W-210 IJN SEAPLANE TENDER NOTORO

The Notoro was a Japanese tanker, rebuilt into an airline tender, the keel of which was laid in 1919, launched in May 1920, and commissioned in August of the same year. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was approx. 139 m, width approx. 17.7 m, and the actual displacement - 15,650 tons. The maximum speed was up to 12 knots. At the beginning of the Pacific War, the unit was armed with two 120 mm guns and two 76.2 mm anti-aircraft guns. The Notoro was the first of seven ships belonging to the class of the same name (ie, Notoro). Units of this type were created as part of the expansion of the Japanese fleet, implemented shortly after the end of World War I. In the course of their construction, efforts were made to create ocean-going tankers that could also cooperate with large ships of the Japanese fleet. The Notoro was constructed at the Kobe shipyard and served as a tanker for the first four years of its service (1920-1924). However, already in 1924 it was rebuilt into an air tender and in this role it took part in the actions against China in 1932 and in the initial phase of the Second Japanese-Chinese War (1937-1945). However, in 1941 it was rebuilt into an oil tanker and it was in this role that it took part in the war in the Pacific, transporting crude oil between Japanese bases in Southeast Asia. In January 1943, the unit was damaged by the American submarine USS Gar, and in September of the same year - by the USS Haddock. In both clashes, the unit was hit by torpedoes, but managed to reach the base each time. The ship also survived another torpedo attack by the USS Flasher in June 1944! In November 1944, Notoro was badly damaged in an Allied air raid on Singapore. The damage turned out to be so serious that it was not repaired. The tanker Notoro was scrapped in 1947.