Wreck of HIJMS RO-64

 Second World War 1939-1945, shipwreck, submarine

HIJMS RO-64 was a type L4 Class Submarine laid down in early 1924 at Mitsubishi Shipbuilding and commissioned into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy on April 30th, 1925. Assigned to Sasebo, the RO-64 carried out training and regular deployments as part of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Submarine Fleet throughout the 1920's & 1930's and was twice modernized to keep her capabilities current with rapidly advancing Submarine technology.

Prior to the outbreak of war against America and her Allies on December 7th, 1941, the RO-64 and her crew departed Kwajalein Atoll in company with their sistership the RO-68 and conducted reconnaissance of the US Seaplane Bases at Majuro Atoll and Howland Island from December 5th through the 10th. On December 11th, the RO-64 surfaced off Howland and conducted shore bombardment of the islands facilities, destroying a weather station, several depot buildings, barracks and the lighthouse during her 1 hour shelling. Departing the area, the RO-64 steamed for Truk which served as her base of operations through July 1942, when she returned to Japan for voyage repairs.

Rejoining the fight in August 1942, the RO-64 steamed with several other subs to the Aleutian Islands where she conducted patrols, reconnaissance and lifeguard duties in support of an upcoming Japanese invasion of the islands and returned to Japan in October as winter weather sealed off the Aleutian front. Reassigned to Submarine Division 33 upon her return, the RO-64 was redesignated a training ship due in large part to her advancing age and lack of range and armament when compared to newer subs entering service with the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Based at Kure, the RO-64 began her new role as a training ship in November 1942 and continued it through the rest of the war. By April 1945, the home islands of Japan were under direct air attack by both American long-range bombers and fighter aircraft flying from Carriers and recently captured airfields in Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Despite these threats, the RO-64 continued her mission of training new submariners even when Kure Naval Base came under attack and American B-29's were beginning an aggressive mining campaign of Japan's inland waterways.

On the morning of April 15th, 1945 the RO-46 departed Kure on another training mission in Hiroshima Bay with her full crew and 30 cadets and began training in waters which had been deemed to be swept clean of American mines. As the day progressed, the RO-64 and her crew continued training and were running maneuvering trials on the surface near Itsukushima Island when the sub ran headlong into a floating mine at 1426hrs. The explosive force of the mine all but obliterated the RO-46's bow area and exposed the ship to catastrophic flooding. Mere seconds after the detonation, the RO-64 flooded and sank bow-first at this location, taking her crew of 50 and 30 cadets with her to the bottom.


www.combinedfleet.com/RO-64.htm