Japanese minelayer Minoo
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 Minoo in 1947 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan | |
| Name | Minoo |
| Namesake | ancient battlefield in Nanboku-chō period |
| Ordered | fiscal 1944 |
| Builder | Naniwa Dock Company, Osaka |
| Laid down | November 29, 1944 |
| Launched | May 13, 1945 |
| Commissioned | August 5, 1945 |
| Stricken | October 5, 1945 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1947 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | minelayer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length |
|
| Beam | 13.42 m (44 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 5.85 m (19 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h) |
| Range | 4,000 nmi (7,400 km) at 9.5 kn (10.9 mph; 17.6 km/h) as Type 2D wartime standard cargo ship |
| Complement | 94 |
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armour | none |
Minoo (箕面) was a minelayer of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was in service during the final stages of World War II. She was the lead ship of what was intended to be a two-vessel class, but her sister ship, designated Vessel #1822 was not completed before the end of the war.
During the very final stages of World War II, in preparation for the anticipated Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands, the Imperial Japanese Navy perceived the need to block the entrances to the Sea of Japan, namely the La Pérouse Strait, Tsugaru Strait and Tsushima Strait to protect Japan's long and relatively lightly defended western coastline.[1] However, as all minelayers has been sunk by that time, an emergency program was begun under the Maru Sen Programme to construct several small vessels for this task. Minoo was a modified Type 2D wartime standard cargo ship, which had been laid down by the Naniwa Dock Company on November 29, 1944. It was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy in December before completion, was launched on May 13, 1945, and was commissioned into service on August 5, 1945, after modifications at the Kure Naval Arsenal.[2]
Operational history
On completion, Minoo was assigned to the Kure Naval District, but the surrender of Japan occurred only 5 days after her commissioning. She was removed from the navy list on October 5, 1945. From September 1945 through December 1946, Minoo was used as a repatriation transport, shuttling between Okinawa, Shanghai, Hakata, and Sasebo returning demobilized Japanese troops and civilians from the Asian mainland to the Japanese home islands.[3] She was scrapped in 1947.
Ships in class
| Ship # | Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
| 1821 | Minoo (箕面) | Naniwa Dock Company | 29 November 1944 | 13 May 1945 | 5 August 1945 | Decommissioned 5 October 1945; scrapped in April 1947 |
| 1822 | Naniwa Dock Company | 1 February 1945 | 1948 | 7 June 1948 | Construction stopped in April 1945. Transferred to Inui Steamship inc., and construction restarted as merchant ship Kenshin Maru (乾進丸). Sunk by rough weather on 4 October 1948. | |