Action of 13 May 1944

Action of 13 May 1944 Part of World War II, Battle of the Atlantic Norita Sadotoshi at the christening of RO-501 in Germany. Date 13 May 1944 Location off Cape Verde Islands, Atlantic Ocean Result United States victory Belligerents  United States  Empire of Japan Commanders and leaders John E. Johansen Norita Sadatoshi Strength 1 destroyer escort 1 submarine Casualties and losses none 52 killed 1 submarine sunk

Atlantic Campaign America Northern Barrage Caribbean St. Lawrence Gibraltar Timeline River Plate HX 72 SC 7 HX 79 HX 84 HX 90 SC 19 Berlin HX 106 HG 53 OB 293 HX 112 4 April 1941 OB 318 HX 126 Denmark Strait Bismarck OG 69 OG 71 SC 42 HG 73 SC 48 HG 76 2nd Happy Time Torpedo Alley Neuland ON 67 27 March 1942 OG 82 6 June 1942 HG 84 SL 78 QS 15 SC 94 ON 122 QS 33 ON 127 Laconia SC 100 SC 104 HX 212 SL 125 SC 107 Casablanca ON 144 ON 154 TM 1 SG 19 SC 118 ON 166 UC 1 SC 121 HX 228 UGS 6 HX 229/SC 122 Black May ONS 5 SC 129 SC 130 ONS 18/ON 202 SC 143 ONS 20/ON 206 Sept-Îles SL 138/MKS 28 SL 139/MKS 30 SL 140/MKS 31 Stonewall Bay of Biscay Lyme Bay 26 April 1944 13 May 1944 HX 300 WEP 3 BX 141 Teardrop

The Action of 13 May 1944 refers to the sinking of an Imperial Japanese submarine in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. An American destroyer escort attacked the former German U-boat U-1224, which had been given to the Japanese Navy and renamed RO-501. The boat was the first of two Japanese vessels sunk in the European Theater of Operations.

Action

Due to arrangements made by German Vice Admiral Paul H. Weneker in 1944, a group of Japanese sailors under Lieutenant Commander Norita Sadatoshi were sent to Germany to receive training in submarine warfare. After they were given the recently launched U-1224 to sail back to Japan with a precious cargo of mercury, lead, steel, aluminum drawings, optical glass, blueprints for a IXC type U-boat and Messerschmitt Me 163A Komet jet aircraft. Allied intelligence discovered that the Japanese were sailing a submarine from Germany to Asia, so Task Group 22.2 (TG 22.2) of the United States Navy was ordered to intercept them. Lieutenant Commander Sadatoshi had no choice but to take his boat around the tip of Africa and this meant passing off the Cape Verde Islands where TG 22.2 operated.^[1][2]

USS Francis M. Robinson in the Atlantic on 2 February 1944.

The group included the escort carrier USS Bogue and five destroyer escorts; USS Francis M. Robinson, Haverfield, Swenning, Willis and Janssen. TG 22.2 was on its first day of operations around the Cape Verdes on 13 May.^[1] Lieutenant John E. Johansen in Robinson was patrolling alone a few hundred miles northwest of the Cape Verdes when at sunset about 19:00, her crew made a sound contact with a submarine. Johansen ordered his men to battle stations, and at a range of 825 yd (754 m) the Americans opened fire with hedgehog bombs which detonated over the area where the submarine was heard. A few moments later, Robinson was over the area itself and dropped a series of Mark 8 depth charges.^[1]

Seven seconds later, two underwater explosions were heard, indicating that some of the hedgehogs hit and damaged RO-501. A few seconds after, three successive explosions from the depth charges sent up huge columns of water. Three minutes later, a loud roar was produced by another large underwater explosion, said to have killed fish up to a quarter of a league from the battle area. Thus, RO-501 was sunk with a loss of all 52 hands at position 18°8′N 33°13′W / 18.133°N 33.217°W / 18.133; -33.217Coordinates: 18°8′N 33°13′W / 18.133°N 33.217°W / 18.133; -33.217, a few miles from where USS Buckley sank U-66 after a famous battle.^[1][2]

Aircraft from TG 22.2 later sank a second Japanese boat in the Atlantic, I-52, and was one of the most successful U.S. Navy squadrons which operated against submarines during the war. Francis M. Robinson received the Presidential Unit Citation and one battle star for destroying RO-501.

See also

• Monsoon Group

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be found here and here.