Japanese submarine Ro-42
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan | |
| Name | Submarine No. 208 |
| Builder | Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Sasebo, Japan |
| Laid down | 27 April 1942 |
| Renamed | Ro-42 on 25 September 1942 |
| Launched | 25 October 1942 |
| Completed | 31 August 1943 |
| Commissioned | 31 August 1943 |
| Fate | Sunk 11 June 1944 |
| Stricken | 10 August 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Kaichū type submarine (K6 subclass) |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 80.5 m (264 ft 1 in) overall |
| Beam | 7 m (23 ft 0 in) |
| Draft | 4.07 m (13 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 80 m (260 ft) |
| Crew | 61 |
| Armament |
|
Ro-42 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in August 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk in June 1944 during her third war patrol.
Design and description[edit]
The submarines of the K6 sub-class were versions of the preceding K5 sub-class with greater range and diving depth.[1] They displaced 1,133 tonnes (1,115 long tons) surfaced and 1,470 tonnes (1,447 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 80.5 meters (264 ft 1 in) long, had a beam of 7 meters (23 ft 0 in) and a draft of 4.07 meters (13 ft 4 in). They had a diving depth of 80 meters (260 ft).[2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 2,100-brake-horsepower (1,566 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 600-horsepower (447 kW) electric motor.[3] They could reach 19.75 knots (36.58 km/h; 22.73 mph) on the surface and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater. On the surface, the K6s had a range of 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km; 13,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph); submerged, they had a range of 45 nmi (83 km; 52 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).[1]
The boats were armed with four internal bow 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes and carried a total of ten torpedoes. They were also armed with a single 76.2 mm (3.00 in) L/40 anti-aircraft gun and two single 25 mm (1.0 in) AA guns.[1]
Construction and commissioning[edit]
Ro-42 was laid down as Submarine No. 208 on 27 April 1942 by the Sasebo Navy Yard at Sasebo, Japan.[4] She was renamed Ro-42 on 25 September 1942 and was attached provisionally to the Maizuru Naval District that day.[4] She was launched on 25 October 1942 [4] and was completed and commissioned on 31 August 1943.[4]
Service history[edit]
Upon commissioning, Ro-42 was attached formally to the Maizuru Naval District and assigned to Submarine Squadron 11 for workups.[4] On 30 November 1943, she was reassigned to Submarine Division 34 in the 6th Fleet,[4] and on 4 December 1943 she departed Maizuru, Japan, bound for Truk, which she reached on 12 December 1943.[4]
First war patrol[edit]
Ro-40 got underway from Truk on 23 December 1943 to begin her first war patrol, assigned a patrol area off Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides.[4] She was 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) east of Espiritu Santo on 14 January 1944 when she torpedoed the 800-ton United States Navy fuel oil barge USS YO-159, which her commanding officer had mistaken for a 10,000-ton fleet oiler, at 15°27′S 171°28′E / 15.450°S 171.467°E.[4] YO-159 suffered such serious damage that U.S. forces later scuttled her.[4] Ro-42 returned to Truk on 24 January 1944.[4] She took aboard torpedoes from the auxiliary submarine tender Heian Maru there on 28 January 1944.[4]
Operation Hailstone[edit]
During Ro-42′s stay at Truk, U.S. Navy Task Force 58 conducted Operation Hailstone, a major attack on Truk by carrier aircraft supported by anti-shipping sweeps around the atoll by surface warships, on 17 and 18 February 1944.[4] Ro-42 and the submarines I-10 and Ro-36 put to sea on 17 February in an attempt to intercept the attacking ships.[4] Ro-42 was unsuccessful, and returned to Truk on 19 February 1944.[4]
Second war patrol[edit]
Ro-42 began her second war patrol on 25 February 1944, departing Truk to head for a patrol area east of Kusaie.[4] On 1 March she received orders to conduct a reconnaissance of Kwajalein and then move to a new patrol area 120 nautical miles (220 km; 140 mi) southeast of Kwajalein.[4] After she arrived off Kwajalein, she reported on 4 March 1944 that the island′s waters were too heavily patrolled by Allied patrol boats for her to approach it for a reconnaissance.[4] Ro-42 also began to suffer from malfunctioning equipment.[4] She was ordered to return to her patrol.[4]
Ro-42 was 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) southwest of Mili Atoll in the Marshall Islands when she sighted a convoy of six transports at 08:00 on 6 March 1944.[4] WHile 70 nautical miles (130 km; 81 mi) southwest of Mili on 15 March 1944, she reported sighting a battleship and five aircraft carriers of U.S. Navy Task Group 50.10, prompting the commander-in-chief of the 6th Fleet, Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi, to order the submarines Ro-36 and Ro-44 to intercept the ships.[4]
On 16 March 1944, Ro-42 received orders to move 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) to the west-southwest,[4] and on 18 March to move another 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) to the west.[4] She was 240 nautical miles (440 km; 280 mi) south of Ponape on 21 March 1944 when she sighted a three-ship convoy.[4] On 23 March 1944, she and the submarines I-16, Ro-36, Ro-41, Ro-43, Ro-44, and Ro-108 were ordered to intercept a U.S. Navy task force that the submarine I-32 had sighted 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) north of Jaluit Atoll that day.[4] She did not find the task force, and she returned to Truk on 28 March 1944.[4]
April–May 1944[edit]
Ro-42 got underway from Truk in company with the submarines I-174, Ro-36, Ro-48, and Ro-108 on 12 April 1944 to intercept an Allied task force Japanese forces had sighted north of Kavieng.[4] She returned to Truk on 14 April.[4] On 23 April 1944 she departed Truk bound for Yokosuka, Japan, which she reached on 30 April 1944.[4]
On 15 May 1944, Ro-42 departed Yokosuka with the commander of Submarine Division 34 embarked and orders to conduct a reconnaissance of the American fleet anchorage at Majuro and then proceed to an area north-northeast of Kwajalein.[4] While she was at sea, she received orders to postpone the Majuro reconnaissance until 10 June 1944.[4] On 10 June 1944, she was operating in the Marshall Islands when she was ordered to reconnoiter both Majuro and Kwajalein.[4]
Loss[edit]
Ro-42 was on the surface 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) east of Roi-Namur at 23:30 on 10 June 1944 when the destroyer escort USS Bangust (DE-739) detected her on radar.[4] After Bangust closed, made visual contact, and flashed a challenge, Ro-42 crash-dived.[4] Bangust searched for the submerged Ro-42 for the next eight hours and regained contact on sonar on the morning of 11 June 1944.[4] Bangust conducted three unsuccessful 24-projectile Hedgehog attacks as Ro-42 made evasive maneuvers such as frequent hard turns and sudden changes in speed.[4] However, her fourth Hedgehog attack resulted in a large underwater explosion that damaged Bangust′s hull.[4] Ro-42 tried to surface, but failed, and sank at 10°05′N 168°22′E / 10.083°N 168.367°E.[4] During the morning of 11 June, a large oil slick was sighted on the surface.[4]
On 13 June 1944 the Combined Fleet activated Operation A-Go for the defense of the Mariana Islands, and that day Vice Admiral Takagi ordered all available Japanese submarines to deploy east of the Marianas,[4] with Ro-42 ordered to head there at flank speed.[4] On 16 June 1944, she was assigned to Submarine Group B and ordered to move to an area southeast of the Marianas,[4] and on 22 June 1944 she was ordered to return to Truk.[4] She acknowledged none of the orders. On 12 July 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared Ro-42 to be presumed lost with all 73 hands.[4] She was stricken from the Navy list on 10 August 1944.[4]
Some historians have identified a Japanese submarine the U.S. submarine USS Sea Devil (SS-400) sank on 16 September 1944 east of Japan as Ro-42, but the submarine Sea Devil sank probably was I-364.[4]
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b c Carpenter & Dorr, p. 124
- ^ Bagnasco, p. 187
- ^ Chesneau, p. 203
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2017). "IJN Submarine RO-42: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
References[edit]
- Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
- Carpenter, Dorr B. & Polmar, Norman (1986). Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904–1945. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-396-6.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2017). "IJN Submarine RO-42: Tabular Record of Movement". SENSUIKAN! Stories and Battle Histories of the IJN's Submarines. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp (2003). "Kaichu Type". Sensuikan!. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- Hashimoto, Mochitsura (1954). Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet 1942 – 1945. Colegrave, E.H.M. (translator). London: Cassell and Company. ASIN B000QSM3L0.
