Japanese food supply ship Nosaki

	Nosaki (as Nankai) trial run in 1941
History
Japan
Name	Nosaki
Namesake	Nosaki Point
Ordered	fiscal 1939
Builder	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Shimonoseki shipyard
Cost	1,574,000 JPY
Laid down	18 October 1939
Launched	22 July 1940
Completed	18 March 1941
Decommissioned	struck on 10 March 1945
Renamed	Support ship No.4007; Nankai on 25 October 1940; Nosaki on 1 April 1942;
Reclassified	Miscellaneous service ship as built; Food supply ship on 1 April 1942;
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk by USS Dace, 28 December 1944
General characteristics
Type	Food supply ship
Displacement	640 long tons (650 t) standard
Length	48.37 m (158.7 ft) waterline
Beam	8.20 m (26 ft 11 in)
Draught	2.88 m (9 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	2 × Kampon Mk.23B model 6 diesels, 2 shafts, 1,200 bhp
Speed	13 knots (15 mph; 24 km/h)
Range	2,000 nmi (3,700 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Endurance	Fuel: 39 tons oil
Capacity	43.1 tons frozen food; 40 tons fresh water;
Complement	35
Armament	1 × 76.2 mm (3.00 in) L/40 AA gun

The Nosaki (野埼) was a food supply ship (reefer ship) of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) serving during World War II, the only ship of her class.

Background

In 1939, the IJN planned two food supply ships for China Area Fleet under the Maru 4 Programme. One was the 1000 ton Kinesaki (initial named Support ship No.4006), the other the 600 ton Nosaki (initial named Support ship No.4007). Their duty was to deliver fresh fish to the fleet. Therefore, they installed a large freezer in the hull of each ship, and in appearance they looked like fishing trawlers. The IJN compared Kinesaki with Nosaki, and they decided to mass-produce Kinesaki.

Career

18 October 1939: Laid down as Support ship No.4007 (公称第4007号) at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Shimonoseki shipyard.
22 July 1940: Launched.
25 October 1940: Renamed Nankai (南海).
18 March 1941: Completed and assigned to the Sasebo Naval District.
1 April 1942; Renamed Nosaki, classified miscellaneous service ship to special service ship (food supply ship), and assigned to the Kainan Guard District.
(later): She engaged in food transportation along the coast of China, Taiwan, and French Indochina.
28 December 1944: Sunk by USS Dace off Cape Varella.
10 March 1945: Removed from the naval ship list.

Bibliography

Ships of the World special issue Vol.47 Auxiliary Vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Kaijinsha, (Japan), March 1997
The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.34, Japanese auxiliary vessels, Ushio Shobō (Japan), December 1979
Senshi Sōsho Vol.31, Naval armaments and war preparation (1), "Until November 1941", Asagumo Simbun (Japan), November 1969