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History | |
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Name | Submarine No. 4914 |
Builder | Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Sasebo, Japan |
Laid down | 5 April 1945 |
Renamed | Ha-204 on 1 May 1945 |
Launched | 1 June 1945 |
Completed | 25 June 1945 |
Commissioned | 25 June 1945 |
Fate |
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General characteristics | |
Type | Submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 53.00 m (173 ft 11 in) overall |
Beam | 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in) |
Draft | 3.44 m (11 ft 3 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | |
Test depth | 100 m (330 ft) |
Complement | 26 |
Armament |
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Ha-204 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in June 1945, she served during the final months of World War II. She surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945, was wrecked in October 1945, and was scrapped in 1948.
At the end of 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy decided it needed large numbers of high-speed coastal submarines to defend the Japanese Home Islands [1] against an anticipated Allied invasion (named Operation Downfall by the Allies). To meet this requirement, the Ha-201-class submarines were designed as small, fast submarines [1] incorporating many of the same advanced ideas implemented in the German Type XXI and Type XXIII submarines. They were capable of submerged speeds of almost 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). [1]
The Ha-201 class displaced 325 metric tons (320 long tons) surfaced and 447 metric tons (440 long tons) submerged. [1] The submarines were 53 meters (173 ft 11 in) long, had a beam of 4.00 meters (13 ft 1 in) and a draft of 3.44 meters (11 ft 3 in). [1] For surface running, the submarines were powered by a single 400- brake-horsepower (298 kW) diesel engine that drove one propeller shaft. [1] When submerged the propeller was driven by a 1,250-shaft-horsepower (932 kW) electric motor. [1] They could reach 11.8 knots (21.9 km/h; 13.6 mph) on the surface and 13.9 knots (25.7 km/h; 16.0 mph) submerged. [1] On the surface, the Ha-201-class submarines had a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph); submerged, they had a range of 105 nmi (194 km; 121 mi) at 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph). [1] Their armament consisted of two 533-millimeter (21 in) torpedo tubes with four torpedoes and a single mount for a 7.7-millimeter machine gun. [1]
Ha-204 was laid down on 5 April 1945 by the Sasebo Naval Arsenal at Sasebo, Japan, as Submarine No. 4914. [2] She was renamed Ha-204 on 1 May 1945 and was attached provisionally to the Sasebo Naval District that day. [2] Launched on 1 June 1945, [2] she was completed and commissioned on 25 June 1945. [2]
Upon commissioning, Ha-204 was attached formally to the Sasebo Naval District and assigned to Submarine Division 33 in the Kure Submarine Flotilla for workups. [2] While she was underway off Etajima on her way to Kure, Japan, for a hull refit on 6 August 1945, the United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on nearby Hiroshima. [2] The detonation of the atomic bomb at 08:15 inflicted severe radiation burns on Ha-204′s bridge crew, including her commanding officer. [2]
Ha-204 had not yet conducted an operational patrol when hostilities between Japan and the Allies ended [1] on 15 August 1945. She surrendered to the Allies at Sasebo on 2 September 1945. [2] She ran aground in Aburatsu Bay on the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture on Kyushu on 29 October 1945. [2]
The Japanese struck Ha-204 from the Navy list on 30 November 1945. [2] Her wreck eventually was salvaged, and it was scrapped between August and October 1948 at the Nishimura Tekkosho ironworks plant. [2]
The Ha-201-class submarine were a class of small submarines designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). They were first deployed in 1945, but never saw combat. The Ha-201's were designed from the outset to have high underwater speed and were based on the earlier Submarine No.71 prototype. The official designation of the submarine was Sentaka-Shō type submarine. The type name, was shortened to Suichū Kōsoku Sensuikan Ko-gata.
Ha-101 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-101-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in November 1944, she served during the final months of World War II, carrying out operations in Japanese waters and a single supply run. She surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945 and was disposed of in October 1945.
Ha-102 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-101-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in December 1944, she served during the final months of World War II, making two supply runs. She surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945 and was disposed of in October 1945.
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Ha-109 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-101-class submarine. Completed as a transport submarine, she was converted into a submarine tender for midget submarines. She served during the final months of World War II, surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945, and was scuttled in April 1946.
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Ha-201 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in May 1945, she served during the final months of World War II. She surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945 and was scuttled in April 1946.
Ha-202 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in May 1945, she served during the final months of World War II. She surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945 and was scuttled in April 1946.
Ha-203 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in May 1945, she served during the final months of World War II. She surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945 and was scuttled in April 1946.
Ha-205 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in July 1945, she served during the final weeks of World War II. She surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945 and was scuttled in May 1946.
Ha-207 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in August 1945 on the day before hostilities ended in World War II, she surrendered in September 1945 and was scuttled in April 1946.
Ha-208 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in August 1945 only eleven days before hostilities ended in World War II, she surrendered in September 1945 and was scuttled in April 1946.
Ha-209 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in August 1945 only eleven days before hostilities ended in World War II, and was deliberately run aground by her crew that month.
Ha-210 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in August 1945 fours days before hostilities ended in World War II, she surrendered in September 1945 and was scuttled in April 1946.
Ha-216 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in August 1945 on the day after hostilities ended in World War II, she surrendered in September 1945 and was scuttled in April 1946.