Japanese escort ship No.43

CD-43 was a C Type class escort ship (Kaibōkan) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War. She was laid down by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at their Kobe Shipyard on 10 April 1944, launched on 22 June 1944, and completed and commissioned on 31 July 1944.^[1] During the war CD-43 was mostly busy on escort duties.^[1]

History
Name	CD-43
Builder	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries[1]
Laid down	10 April 1944[1]
Launched	22 June 1944[1]
Completed	31 July 1944[1]
Commissioned	31 July 1944[1]
Stricken	10 March 1945[1]
Fate	Detonated by crew on 12 January 1945[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	Type C escort ship
Displacement	745 long tons (757 t) (standard)
Length	67.5 m (221 ft)
Beam	8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
Draught	2.9 m (10 ft)
Propulsion	Geared diesel engines 1,900 hp (1,417 kW) 2 shafts
Speed	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Range	6,500 nmi (12,000 km) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	136
Sensors and processing systems	Type 22-Go radar Type 93 sonar Type 3 hydrophone
Armament	As built : 2 × 120 mm (4.7 in)/45 cal DP guns 6 × Type 96 Type 96 25 mm (0.98 in) AA machine guns (2×3) 12 × Type 3 depth charge throwers 1 × depth charge chute 120 × depth charges From 1944 : as above, plus 1 × 81 mm (3.2 in) mortar

On 12 January 1945, off Cape Paderan in the South China Sea (11°10′N 108°55′E), CD-43 was strafed by aircraft from the USS Lexington (CV-16), USS Hancock (CV-19) and USS Hornet (CV-12) which were then part of Vice Admiral John S. McCain, Sr.'s Task Force 38 that had entered the South China Sea to raid Japanese shipping.^[1][2] 29 of her crew were killed and the steering compartment flooded.^[1] being inoperable, the captain beached the ship on an uninhabited island and using its own munitions, destroyed the ship.^[1]

CD-43 was struck from the Navy List on 10 March 1945.^[1]

References

1. Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2012). "IJN Escort CD-43: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
2. "Chapter VII: 1945". The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2012.

Additional sources

• "Escort Vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy special issue". Ships of the World (in Japanese). Vol. 45. Kaijinsha. February 1996.
• Model Art Extra No.340, Drawings of Imperial Japanese Naval Vessels Part-1 (in Japanese). Model Art Co. Ltd. October 1989.
• The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.49, Japanese submarine chasers and patrol boats (in Japanese). Ushio Shobō. March 1981.