Ishigakijima'', is a Japanese island south-west of Okinawa Hontō and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group, behind Iriomote Island. It is located approximately south-west of Okinawa Hontō. It is within t ...

. * 10 May 1945: Removed from Navy List.

* 11 October 1928: Laid down as the Capture netlayer at Ōsaka Iron Works. * 22 March 1929: Reclassified to 2nd class minelayer. * 27 April 1929: Launched. * 30 August 1929: Completed. * 30 May 1931: Reclassified to Special service ship. * In 1936: Rebuilding by the ''Tomozuru'' Incident at Sasebo Naval Arsenal. * In 1938: Sortie for the Second Sino-Japanese War. * 18 December 1941: Sortie for the invasion of the Lingayen Gulf. * (after): She spent all her time on convoy escort operations in East China Sea,

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

and Java Sea. * 1 February 1944: Reclassified to Minelayer. * 27 April 1944: Sunk by USS ''Halibut'' at north off

Naha is the Cities of Japan, capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 people per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). ...

. * 10 June 1944: Removed from Navy List.

Bibliography

*''Ships of the World special issue Vol.45, Escort Vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy'', , (Japan), February 1996 *''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.47, Japanese naval mine warfare crafts'', (Japan), January 1981 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsubame 1929 ships Ships built by Osaka Iron Works