| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Cha-156 |
| Laid down | 15 September 1943 |
| Launched | 25 January 1944 |
| Completed | 31 March 1944 |
| Stricken | 10 May 1945 |
| Home port | Kure |
| Fate | Sunk by aircraft, 29 March 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | No.1-classSubmarine chaser |
| Displacement | 130 long tons (132 t) standard[1] |
| 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 | |
| Speed | 11.0knots (20.4 km/h; 12.7 mph) |
| Range | 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 10.0 kn (18.5 km/h; 11.5 mph) |
| Complement | 32 |
| Armament |
|
Cha-156 orNo. 156 (Japanese: 第百五十六號驅潜特務艇) was aNo.1-class auxiliary submarine chaser of theImperial Japanese Navy that served duringWorld War II.
She was laid down on 15 September 1943 and launched on 25 January 1944.[2] She was completed on 31 March 1944 and assigned to the Saeki Defense Unit, Kure Defense Force,Kure Naval District.[2] On 1 November 1944, she was reassigned to theKaohsiung Defense Force,Formosa.[2]
On 15 November 1944, she departedMoji,Kitakyūshū destined forMiri, Borneo with fellowNo.1-class auxiliary submarine chaserCha-157,Type C escort shipCD-61,[3]Type D escort shipCD-134, and minesweeperW-101, escorting convoy MI-27 consisting of four tankers (Awagawa Maru,Kyokuun Maru,Osakasan Maru, andEnkei Maru) and six transport/cargo ships (Edogawa Maru,Shoho Maru,Matsuura Maru,Seisho Maru,Koshu Maru, andChinkai Maru).[4]Enkei Maru andKyokuun Maru developed mechanical problems and were forced to return to Moji.[4] The convoy was running parallel toConvoy Hi-81 which had leftImari on 14 November 1944 destined forFormosa to benefit from air cover provided by HI-81'sescort carrierShin'yō which was carrying fourteenNakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers of the 931st Air Squadron, Saeki Naval Air Station.[5] The two convoys converged together at times.[5]
On 17 November 1944, in theYellow Sea offCheju Island, MI-27 was spotted by the US submarinesSunfish andPeto which were operating in awolfpack withSpadefish.[4]Sunfish torpedoed and damaged bothEdogawa Maru andSeisho Maru whilePeto torpedoed and sankOsakasan Maru (killing 142).[4] Nearby,Spadefish spottedShin'yō of HI-81 and fired six torpedoes four of which hit causing the carrier to burst into flames and sink (killing 1,130).[5]W-101 andCD-61 were disattached from MI-27 to pick up survivors.[5] On 18 November 1944,Sunfish torpedoed and sank the damagedSeisho Maru (killing 448) and the damagedEdogawa Maru (killing 2,083); whilePeto torpedoed and sankChinkai Maru (killing 39).[4] After losing four of the eight ships being escorted, the remainder of convoy MI-27 arrived atSijiao Island on 19 November 1944.[4]
On 29 March 1945, she was attacked and sunk byConsolidated B-24 Liberators with theFifth Air Force while docked in the port ofTakao,Taiwan at22°40′N120°15′E / 22.667°N 120.250°E /22.667; 120.250.[2][6] She was struck from theNavy List on 10 May 1945.[2]
