Wikipedia

Hi convoys

Hi convoys (ヒ) were a numbered series of World War II trade convoys between Japan and Singapore. Merchant ships from Moji and Kaibōkan from Sasebo formed southbound convoys in Imari Bay to carry supplies for the Burma Campaign. Northbound convoys transported food, petroleum, and raw materials to Japan from the captured European colonies of the Dutch East Indies, French Indochina, and British Malaya and Burma. These convoys were initiated in mid-1943 to protect fast, high-value tankers and troopships from the improved effectiveness of Mark 14 torpedoes carried by United States submarines.

IJN Shimushu was one of the Kaibōkan escorting Hi convoys.

Convoy routing was through the East China Sea, Formosa Strait, and South China Sea. Ships often joined or left convoys at the Formosan ports of Takao and Keelung, at the Mako naval base in the Pescadores, and at the Vietnamese ports of Cape Saint Jacques and Cam Ranh Bay. Some convoys stopped at Manila until MATA and TAMA feeder convoys between MAnila and TAkao enabled Hi convoys to avoid United States submarine wolfpacks in the Luzon Strait by hugging the Asian coast between Hainan and Shanghai.[1]

Convoy dates

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Number Direction Imari Bay[2] Singapore[2] Notes
Hi-1 South 10 July 1943 19 July 1943
Hi-2 North 3 August 1943 23 July 1943
Hi-3 South 19 July 1943 1 August 1943 Attacked by USS Sawfish on 22 July[3]
Hi-4 North 15 August 1943 5 August 1943
Hi-5 South 7 August 1943 19 August 1943
Hi-6 North 3 September 1943 24 August 1943
Hi-7 South 25 August 1943 6 September 1943
Hi-8 North 21 September 1943 11 September 1943
Hi-9 South 10 September 1943 Terminated 21 September 1943 at Cape Saint Jacques
Hi-10 North 9 October 1943 Originated 28 September 1943 at Cape Saint Jacques
Hi-11 South 25 September 1943 4 October 1943
Hi-12 North 21 October 1943 10 October 1943
Hi-13 South 12 October 1943 30 October 1943
Hi-14 North 16 November 1943 3 November 1943 Attacked by USS Bluefish on 8 November[4]
Hi-15 Did not sail[2]
Hi-16 Did not sail[2]
Hi-17 South 28 October 1943 11 November 1943
Hi-18 North 28 November 1943 15 November 1943
Hi-19 Did not sail[2]
Hi-20 Did not sail[2]
Hi-21 South 20 November 1943 14 December 1943
Hi-22 Did not sail[2]
Hi-23 South 1 December 1943 14 December 1943
Hi-24 North 4 January 1944 19 December 1943
Hi-25 South 11 December 1943 21 December 1943
Hi-26 North 26 December 1943
Hi-27 South 21 December 1943 2 January 1944 Attacked by USS Flying Fish on 27 December[5]
Hi-28 North 17 January 1944 8 January 1944
Hi-29 South 31 December 1943 15 January 1944
Hi-30 North 12 February 1944 19 January 1944
Hi-31 South 11 January 1944 20 January 1944
Hi-32 North 4 February 1944 25 January 1944
Hi-33 South 10 January 1944 23 January 1944
Hi-34 North 10 February 1944 27 January 1944
Hi-35 Did not sail[2]
Hi-36 Did not sail[2]
Hi-37 South 20 January 1944 29 January 1944
Hi-38 North 13 February 1944 2 February 1944
Hi-39 South 26 January 1944 9 February 1944
Hi-40 North 13 February 1944 Dispersed 24 February under attack by USS Jack and Grayback[6]
Hi-41 South 1 February 1944 11 February 1944
Hi-42 North 28 February 1944 16 February 1944
Hi-43 South 11 February 1944 3 March 1944
Hi-44 Did not sail[2]
Hi-45 South 16 February 1944 27 February 1944
Hi-46 Did not sail[2]
Hi-47 South 21 February 1944 5 March 1944 Attacked by USS Bluefish on 4 March[7]
Hi-48 North 25 March 1944 11 March 1944 Attacked by USS Lapon on 18 March[8]
Hi-49 South 23 February 1944 11 March 1944
Hi-50 North 8 April 1944 15 March 1944
Hi-51 Did not sail[2]
Hi-52 Did not sail[2]
Hi-53 South 8 March 1944 18 March 1944
Hi-54 North 29 March 1944 Merged with Hi-56
Hi-55 South 19 March 1944 3 April 1944 Attacked by USS Hake on 2 April[9]
Hi-56 North 24 April 1944 8 April 1944 Merged with Hi-54
Hi-57 South 3 April 1944 16 April 1944 1 April departure delayed by storm
Hi-58 North 3 May 1944 21 April 1944 Submarine USS Robalo seen by aircraft from Japanese aircraft carrier Kaiyō and damaged by convoy escort 24 April 1944
Hi-59 South 20 April 1944 Terminated 2 May 1944 at Manila
Hi-60 Did not sail[2]
Hi-61 South 3 May 1944 18 May 1944
Hi-62 North 8 June 1944 23 May 1944
Hi-63 South 13 May 1944 27 May 1944 Attacked by USS Raton on 24 May[10]
Hi-64 North 15 June 1944 6 June 1944
Hi-65 South 29 May 1944 12 June 1944 Attacked by USS Guitarro and Picuda on 2 June[11]
Hi-66 North 26 June 1944 17 June 1944
Hi-67 South 22 June 1944 9 July 1944 Attacked by USS Bang on 29 June[12]
Hi-68 North 3 August 1944 14 July 1944 Attacked by USS Angler, Flasher and Crevalle on 26 July[13]
Hi-69 South 13 July 1944 31 July 1944
Hi-70 North 4 August 1944 15 August 1944
Hi-71 South 8 August 1944 1 September 1944 Attacked by USS Rasher, Spadefish, Redfish, Bluefish, Haddo and Harder[citation needed]
Hi-72 North 28 September 1944 6 September 1944 Attacked by USS Growler, Pampanito and Sealion on 12 September[14]
Hi-73 South 25 August 1944 5 September 1944
Hi-74 North 23 September 1944 11 September 1944 Attacked by USS Barb on 16 September[15]
Hi-75 South 8 September 1944 22 September 1944 Attacked by USS Flasher on 18 September[16]
Hi-76 North 26 October 1944 2 October 1944 Hi-76A departed Singapore 12 October[2]
Hi-77 South 1 October 1944 12 October 1944 Attacked by USS Whale, Seahorse, Hawkbill and Baya on 6 and 7 October[17]
Hi-78 North 2 November 1944 20 October 1944
Hi-79 South 26 October 1944 9 November 1944 Subsidiary Hi-79A formed on 6 November 1944[2]
Hi-80 North 2 December 1944 17 November 1944
Hi-81 South 14 November 1944 4 December 1944 Attacked by USS Queenfish, Picuda and Spadefish on 15 and 17 November[18]
Hi-82 North 9 January 1945 12 December 1944 Attacked by USS Flasher on 22 December[19]
Hi-83 South 25 November 1944 13 December 1944 Attacked by USS Pipefish on 3 December[20]
Hi-84 North 13 January 1945 26 December 1944
Hi-85 South 19 December 1944 Terminated 4 January 1945 at Cape Saint Jacques
Hi-86 North 10 February 1945 Originated 9 January 1945 at Cape Saint Jacques;
attacked by Task Force 38 on 12 January[21]
Hi-87 South 31 December 1944 23 January 1945 Attacked by Task Force 38 on 16 January[22]
Hi-88 North March 1945 20 January 1945
to 18 March 1945 		Sailed as ten independent small convoys;[2]
Hi-88H attacked by USS Hammerhead on 23 February,
and Hi-88I by USS Blenny and Baya on 20 and 21 March[23]
Hi-89 South 24 January 1945 8 February 1945
Hi-90 North 4 March 1945 15 February 1945
Hi-91 South 26 January 1945 8 February 1945
Hi-92 North 11 March 1945 18 February 1945 Attacked by USS Hoe on 25 February[24]
Hi-93 South 29 January 1945 12 February 1945
Hi-94 North 14 March 1945 23 February 1945
Hi-95 South 31 January 1945 14 February 1945
Hi-96 North 22 February 1945 13 March 1945 Attacked by USS Blenny on 27 February[24]
Hi-97 South 7 February 1945 15 February 1945
Hi-98 North 27 February 1945 Single ship convoy Ryoei Maru sunk by USS Bashaw[25]

Sources

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  • Blair, Clay (1975). Silent Victory. New York: J.B. Lippincott Company. ISBN 9780397007530.
  • Cressman, Robert J. (2000). The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-149-1.

Notes

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  1. ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander; Cundall, Peter. "KAIBOKAN!". Combined Fleet. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Hisendan". Nifty.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  3. ^ Cressman, p.171
  4. ^ Cressman, p.192
  5. ^ Cressman, p.200
  6. ^ Cressman, p.214
  7. ^ Cressman, p.216
  8. ^ Cressman, p.218
  9. ^ Cressman, p.221
  10. ^ Cressman, p.230
  11. ^ Cressman, p.231
  12. ^ Cressman, p.238
  13. ^ Cressman, pp.243 & 244
  14. ^ Cressman, p.253
  15. ^ Cressman, p.255
  16. ^ Cressman, pp.255 & 256
  17. ^ Cressman, p.260
  18. ^ Cressman, pp.274 & 275
  19. ^ Cressman, p.282
  20. ^ Cressman, p.278
  21. ^ Cressman, p.288
  22. ^ Cressman, p.289
  23. ^ Cressman, pp.297 & 304
  24. ^ a b Cressman, p.298
  25. ^ Blair, p.821
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