World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseLight cruiser Oi was a training vessel with the Japanese Navy between 1928 and 1939 at the Imperial Navy Academy at Etajima, Hiroshima, Japan. Her role as a training vessel was interrupted twice, first in early 1932 during the First Battle of Shanghai and in 1937 during the first month of the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 1941, she was docked at Maizuru, Japan to be converted into a torpedo cruiser, during which she took on ten Type 92 Model 3 quadruple mount torpedo tube launchers for Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedoes. On 30 Sep 1941, the conversion was complete, and she was assigned to Cruiser Division 9 of the First Fleet. When the Pacific War began, she was escorting battleships from Hashirajima, Hiroshima to the Bonin Islands and back. On 12 Jan 1942, she hosted Rear Admiral Matome Ugaki as he inspected her unit; during the trip Matome expressed disapproval for the use of cruisers as torpedo vessels. Between Jan and Apr 1942, she escorted transports between Hiroshima and Mako, Pescadores Islands. On 29 May 1942, she departed as a part of the Aleutian Screening Force during the invasion of the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific Ocean; she returned to Japan on 17 Jun 1942. Between Aug and Sep, she was converted into fast transports along with her sister ship Kitakami, in which their torpedo tubes were reduced, and they took on two Daihatsu landing barges and more anti-aircraft guns. In Sep, she transported men of the Maizuru No. 4 Special Naval Landing Force to Truk of the Caroline Islands. Between Oct and Dec, she transported troops and supplies to various bases in the Pacific. On 21 Nov, Cruiser Division 9 was disbanded, and Oi joined the Combined Fleet. On 24 Dec 1942, she docked at Kure, Japan for maintenance. Starting on 12 Jan 1943 until Feb 1943, she joined in the effort to reinforce New Guinea, transporting elements of the 20th Infantry Division and 41st Infantry Division. On 15 Mar, she was assigned to the Southwest Area Fleet and performed escort duties. On 23 Jun, she was attacked by B-24 Liberator bombers of 319th Bomb Squadron of United States Army 5th Air Force, but was not damaged. On 1 Jul 1943, she was assigned to Cruiser Division 16 of the Southwest Area Fleet based at Surabaya, Java. In Aug, she received repairs at Seletar Naval Base at Singapore. Between Aug 1943 and Jan 1944, she made four troop transport runs to the Nicobar and Andaman Islands. Between 27 Feb and late Apr, she escorted heavy cruisers Tone, Chikuma, and Aoba during commerce raiding missions in the Eastern Indian Ocean, generally in the Singapore area. In May, she transported troops in the Dutch East Indies, and in the following month she patrolled the Java Sea. On 6 Jul 1944, she departed from Surabaya, Java for Manila, Philippine Islands. En route, on 19 Jul, she was sighted in the South China Sea 570 miles south of Hong Kong by American submarine USS Flasher. At the distance of 1,400 yards, Flasher fired four stern torpedoes, hitting Oi with two of them on the port side, though only one exploded. Oi's aft engine room was immediately flooded. At the distance of 3,500 yards, Flasher fired her four bow torpedoes, and they all missed. At 1725 hours that day, Oi gave in to her wounds and sank by the stern. 369 men, including Captain Katsuo Shiba, were rescued; 153 men were lost in the sinking.

Photographs

Oi Operational Timeline

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