SUBMARINE LAYING OKISHIMA

Okinoshima was a Japanese mine-builder known as a mine-cruiser of the interwar period and World War II. The keel for the ship was laid in 1934, the launch took place in November 1935, and entry into service in the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1936. The ship was 113 m long, 15.74 m wide, and her displacement was about 4,400 tons. The maximum speed is approximately 20 knots. The ship was armed with 4 140 mm guns, 2 80 mm guns, 2 13 mm machine guns and 22 depth charges. It could also take up to 500 nautical mines. The aviation equipment consisted of a single Kawanishi E7K seaplane. In connection with the signing of the London Treaty in 1930, Japan, honoring the positions contained in it, decided to withdraw the Aso and Tokiwa units from service, and replace them with units designed from the beginning as large miners, with a relatively large sailing range, a large supply of mines and equipped with in a seaplane. Okinoshima was the unit that fulfilled such tasks. From the moment of entering service in 1936, the ship performed numerous tasks in the area of the Marshall Islands, Karolinów and Marianów. In December 1941, shortly after the outbreak of the Pacific War, Okinoshima supported the Japanese landings of Makin and Tarawa to support the landing and capture of Rabaul as early as January 1942. In March, the ship suffered its first light damage in World War II. The mine-set Okinoshima was sunk on May 12, 1942 as a result of an attack by the USS S-42 torpedo. Most of the crew was saved.