Japanese submarine chaser Cha-19

History
Empire of Japan
Name	Cha-19
Builder	Miho Shipyard Co., Ltd., Shizuoka
Laid down	26 March 1942
Launched	31 January 1943
Completed	18 April 1943
Commissioned	18 April 1943
Stricken	31 March 1944
Homeport	Yokosuka
Fate	Sunk by aircraft, 30 January 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	No.1-class Submarine chaser
Displacement	130 long tons (132 t) standard
Length	29.20 m (95 ft 10 in) overall
Beam	5.65 m (18 ft 6 in)
Draught	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	1 × intermediate diesel shingle shaft, 400 bhp
Speed	11.0 knots (12.7 mph; 20.4 km/h)
Range	1,000 nmi (1,900 km) at 10.0 kn (11.5 mph; 18.5 km/h)
Complement	32
Armament	1 × 7.7 mm machine gun 22 × depth charges 1 × dunking hydrophone 1 × simple sonar From mid 1943, the 7.7 mm machine gun was replaced with a 13.2mm machine gun

Cha-19 or No. 19 (Japanese: 第十九號驅潜特務艇) was a No.1-class auxiliary submarine chaser of the Imperial Japanese Navy that served during World War II.

History

She was laid down on 26 March 1942 at the Shizuoka shipyard of the Miho Shipyard Co., Ltd. (株式會社三保造船所) and launched on 31 January 1943. She was completed and commissioned on 18 April 1943 and assigned to the Yokosuka Defense Force, Yokosuka Naval District. On 1 July 1943, she was reassigned to 66th Guard Force. On 30 January 1944, Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers and Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters from Task Group 52.8 comprising fleet carriers Enterprise, Yorktown, and Bunker Hill and escort carrier Belleau Wood, sink Cha-19, Cha-14, and Cha-28, northeast of Mili Atoll in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. She was removed from the Navy List on 31 March 1944.