Japanese submarine Ro-107

Last updated
History
Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svgJapan
NameSubmarine No. 217
Builder Kure Naval Arsenal, Kure, Japan
Laid down30 June 1941
RenamedRo-107 on 8 April 1942
Launched30 May 1942
Completed26 December 1942
Commissioned26 December 1942
FateMissing after 6 July 1943
Stricken1 September 1943
Service record
Part of:
  • Kure Submarine Squadron [1]
  • Submarine Squadron 7
Commanders:
  • Naoichi Egi [1]
  • 26 December 1942 – July 1943
General characteristics
Class and type Ro-100-class submarine
Displacement
  • 611 tonnes (601 long tons) surfaced
  • 795 tonnes (782 long tons) submerged
Length60.90 m (199 ft 10 in) overall
Beam6.00 m (19 ft 8 in)
Draft3.51 m (11 ft 6 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 14.2 knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range
  • 3,500  nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced
  • 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged
Test depth75 m (246 ft)
Crew38
Armament

Ro-107 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in December 1942, she served in World War II, operating in the Solomon Islands. She disappeared in July 1943 during her third war patrol.

Contents

Design and description

The Ro-100 class was a medium-sized, coastal submarine derived from the preceding Kaichū type. They displaced 611 tonnes (601 long tons) surfaced and 795 tonnes (782 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 60.9 meters (199 ft 10 in) long, had a beam of 6 meters (19 ft 8 in) and a draft of 3.51 meters (11 ft 6 in). They had a double hull and a diving depth of 75 meters (246 ft). [2]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 500- brake-horsepower (373 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 380-horsepower (283 kW) electric motor. They could reach 14.2 knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph) on the surface and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater. On the surface, the Ro-100s had a range of 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph); submerged, they had a range of 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph). [3]

The boats were armed with four internal bow 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes and carried a total of eight torpedoes. They were also armed with two single mounts for 25 mm (1 in) Type 96 anti-aircraft guns or a single 76.2 mm (3.00 in) L/40 AA gun. [4]

Construction and commissioning

Ro-107 was laid down as Submarine No. 217 on 17 December 1941 by the Kure Naval Arsenal at Kure, Japan. [5] Renamed Ro-107 on 8 April 1942, [5] she was launched on 17 December 1941. [5] She was completed and commissioned on 26 December 1942, [5] under the command of Lieutenant Commander Naoichi Egi. [1]

Service history

Upon commissioning, Ro-107 was attached to the Sasebo Naval District and was assigned to the Kure Submarine Squadron for workups. [5] On 15 March 1943, she was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 7 in the 8th Fleet in the Southeast Area Fleet. [5] She departed Sasebo on 31 March 1943 bound for Rabaul on New Britain, which she reached on 12 April 1943. [5]

First and second war patrols

Ro-107 got underway from Rabaul on 22 April 1943 for her first war patrol, assigned a patrol area east of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. [5] The patrol was uneventful, and she returned to Rabaul on 14 May 1943. [5] She put back to sea on 27 May 1943 to begin her second war patrol, again bound for the waters east of Guadalcanal. [5] After another quiet patrol, she set course for Rabaul, where she arrived on 20 June 1943. [5]

Third war patrol

On 30 June 1943, the New Georgia campaign began when U.S. forces landed on New Georgia, Rendova, and other islands in the central Solomons. [5] Ro-107 left Rabaul that day to begin her third war patrol, assigned a patrol area off Rendova. [5] On 6 July 1943, she transmitted a message from a position east of Rendova. [5] The Japanese never heard from her again. [5]

Loss

The circumstances of Ro-107′s loss remain a mystery. [5] On 1 August 1943, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared her to be presumed lost in the Solomon Islands with all 42 men on board. [5] The Japanese struck her from the Navy list on 1 September 1943. [5]

Some historians have credited the United States Navy submarine chaser USS SC-669 with sinking Ro-107 off the entrance to the harbor at Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides in May 1943, but Ro-107 was active until July 1943. [5] Another account of her loss suggests that the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Radford (DD-446) sank her on 7 July 1943, but Radford reported that she attacked a submarine on 1 July 1943, before Ro-107′s last message, rather than on 7 July 1943. [5] The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Taylor (DD-468) erroneously received credit for sinking a Japanese submarine in Kula Gulf on 12 July 1943 and Taylor′s victim has been widely identified by historians as Ro-107, although some historians have claimed Taylor sank I-25 . [5] Taylor′s target actually was Ro-101, which survived. [5]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 RO-107. Ijnsubsite.info. 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Carpenter & Dorr, p. 123
  3. ↑ Chesneau, p. 204
  4. ↑ Bagnasco, p. 193
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2017). "IJN Submarine RO-107: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 2 October 2020.

Related Research Articles

Ro-106 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in December 1942, she served in World War II, operating in the Solomon Islands campaign, New Guinea campaign, and central Pacific Ocean. She was sunk in May 1944 during her eleventh war patrol.

Ro-102 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in November 1942, she served in World War II, operating in the Solomon Islands, Rabaul, and New Guinea areas. She disappeared in May 1943 during her third war patrol.

Ro-35 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine, the lead unit of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in March 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk during her first war patrol in August 1943.

Ro-37 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in June 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk during her second war patrol in January 1944.

Ro-39 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in September 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk in February 1944 during her first war patrol.

Ro-40 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in September 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk in February 1944 during her first war patrol.

Ro-43 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in December 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk in February 1945 during her fifth war patrol.

Ro-46 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in February 1944, she served in World War II, including operations related to the Marianas campaign, the Philippines campaign, and the Battle of Okinawa. She disappeared in April 1945 during her fifth war patrol.

Ro-49 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in May 1944, she served in World War II and patrolled off the Philippines and the Ryukyu Islands. She was lost during her third war patrol sometime in late March or April 1945.

The second Ro-55 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in September 1944, she served in World War II and was sunk during her first war patrol in February 1945.

Ro-100 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in September 1942, she served in World War II, operating in the Solomon Islands, Rabaul, and New Guinea areas. She sank in November 1943 when she struck a mine during her seventh war patrol.

Japanese submarine <i>Ro-101</i> Ro-100-class submarine

Ro-101 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in October 1942, she served in World War II and operated in the Solomon Islands and the New Guinea area until she was sunk in September 1943 during her eighth war patrol.

Ro-103 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in October 1942, she served in World War II, operating in the Solomon Islands, Rabaul, and New Guinea areas and sinking two cargo ships. She disappeared in July 1943 during her fifth war patrol.

Ro-104 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in February 1943, she served in World War II, operating in the Aleutian Islands campaign, New Guinea campaign, and Solomon Islands campaign before she was sunk in May 1944 during her tenth war patrol.

Ro-105 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in March 1943, she served in World War II, operating in the Aleutian Islands campaign, New Guinea campaign, and Solomon Islands campaign and in the vicinity of Truk, Rabaul, and the Admiralty Islands before she was sunk in May 1944 during her fourth war patrol.

Ro-108 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in April 1943, she served in World War II, operating in the Solomon Islands campaign, the New Guinea campaign — during which she sank the United States Navy destroyer USS Henley (DD-391) — and off the Admiralty Islands. She was sunk in May 1944 during her fifth war patrol.

Ro-109 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in April 1943, she served in World War II, operating off the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, Truk, the Philippine Islands, and Okinawa. She was sunk in April 1945 during her tenth war patrol.

Ro-112 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in September 1943, she served in World War II, operating off Australia, in the Netherlands East Indies, and off the Admiralty Islands and the Philippine Islands. She was sunk in February 1945 during her eighth war patrol.

Ro-114 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in November 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk in June 1944 during her first war patrol.

Ro-116 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in January 1944, she served in World War II and was sunk in May 1944 during her second war patrol.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.