IJN AOTAKA
N 07°00.0004' E 116°00.000'
Owner: Imperial Japanese Navy.
Built in Harima Shipyard, Aioi, Japan. Laid down 10 /05/1939 , launched 05/02/1940.
Yard No: FY1937.
Date of completion: 30/06/1940.
Gross Tons: 1608 standard, 1860 trial.
Length: 82.5m pp, 86.5m wl, 90.9m oa.
Beam: 11.3m.
Draught: 4.40m.
Type: Hatsutaka Class Minelayer.
Armament: 2-8cm/40cal AA gun (Wakataka), 4-40mm AA (other than Wakataka), 4-25mm AA, 360 mines.
Speed: 20Knots powered by 2-shaft geared steam turbine, 3 boilers, 6000shp .
Fate: Torpedoed by US Submarine Pargo SS-264 on 26th September 1944 at N 07°00' - E 116°00'
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NATSUKAWA MARU
Owner : Kawasaki Kisen KK, Kobe
Built in 1943 by Mitsui, Tamano
Yard No : 346
Date of completion : December 1943
Gross Tons : 4734
Length : 112.9M
Beam : 15.8m
Type : Wartime Standard 1B Cargo Ship, Steam Turbine
Fate: Bombed by land based USAAF B-24 aircraft at N 05°20' E 115°13' on 19/11/1944 whilst under repair after being damaged by torpedoes from United States Submarine USS Cabrilla SS-228 on 17/7/1944 off the west coast of Mindanao N 27°42' E 122°05'. Unable to return to service, abandoned and sunk 24/11/1944.
Translation by Maki Funatsu
Natsukawa Maru owned by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha
4739 tonnes
15th July, 1944 (19th year of Showa), departed Cebu for Miri. Around 2100 hrs, was attacked off the west coast of Mindanao and become immobile on San Ramon Coast.
28th August, she was successfully buoyed up and doubled to Lubuan, Borneo.
24th November, she was air raided then at 0030 hrs sunk to a sea bottom.
Last line of writing does translate directly, two possible choices as follows:
- 17 member of a warning squadron, several people who took a ride, 2 sailors killed in action.
- She took down 17 members of a warning squadron, 2 sailors and several others who happened to be on the ship.
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IJN SHINONOME
Owner: Imperial Japanese Navy. Her name means "The Clouds of Dawn".
Built by Sasebo NY, Sasebo, Japan . Keel laid down 12/08/1926. Launched 26/11/1927.
Date of completion: 25/07/1928.
Gross Tons: 2,050.
Length: 378 ft 3 in (115.3 m).
Beam: 34 ft (10.4 m).
Draft: 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m).
Type: Fubuki-class destroyer.
Speed: 38 Knots powered by 4 × Kampon type boilers,2 × Parsons geared turbines.
Range: 5,000 nm at 14 knots.
Complement: 197.
Armament: 6 × 127 mm (5 in) / 50 caliber DP guns (3×2),22 × 25 mm AA guns,10 × 13 mm AA guns,9 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes,36 × depth charges.
Fate: The Shinonome was lost during the Japanese invasion of the Malay peninsula in December 1941. The official record of her demise, however, is ambiguous. Although some Japanese sources at the time claimed that she hit a mine, there are no extant records of either British or Dutch mine-laying in the area. It is generally accepted that the Shinonome was sunk by Dutch military aircraft, either (a) on 17 December 1941, after being struck by two bombs from the Dutch flying boat X-32 of the Naval Air Group GVT-7, which detonated the aft magazine, or (b) on 18 December 1941, after an attack by Glenn Martin bombers of the Dutch East-Indies Army Air Corps (2de Vl.G) (cf. the account provided in P.C. De Boer's De Luchtstrijd rond Borneo (Houten: 1987)). In either case, it appears that Shinonome blew up and sank with all hands somewhere in the vicinity of Miri, Borneo 04°24′N 114°0′E . On 15 January 1942, Shinonome was removed from the Japanese Imperial Navy List.
Shinonome Today
The exact position of the Shinonome remains unknown, but it likely lies somewhere between Seria, in neighbouring Brunei to the north, and Miri town itself. A team of wreck researchers, based in Miri and with help from the Netherlands, has been searching for the ship's remains since 2004. The team has identified several prospective sites, and is in the process of confirming them. The position, orientation and condition of the wreck will help to resolve the lingering uncertainty about the circumstances surrounding the Shinonome's demise.