Japanese submarine Yu 7
| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan | |
| Name | Yu 7 |
| Builder | Hitachi Kasado Works, Kudamatsu, Japan |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics Yu I type | |
| Type | Transport submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 41.40 m (135 ft 10 in) overall |
| Beam | 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in) |
| Draft | 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 100 m (328 ft) |
| Capacity | 24 tons freight or 40 troops |
| Complement | 23 |
| Armament | |
Yu 7 was an Imperial Japanese Army transport submarine of the Yu 1 subclass of the Yu I type. Constructed for use during the latter stages of World War II, she served in the waters of the Japanese archipelago.
Construction
[edit]In the final two years of World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army constructed transport submarines — officially the Type 3 submergence transport vehicle and known to the Japanese Army as the Maru Yu — with which to supply its isolated island garrisons in the Pacific Ocean. Only submarines of the Yu I type were completed and saw service. The Yu I type was produced in four subclasses, each produced by a different manufacturer and differing primarily in the design of their conning towers and details of their gun armament. None carried torpedoes or had torpedo tubes. Yu 7 was a unit of the Yu 1 subclass.[1]
The Hitachi Kasado Works (Hitachi Kasado Seisakujo) at Kudamatsu, Japan, constructed Yu 7.[1][2] Records of the details of the construction of Yu 7 have not been discovered, but the earlier Yu I-type submarines were laid down and launched during the latter half of 1943 and entered service at the end of 1943 or early in 1944.[2][3]
Service history
[edit]Yu 7 spent her operational career in Japanese home waters.[4] She was assigned to Detachment 2, Transport Submarine Group, in November 1944.[citation needed] In January 1945, several Type I transport submarines were sent to operate from Shimoda on the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture on Honshu,[4] and the submarines began transport missions from Shimoda in March 1945.[4] It is not clear when Yu 7 began operations from Shimoda, but she made a round-trip supply voyage from Shimoda to Hachijō-jima in the Philippine Sea sometime during 1945 as well as a round-trip supply voyage from the Army Transport Submarine Base on the Seto Inland Sea at Mishima in Ehime Prefecture[5] on Shikoku in Japan to Ōshima Island in March 1945.[2][4]
World War II ended with the cessation of hostilities on 15 August 1945. Yu 7 surrendered to the Allies later in August 1945.[2] She was subsequently either scuttled or scrapped.[4]
References
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^ a b Mühlthaler, p. 329.
- ^ a b c d IJA Subs, ijnsubsite.com Accessed 14 May 2022
- ^ Mühlthaler, pp. 329–330.
- ^ a b c d e Mühlthaler, p. 330.
- ^ Muehlthaler, Erich, and Bob Hackett, "Strange but True Stories: The Exceptional Maiden Voyage of Imperial Japanese Army Transport Submarine YU 3001," Nihon Kaigun, 1 February 2014 Accessed 11 May 2022
Bibliography
[edit]- Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
- Bailey, Mark L. (1998). "Imperial Japanese Army Transport Submarines: Details of the YU-2 Class Submarine YU-3". Warship International. XXXV (1): 55–63.
- Carpenter, Dorr B. & Polmar, Norman (1986). Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904–1945. London, England: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-396-6.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London, England: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Mühlthaler, Erich (1998). "Re:Imperial Japanese Army Transport Submarines". Warship International. XXXV (4): 329–330. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Extra, Perfect guide, The submarines of the Imperial Japanese Forces, Gakken, Tokyo Japan, 2005, ISBN 4-05-603890-2.
- Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Vol.45, Truth histories of the Imperial Japanese Naval Vessels, Gakken, Tokyo Japan, 2004, ISBN 4-05-603412-5.
- Ships of the World No.506, Kaijinsha, Tokyo Japan, 1996.
- The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.43 Japanese Submarines III, Ushio Shobō, Tokyo Japan, 1980.
- Atsumi Nakashima, Army Submarine Fleet, "The secret project !, The men challenged the deep sea", Shinjinbutsu Ōraisha, Tokyo Japan, 2006, ISBN 4-404-03413-X.
- 50 year history of the Japan Steel Works (first volume and second volume), Japan Steel Works, 1968.