Japanese submarine Ro-15

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Submarine No. 24 during the early 1920s, sometime before her name was changed to Ro-15 on 1 November 1924.
History
Japan
NameSubmarine No. 24
BuilderKure Naval Arsenal, Kure, Japan
Laid down12 June 1920
Launched14 October 1920
Completed30 June 1921
Commissioned30 June 1921
RenamedRo-15 on 1 November 1924
Stricken1 September 1933
RenamedTraining Hulk No. 3036 on 7 March 1934
Fate
  • Hulked 7 March 1934
  • Scrapped September 1948
General characteristics
Class and typeKaichū type submarine (K2 subclass)
Displacement
  • 752 tonnes (740 long tons) surfaced
  • 1,019 tonnes (1,003.1 long tons) submerged
Length70.10 m (230 ft 0 in) overall
Beam6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)
Draft3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) surfaced
  • 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) submerged
Range
  • 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 85 nmi (157 km; 98 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth30 m (98 ft)
Crew43
Armament

Ro-15, originally named Submarine No. 24, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū-Type submarine of the Kaichū II subclass. She was commissioned in 1921 and operated in the waters of Japan. She was stricken in 1933.

Design and description[edit]

The submarines of the Kaichu II sub-class were larger and had a greater range than the preceding Kaichu I subclass, but they had the same powerplant, so their greater size resulted in a loss of some speed.[1] They also had a modified conning tower, bow, and stern, and the stern was overhanging.[1] They displaced 752 tonnes (740 long tons) surfaced and 1,019 tonnes (1,003.1 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 70.10 meters (230 ft 0 in) long and had a beam of 6.10 meters (20 ft 0 in) and a draft of 3.68 meters (12 ft 1 in). They had a diving depth of 30 meters (98 ft).

For surface running, the submarines were powered by two 1,450-brake-horsepower (1,081 kW) Sulzer Mark II diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 600-horsepower (447 kW) electric motor. They could reach 16.5 knots (31 km/h; 19 mph) on the surface and 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) underwater. On the surface, they had a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph); submerged, they had a range of 85 nmi (157 km; 98 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph).

The submarines were armed with six 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes, four internal tubes in the bow and two external tubes mounted on the upper deck, and carried a total of ten Type 44 torpedoes. They were also armed with a single 76.2 mm (3.00 in) deck gun mounted aft of the conning tower.[1]

Construction and commissioning[edit]

Ro-15 was laid down as Submarine No. 24 on 12 June 1920 by the Kure Naval Arsenal at Kure, Japan.[2] Launched on 14 October 1920,[2] she was completed and commissioned on 30 June 1921.[2]

Service history[edit]

Upon commissioning, Submarine No. 24 was attached to the Kure Naval District, to which she remained attached throughout her career.[2] She was assigned to Submarine Division 15 — in which she spent the rest of her career — and to the Kure Defense Division on 1 July 1921.[2] On 19 July 1921, a fire broke out in her galley due to faulty electrical wiring and spread to the adjacent torpedo room.[3] She was flooded to extinguish it, but not before much of her interior was burned out.[3] There were no casualties,[3] and she was repaired and returned to service.

Submarine Division 15 served in the Kure Defense Division until 1 December 1921 and again from 1 December 1922 to 1 December 1923.[2] While cruising off Moji, Japan, on 29 July 1924, Submarine No. 24 collided with a steamer, suffering no casualties.[4]

Submarine No. 24 was renamed Ro-15 on 1 November 1924.[2] On 1 December 1926, Submarine Division 15 began another assignment to the Kure Defense Division that lasted through the end of Ro-15′s active service.[2]

Ro-15 was stricken from the Navy list on 1 September 1933.[2] She remained moored at Kure as a hulk after that, and was renamed Training Hulk No. 3036 on 7 March 1934.[2] She served on training duties through the end of World War II in August 1945, and was scrapped in September 1948.[2]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Gray, Randal, ed., Conway′s All the World′s Fighting Ships 1906–1921, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985, ISBN 0 87021 907 3, p. 248.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "RO-15 ex No-24". iijnsubsite.info. 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Airship Investigation: Report of Col. Henry Breckenridge, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1933, p. 55.
  4. ^ Airship Investigation: Report of Col. Henry Breckenridge, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1933, p. 56.

References[edit]

  • "Rekishi Gunzō"., History of Pacific War Vol.17 I-Gō Submarines, Gakken (Japan), January 1998, ISBN 4-05-601767-0
  • Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Extra, "Perfect guide, The submarines of the Imperial Japanese Forces", Gakken (Japan), March 2005, ISBN 4-05-603890-2
  • The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.43 Japanese Submarines III, Ushio Shobō (Japan), September 1980, Book code 68343-44
  • The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.132 Japanese Submarines I "Revised edition", Ushio Shobō (Japan), February 1988, Book code 68344-36
  • The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.133 Japanese Submarines II "Revised edition", Ushio Shobō (Japan), March 1988, Book code 68344-37
  • The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.135 Japanese Submarines IV, Ushio Shobō (Japan), May 1988, Book code 68344-39
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