Japanese cruiser Ōi

nihongo|"IJN Ōi"|大井 軽巡洋艦|Ōi keijunyōkan was one of five "Kuma"-class light cruisers, which served in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. It was named after the Oi River in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan.

Background

"Ōi" was the fourth vessel completed in the "Kuma"-class of light cruisers. As with its sister ships, it was intended for use both as a long-range, high speed scout ship and also as a command vessel for destroyer or submarine flotillas.

ervice career

Early career

"Ōi" was completed at Kawasaki Heavy Industries shipyards at Kobe on 4 May 1921. From 1928-1931, it was assigned to be a training vessel at the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in Etajima, Hiroshima. At the time of the Shanghai Incident of 1937, "Ōi" was re-assigned to patrols of the China coast, but it resumed its training role from the end of 1933 to mid 1937. After August 1937, as the Second Sino-Japanese War continued to escalate, "Ōi" was assigned to cover the landings of Japanese forces in central China, but it was again assigned to training duties from December 1937 through the end of 1939.

On 25 August 1941, "Ōi" returned to Maizuru for conversion to a "torpedo cruiser" with ten Type 92 Model 3 quadruple mount 1-cm torpedo tube launchers (a total of 40 tubes), housing long-range oxygen-propelled Type 93 “Long Lance” torpedoes arranged in two broadside rows of five, i.e. 20 per side. Modifications were completed 30 September 1941, and "Ōi" was assigned to the First Fleet, CruDiv 9 under Rear Admiral Fukuji Kishi together with her sister ship, "Kitakami".

Early stages of the Pacific War

During the attack on Pearl Harbor of 8 December 1941, "Ōi" escorted the battleship force of the Combined Fleet from its anchorage at Hashirajima in Hiroshima Bay to the Bonin Islands and back.

On 12 January 1942, Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Matome Ugaki inspected "Ōi", and expressed strong disapproval of the Navy's plans for the use of the newly remodeled torpedo cruisers and urged a revision to the Navy's tactics. While the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff debated the issue, "Ōi" was assigned to escorting transports between Hiroshima and Mako, Pescadores Islands from the end of January through mid April.

On 29 May 1942, during the Battle of Midway, "Ōi" was part of Vice Admiral Takasu's (Aleutian Screening) force, and thus returned safely to Yokosuka on 17 June 1942.

As a fast transport

From August - September 1942, "Ōi" and "Kitakami" were converted into fast transports. Their ten quadruple torpedo tubes were reduced to six, for a total of 24 tubes. They were equipped with two Daihatsu landing craft (barges) and fitted with two triple mount Type 96 25-mm AA guns. Depth charge launching rails were also installed. Ōi was then used to transport the Maizuru No. 4 Special Naval Landing Force to Truk in the Caroline Islands.

From the end of October and through most of December, "Ōi" ferried troops and supplies from Truk and Manila to Rabaul, New Britain and Buin, Bouganville. On 21 November 1942, CruDiv 9 was disbanded and "Ōi" was assigned directly to the Combined Fleet. On 24 December 1942, "Ōi" returned to Kure for maintenance.

From 12 January 1943, "Ōi" participated in the operation to reinforce Japanese forces in New Guinea. It ferried a convoy with IJA's 20th Infantry Division from Pusan to Wewak, New Guinea via Palau in January, and a convoy with IJA's 41st Infantry Division from Tsingtao to Wewak in February.

On 15 March 1943, "Ōi" was assigned to Admiral Shiro Takasu's Southwest Area Fleet and was assigned to escort two convoys from Surabaya to Kaimana, New Guinea in April, and from Surabaya to Ambon and Kaimana in May. While at Makassar on 23 June 1943, it is attacked by Consolidated Aircraft B-24 Liberators of the 5th Air Force's 319th Bomb Squadron, but is not damaged.

On 1 July 1943, "Ōi" was assigned to CruDiv 16 of the Southwest Area Fleet, and was based at Surabaya as a guard ship. After patrols in the Java Sea, it was repaired at Seletar Naval Base, Singapore in August.

Operations in the Indian Ocean

From the end of August to the end of January 1944, "Ōi" and "Kitakami" made four troop transport runs from Singapore and Penang to the Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands.

From 27 February 1944, "Ōi", with "Kinu" and destroyers "Uranami", "Amagiri" and the "Shikinami" was assigned to escort the cruisers "Tone", "Chikuma" and "Aoba" for commerce raiding in the Indian Ocean, but in general remained in the vicinity of Singapore and Balikpapan and Tarakan in Borneo until the end of April. During the month of May, "Ōi" was primarily involved in troop transport operations between Tarakan, Palau and Sorong, and in June it was re-assigned to patrols in the Java Sea.

On 6 July 1944, "Ōi" departed Surabaya for Manila. On 19 July 1944 it was sighted in the South China Sea, 570 miles south of Hong Kong by "USS Flasher" (SS-249). When the cruiser was 1,400 yards astern, the "Flasher" fired its four stern tubes; hitting "Ōi" with two torpedoes portside aft. One was a dud, but the other torpedo exploded and flooded "Ōi's" aft engine room. The "Flasher" then fired its four bow torpedoes from 3,500 yards, but all missed. At 1725, "Ōi" sank by the stern at coord|13|12|N|114|52|E. "Shikinami" rescued Captain Shiba and 368 crewmen, but another 153 crewmen went down with the ship. Captain Shiba was later one of the representatives of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the formal surrender ceremonies aboard the "USS Missouri" (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.

"Ōi" was removed from the Navy List on 10 September 1944.

List of Captains

Capt. Takeshi Maruo - 4 May 1921 - 10 November 1922

Capt. Eijiro Hamano - 10 November 1922 - 1 December 1923

Capt. Saisuke Hashimoto - 1 December 1923 - 10 May 1924

Capt. Shigeru Matsushita - 10 May 1924 - 1 December 1924

Capt. Yurikazu Edahara - 1 December 1924 - 20 November 1925

Cmdr. / Capt. Toraroku Akiyama - 20 November 1925 - 15 November 1927 (Promoted to Captain on 1 December 1925.)

Capt. Masaharu Ebino - 15 November 1927 - 10 December 1928

Capt. Soichi Kasuya - 10 December 1928 - 1 April 1929

Capt. Eikichi Katagiri - 1 April 1929 - 30 November 1929

Capt. Nishizo Tsukahara - 30 November 1929 - 1 December 1930

Capt. Shunichi Okada - 1 December 1930 - 1 April 1931

Capt. Masaichi Niimi - 1 April 1931 - 15 October 1931

Capt. Taiji Ota - 15 October 1931 - 1 December 1932

Capt. Teizo Yamanouchi - 1 December 1932 - 1 June 1934

Capt. Kumeichi Hiraoka - 1 June 1934 - 15 November 1935

Capt. Gisaburo Yamaguchi - 15 November 1935 - 1 December 1936

Capt. Kiyohide Shima - 1 December 1936 - 1 December 1937

Capt. Yasuo Yasuba - 1 December 1937 - 10 January 1939

Capt. Isamu Takeda - 10 January 1939 - 15 November 1939

Capt. Senzaburo Tomomura - 15 November 1939 - 15 November 1940

Capt. Yoshio Kanemasu - 15 November 1940 - 1 September 1941

Capt. Nobue Morishita - 1 September 1941 - 10 April 1942

Capt. / RADM* Moichi Narita - 10 April 1942 - 3 October 1942 (Died of Natural Causes)

Capt. Takeo Nagai - 3 October 1942 - 24 December 1942

Capt. Shinshiro Soma - 24 December 1942 - 23 July 1943

Capt. Shigezo Kawai - 23 July 1943 - 12 February 1944

Capt. Katsuo Shiba - 12 February 1944 - 19 July 1944

References

Books

*cite book
last = Brown
first = David
authorlink =
year = 1990
title = Warship Losses of World War Two
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55750-914-X
*cite book
last = D'Albas
first = Andrieu
authorlink =
year = 1965
title = Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II
publisher = Devin-Adair Pub
location =
id = ISBN 0-8159-5302-X
*cite book
last = Dull
first = Paul S.
authorlink =
year = 1978
chapter =
title = A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-097-1
*cite book
last = Evans
first = David
authorlink =
year = 1979
title = Kaigun : Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-192-7
*cite book
last = Howarth
first = Stephen
authorlink =
year = 1983
title = The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945
publisher = Atheneum
location =
id = ISBN 0-68911-402-8
*cite book
last = Jentsura
first = Hansgeorg
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1976
chapter =
title = Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-893-X
*cite book
last = Lacroix
first = Eric
authorlink =
coauthors = Linton Wells
year = 1997
chapter =
title = Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-311-3
*cite book
last = Whitley
first = M.J.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1995
chapter =
title = Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55750-141-6

External links

*cite web
last = Parshall
first = Jon
coauthors = Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt
year =
url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/kuma_c.htm CombinedFleet.com: "Kuma" class
title = Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)
work =
accessdate =
*Tabular record: [http://www.combinedfleet.com/oi_t.htm CombinedFleet.com: "Oi" history]

Notes

ee also

*List of World War II ships