Tsukushi-class survey ship

Class overview
Tsukushi in December 1941
Name:	Tsukushi-class survey ship
Builders:	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Operators:	Imperial Japanese Navy
Preceded by:	Yamato-class Katsuriki
Subclasses:	Tsukushi-class (Pr. J11) Miho-class (Pr. J11C, only a project)
Cost:	4,035,745 JPY as Tsukushi ^[1] 7,536,000 JPY as Miho ^[2]
Built:	1940–1941
In commission:	1941–1943
Planned:	2
Completed:	1
Cancelled:	1
Lost:	1
General characteristics ^[3]^[4]
Type:	Survey ship
Displacement:	1,400 long tons (1,422 t) standard
Length:	79.30 m (260 ft 2 in) overall
Beam:	10.60 m (34 ft 9 in)
Draught:	3.65 m (12 ft 0 in)
Propulsion:	3 × MAN Mk.3 Model 10 diesels, 3 shafts, 5,700 bhp 2 × Kampon Ho-Gō boilers
Speed:	19.7 knots (22.7 mph; 36.5 km/h)
Range:	8,000 nmi (15,000 km) at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h)
Endurance:	Fuel: 255 tons oil
Boats & landing craft carried:	4 × 10 m (32 ft 10 in) surveying launches
Complement:	128 officers and men 65 surveying engineers and weather observers
Sensors and processing systems:	surveying device: 1 × Fessenden echo sounder 2 × Sigsbee fathometers 1 × Type 91 fathometer 2 × electric fathometers
Armament:	4 × 120 mm (4.7 in) L/45 AA guns 4 × Type 96 25 mm AA guns
Aircraft carried:	1 × Kyūshū E14W
Aviation facilities:	4 ton derrick

The Tsukushi-class survey ship (筑紫型測量艦,, Tsukushi-gata sokuryōkan) was a class of auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), serving during World War II. The class consists of two subclasses, which this article handles collectively.

Background

Since the Meiji period, the Imperial Japanese Navy had carried out hydrographic survey with old naval vessels. While sufficient for routine peacetime survey duties, these obsolete vessels were deemed too slow for service in combat zones. Furthermore, these vessels were essentially fighting ships, thus were not able to carry many surveying devices. Therefore, in the 1920s and the 1930s, many of these ships were retired. The IJN then allotted Katsuriki and Komahashi to survey duties; however, these ships were of merchant ship designs, and were still too slow for the IJN. It then became clear that the IJN required purpose-built ships for hydrographic survey duties.

In 1930, the IJN proposed two 1,600-ton survey ships (Project Number J6) to the Ministry of Finance, but were unable to pass assessments. In 1937, IJN was finally able to get a building budget for one 1,400-ton survey ship. This is Project Number J11, later named Tsukushi.

Design

IJN gave her armament and maneuverability similar to that of Kaibokan several years later, as she was expected to carry out surveys in combat zones. She also possessed a floatplane for aerial survey. Low speed cruising was demanded from her for survey works; therefore she possessed three shafts, with low speed cruising used only the center shaft. Her minimum cruising speed was 2.2 knots (2.5 mph; 4.1 km/h).^[5]

Service

Tsukushi was completed on 17 December 1941, and was assigned to the 3rd Fleet the same day. Between 1 January 1942–March 1942, she went to the front in the Dutch East Indies campaign. On 10 March, she was assigned to the 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet; she carried out survey works off Surabaya, Balikpapan, and Davao until August. She took maintenance in Singapore between 26 August–7 September. On 25 September, she was assigned to the 4th Fleet; she carried out survey works off Gilbert Islands and Jaluit Atoll. She took maintenance in Yokohama between 27 March 1943–May.

On 20 May 1943, she was assigned to the 8th Fleet, sailed to Rabaul on 6 June, afterward she served in the Solomon Islands. On 3 November, she departed from Rabaul for rescue the Tei-4 Convoy. However she entered minefield off Kavieng; she struck a magnetic mine and sunk on 4 November. She was removed from the naval ship list on 5 January 1944.

A second ship of the class, Miho, was canceled on 5 May 1944.

Ships in classes

Tsukushi class

Project number J11. Only one vessel was built under the Maru 3 Programme.

Ship #	Ship	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
56	Tsukushi (筑紫)	Mitsubishi, Yokohama Shipyard	17 January 1940	29 November 1940	17 December 1941	Struck a magnetic mine and sunk off Kavieng on 4 November 1943.

Miho class

Project number J11C. Only one vessel was planned under the Kai-Maru 5 Programme, however, she became only a paper plan.

Ship #	Ship	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
5418	Miho (三保)					Canceled on 5 May 1944.^[6]

Footnotes

↑ Senshi Sōsho Vol.31 (1969), p. 501
↑ Senshi Sōsho Vol.88 (1975), p. 37
↑ Ships of the world No.522 (1997), p. 43
↑ SNAJ (1977), p. 794–795
↑ The Maru Special (1979), p. 60
↑ Senshi Sōsho Vol.88 (1975), p. 95

Bibliography

Ships of the World special issue Vol.47 Auxiliary Vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Kaijinsha, (Japan), March 1997
The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.34, Japanese Auxiliary ships, Ushio Shobō (Japan), December 1979
Senshi Sōsho Vol.31, Naval armaments and war preparation (1), "Until November 1941", Asagumo Simbun (Japan), November 1969
Senshi Sōsho Vol.88, Naval armaments and war preparation (2), "And after the outbreak of war", Asagumo Simbun (Japan), October 1975
"The Society of Naval Architects of Japan". (SNAJ), Histories of shipbuilding in Shōwa period (1), "Hara Shobō". (Japan), September 1977

Japanese auxiliary ship classes of World War II

Colliers and oilers	Notoro Ondo Sunosaki Ashizuri Kazahaya^S Hayasui^S Hario^S Muroto Teiyō Maru^S Ōse (ex-Dutch tanker Genota)^SC

Food supply ships	Mamiya^S Nosaki^S Kinesaki Irako^S Kurasaki^SC

Landing ships	No.1 No.101 Shinshū Maru^S (Army) SS (Army)

Armed merchant cruisers	Aikoku Maru^S Kongō Maru^S Noshiro Maru^S

Minelayers and cable layer	Tokiwa^SC Itsukushima^S Yaeyama^S Okinoshima^S Tsugaru^S Minoo^SC Shirataka^S Hatsutaka Tsubame Natsushima (1933) Sokuten (1938) Hirashima Ajiro^S Kamishima Hashima Sokuten (1913) Aux. No.1 Aux. No.101 (ex-HMS Barlight)^SC

Minesweepers	No.1 (1923) No.5 (1928) No.13 No.17 No.7 (1938) No.19 No.101 (ex-HMS Taitam and HMS Waglan)^C Aux. No.1 Aux. No.101 (ex-HNLMS DEFG-class) Aux. No.104 (ex-HNLMS DEFG-class)

Patrol boats	No.1^C No.31^C No.46^SC No.101 (ex-HMS Thracian)^SC No.102 (ex-USS Stewart)^SC No.103 (ex-USS Finch)^SC No.104 (ex-Dutch East Indies Valk and Arend)^C No.105 (ex-Philippine customs Arayat)^SC No.106 (ex-HNLMS Banckert (1929))^SCI No.107 (ex-USS Genesee)^SC No.109 (ex-Dutch East Indies Fazant)^SC Aux. No.1

Repair ships	Asahi^SC Akashi^S Hayase (ex-Chinese passenger Chin Kiang)^SC Hitonose (ex-ROCN Min Sheng)^SC

Seaplane tenders	Notoro Kamoi^SC Chitose Mizuho^S Nisshin^S Akitsushima^S Kamikawa Maru

Submarine chasers	No.1 No.3^S No.4 No.13 No.28 No.60 Aux. No.1 Aux. No.101 (ex-HNLMS Tjerimai)^SC Aux. No.102 (ex-HNLMS Ardjoeno class)^C Aux. No.103 (ex-HNLMS B1 class)^C Aux. No.111 (ex-HNLMS P13 or P14)^SC Aux. No.112 (ex-HNLMS A class)^C Aux. No.117 (ex-HNLMS Bantam)^C Aux. No.251 Aux. No.253^S

Submarine tenders	Komahashi^SC Jingei Taigei^S

Survey ships	Tsukushi^S Katsuriki^SC Hakusa (ex-China customs Fu Hsing)^SC

Target ships	Settsu^SC Yakaze^SC Hakachi^S Ōhama^S

Training ships	Fuji^SC Shikishima^SC Asama^SC Azuma^SC Kasuga^SC Atada (ex-ROCN Yat Sen)^SC

Others	Sōya (freighter)^SC Kashino (turret transporter)^S Ōtomari (icebreaker)^S Tategami (salvage tug) Kasashima (salvage tug) Miura (salvage tug) Kaiyō No.1 (oceanographic research ship) Asuka (traffic ship, ex-ROCN Yung Chien)^SC

S Single ship of class C Converted to ship type I Incomplete until the end of war

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