Japanese repair ship Akashi
{{other ships|Japanese ship Akashi}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
| {{Infobox ship begin |display title=Japanese repair ship Akashi}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= IJN repair ship AKASHI in 1939.jpg |Ship caption= Akashi trial run off Sasebo in July 1939 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country= |Ship flag={{IJN flag}} |Ship name=Akashi |Ship namesake=Akashi Strait |Ship builder=Sasebo Naval Arsenal |Ship original cost=*10,000,000 JPY as Akashi
|Ship Laid down=18 January 1937 |Ship launched=29 June 1938 |Ship completed=31 July 1939 |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned=10 May 1944 |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship fate=Sunk on 30 March 1944 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type=Repair ship |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement=*{{convert|9000|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} standard
|Ship length=*{{convert|158.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}} overall
|Ship beam= {{convert|20.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship height= |Ship draught={{convert|6.29|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship draft= |Ship propulsion=2 × Mitsubishi/MAN Model 60 diesels, 2 shafts |Ship power= 10,000 bhp |Ship speed={{convert|19.2|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}} |Ship range={{convert|8000|nmi|km|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|14|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} |Ship boats= |Ship troops= |Ship complement= |Ship crew=336 men and 433 engineers |Ship EW= |Ship armament=*4 × {{convert|127|mm|in|abbr=on}} L/40 Type 89 AA guns
|Ship armour=none }} |
Akashi was a Japanese repair ship, serving during World War II. She was the only specifically designed repair ship operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The navy based her design on the US Navy's USS Medusa.
Construction
File:Fig of japanese repair ship Akashi 1940.gif
In 1937 the Imperial Japanese Navy had converted the old battleship Asahi to serve as a repair ship. After the conversion of Asahi, a decision was made to build a dedicated repair ship with better capabilities for that task. The Imperial Japanese Navy planned for her to carry out 40% of the repairs needed by the Combined Fleet (needing approximately 140,000-man-hours). Therefore, she was equipped with the latest machine tools imported from Germany.
War service
During the war Akashi operated out of the Japanese base in the Truk atoll where she repaired various types of battle-damaged Japanese warships, including Shōkaku in October 1942 and Yamato in December 1943. In February 1944 the Americans made a raid on Truk (Operation Hailstone), sinking and damaging many ships. Akashi was damaged in these attacks and escaped to the Japanese atoll of Palau.{{Cite web|url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/Akashi_t.htm|title = Japanese Repair Ships}}
Fate
File:Akashi burning 1944.jpg]]
On 30 March 1944, while anchored off Urukthapel in the Palau Islands, Akashi was hit numerous times by bombs and rockets from American aircraft from Task Group 58, during Operation Desecrate One. She was sunk in shallow water with her bridge still remaining above the water.{{cite book| title=History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: New Guinea and the Marianas, March 1944 – August 1944| volume=8 |first=Samuel Eliot |last=Morison | publisher=University of Illinois Press (reprint)| year=2001| isbn=978-0-252-07038-9| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R-KfgdHvv88C&pg=PA32| pages=32–33}}Google Books limited preview{{cite book| title=Titans of the seas: the development and operations of Japanese and American carrier task forces during World War II| first1=James H.| last1=Belote| first2=William M.| last2=Belote| year=1975| publisher=Harper & Row| location=New York| isbn=978-0-06-010278-4| page=226}}
{{Clear}}
Ships in class
| class="wikitable" width="90%"
| width="3%" | Ship # | width="6%" | Ship | width="9%" | Builder | width="6%" | Laid down | width="6%" | Launched | width="6%" | Completed | width="10%" | Fate |
| |{{nihongo|Akashi|明石}}
| Sasebo Naval Arsenal | 18 January 1937 | 29 June 1938 | 31 July 1939 | Sunk on 30 March 1944; salvaged and scrapped in 1954. |
| 5416 5417 |{{nihongo|Mihara|三原}} | Mitsubishi, Yokohama Shipyard | | | |Cancelled on 11 August 1943. |
Bibliography
- {{cite web |url=http://rekigun.net/ |title=Rekishi Gunzō}}, History of Pacific War Vol.51 The truth histories of the Japanese Naval Vessels part-2, Gakken (Japan), August 2005, {{ISBN|4-05-604083-4}}
- 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 vessels, 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
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.combinedfleet.com/Akashi_t.htm Tabular record of Akashi's movements]
{{WWII Japanese auxiliary ships}}
{{March 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akashi}}
Category:Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Category:World War II naval ships of Japan
Category:Ships sunk by US aircraft