View source for Japanese submarine Yu 3

{{Short description|Imperial Japanese Army Yu 1-class submarine}}
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=Japan
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=''Yu 3''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Hitachi]]&nbsp;Kasado&nbsp;Works, [[Kudamatsu]],&nbsp;[[Japan]]
|Ship laid down=1943
|Ship launched=1943
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship fate=*[[Scuttling|Scuttled]] 5&nbsp;January&nbsp;1945
*Refloated by [[United States Navy]] 18&nbsp;January&nbsp;1945
*Probably scrapped or [[Scuttling|scuttled]] sometime after July&nbsp;1945
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=Yu I type
|Ship type=[[Merchant submarine|Transport submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|274|LT|t|0}} surfaced
*{{convert|346|LT|t|0}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|41.40|m|ftin|abbr=on}} overall
|Ship beam= {{convert|3.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|3.00|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 × [[Hesselman engine]]s
*{{convert|400|bhp|kW|0|abbr=on|order=flip}} surfaced
*{{convert|75|shp|kW|0|abbr=on|order=flip}} submerged
*single shaft
|Ship speed=*{{convert|10|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|4|kn}} submerged
|Ship range=*{{convert|1500|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|8|kn}} surfaced
*{{convert|32|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn}} submerged
|Ship test depth={{convert|100|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship capacity=24 tons freight or 40 troops
|Ship complement=23
|Ship armament=*1 × [[Type 98 37 mm Anti-Tank Gun|Type 4 37 mm shipboard gun]]
*5 × [[Type 99 Light Machine Gun|Type 99 light machine guns]]
|Ship notes=
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'''''Yu 3''''' was an [[Imperial Japanese Army]] [[Transport (ship)|transport]] [[submarine]] of the ''Yu 1'' subclass of the Yu I type. Constructed for use during [[World War II]], she participated in the [[Philippines campaign (1944–1945)|Philippines campaign of 1944–1945]], supplying Japanese forces in the [[Battle of Leyte]], and was [[Scuttling|scuttled]] at the beginning of 1945.

==Construction==
In the final two years of [[World War II]], the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] constructed transport submarines — officially the [[Type 3 submergence transport vehicle]] and known to the Japanese Army as the ''Maru Yu'' — with which to supply its isolated island garrisons in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. Only submarines of the Yu I type were completed and saw service. The Yu I type was produced in four subclasses, each produced by a different manufacturer and differing primarily in the design of their [[conning tower]]s and details of their gun armament. None carried [[torpedo]]es or had [[torpedo tube]]s. ''Yu 3'' was of the ''Yu 1'' subclass.<ref name=Mühlthaler329>Mühlthaler, p. 329.</ref>

''Yu 3'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] in 1943<ref name=ijnsubsiteijasubs>[http://www.ijnsubsite.info/ijasubs_1.html IJA Subs, ijnsubsite.com Accessed 13 May 2022]</ref> by the [[itachi]] Kasado Works (''Hitachi Kasado Seisakujo'') at [[Kudamatsu]], Japan.<ref name=Mühlthaler329/><ref name=ijnsubsiteijasubs/> She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] later in 1943.<ref name=ijnsubsiteijasubs/>

==Service history==
After her delivery to the Japanese Army, ''Yu 3'' initially remained in [[Japanese archipelago|Japanese home waters]] while the Army constructed additional submarines of her [[Ship class|class]] and established a training program for their crews.<ref name=Mühlthaler330>Mühlthaler, p. 330.</ref> In May 1944, the Army created its first submarine combat unit (''jissen butai''), the Manila Underwater Transport Detachment (''Manira Sensuiyuso Hakentai''), consisting of ''Yu 3'', her [[sister ship]]s {{ship|Japanese submarine|Yu 1||2}} and {{ship|Japanese submarine|Yu 2||2}}, and a [[mother ship]].<ref name=Mühlthaler330/> The detachment got underway from Japan on either 28<ref name=Mühlthaler330/> or 30<ref name=ijnsubsiteijasubs/> May 1944 (according to different sources) bound for [[Manila]] on [[Luzon]] in the [[Philippines]].<ref name=Mühlthaler330/> The vessels had a difficult voyage which included a number of mechanical breakdowns, but finally arrived at Manila on 18 July 1944.<ref name=ijnsubsiteijasubs/><ref name=Mühlthaler330/> After their arrival, the three submarines underwent repairs and thorough overhauls.<ref name=Mühlthaler330/>

On 20 October 1944, [[United States Army]] forces landed on [[Leyte]], beginning both the [[Battle of Leyte]] and the broader [[Philippines campaign (1944–1945)|Philippines campaign of 1944–1945]].<ref name=Mühlthaler330/> In November 1944, all three submarines got underway on their first supply run to Leyte.<ref name=Mühlthaler330/> ''Yu 2'' never arrived,<ref name=Mühlthaler330/> but ''Yu 1'' and ''Yu 3'' reached [[Ormoc]] on Leyte's west coast on 27 November 1944 and discharged a combined 600 bags of [[white rice]], 50 boxes of [[field ration]]s, and 300 boxes of [[radio]] [[Electric battery|batteries]].<ref name=Mühlthaler330/>

In December 1944, ''Yu 1'' and ''Yu 3'' were sent to [[San Fernando, La Union|San Fernando]] on the northwest coast of Luzon.<ref name=Mühlthaler330/> On 5 January 1945, while ''Yu 3'' was transporting a cargo which consisted mostly of large bags of [[rice]] and bundles of [[welding rod]]s for the Luzon garrison, U.S. aircraft attacked her in [[Lingayen Gulf]], and she ran aground.<ref name=ijnsubsiteijasubs/><ref name=Mühlthaler330/><ref name=Bailey58>Bailey, p. 58.</ref> Her crew [[Scuttling|scuttled]] her just off [[Damortis]] and abandoned her.<ref name=ijnsubsiteijasubs/><ref name=Mühlthaler330/><ref name=Bailey58/>

==Later history==

U.S. Army forces [[Invasion of Lingayen Gulf|landed]] on the coast of Luzon in Lingayen Gulf on 9 January 1945, and shortly afterward U.S. forces found ''Yu 3'' lying awash in shallow water just off Damortis.<ref name=Bailey58/> After [[United States Seventh Fleet]] personnel of the Seventh Fleet [[Military intelligence|Intelligence]] Center inspected the wreck, the [[United States Navy]] decided to [[Marine salvage|salvage]] ''Yu 3''.<ref name=Bailey58/> The U.S. Navy [[rescue and salvage ship]] {{USS|Grasp|ARS-24}} refloated her on 18 January 1945,<ref name=Bailey58/><ref name=navsource>[http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08455.htm Navsource Japanese Supply Submarines Accessed 13 May 2022]</ref> and she was [[Towing|towed]] across Lingayen Gulf to [[Sual]].<ref name=Bailey58/> U.S. personnel examined her there, finding her cargo still aboard and no sign of any battle damage.<ref name=Bailey58/> ''Yu 3'' subsequently was loaded aboard the [[dock landing ship]] {{USS|Rushmore|LSD-14}},<ref name=Bailey58/><ref name=navsource/> which transported her to the [[United States]] in May 1945.<ref name=navsource/> By no later than early June 1945 ''Yu 3'' was at [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] in [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], [[California]].<ref name=navsource/>

An article in the 8 June 1945 issue of the Mare Island Navy Yard's newspaper, ''The Grapevine'', described ''Yu 3'' as a {{convert|137|ft|m|adj=on}}, 280-[[Displacement ton|ton]] Japanese "cargo-carrying submarine" of crude construction powered by  two six-[[Cylinder (engine)|cylinder]] [[diesel engine]]s.<ref name=navsource/> The article said that she had no interior [[Bulkhead (partition)|bulkheads]] and that her [[periscope]] operated by [[counterweight]]s,<ref name=navsource/> and so could be raised only {{convert|3|ft|m|1}}. An article in the 22 June 1945 issue of ''The Grapevine'' identified her as ''Yu 3'' and reported that the navy yard was offering tours of her and selling parts from her to raise money for [[war bond]]s.<ref name=navsource/> She subsequently probably was either scrapped or [[Scuttling|scuttled]], sometime after early July&nbsp;1945.<ref name=Mühlthaler330/><ref name=navsource/>

==References==
===Footnotes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book|last=Bagnasco |first=Erminio |title=Submarines of World War Two |year=1977 |publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]]|location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=0-87021-962-6}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Bailey |first1=Mark L. |title=Imperial Japanese Army Transport Submarines: Details of the ''YU-2'' Class Submarine ''YU-3'' |journal=[[Warship International]]|date=1998 |volume=XXXV |issue=1 |pages=55–63}}
*{{cite book|last1=Carpenter|first1=Dorr B.|last2=Polmar|first2=Norman|title=Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904–1945|year=1986|publisher=[[Conway Publishing|Conway Maritime Press]]|location=London, England|isbn=0-85177-396-6|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London, England|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Mühlthaler|first1=Erich|year=1998 |title=Re:Imperial Japanese Army Transport Submarines|journal=Warship International|volume=XXXV |issue=4 |pages=329–330 |issn=0043-0374}}
*Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Extra, ''Perfect guide, The submarines of the Imperial Japanese Forces'', Gakken, Tokyo Japan, 2005, {{ISBN|4-05-603890-2}}.
*Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Vol.45, ''Truth histories of the Imperial Japanese Naval Vessels'', Gakken, Tokyo Japan, 2004, {{ISBN|4-05-603412-5}}.
*Ships of the World No.506, Kaijinsha, Tokyo Japan, 1996.
*The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.43 ''Japanese Submarines III'', Ushio Shobō, Tokyo Japan, 1980.
*Atsumi Nakashima, ''Army Submarine Fleet, "The secret project !, The men challenged the deep sea"'', Shinjinbutsu Ōraisha, Tokyo Japan, 2006, {{ISBN|4-404-03413-X}}.
*''50 year history of the Japan Steel Works'' (first volume and second volume), [[Japan Steel Works]], 1968.

{{Type 3 submergence transport vehicle}}
{{January 1945 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu 0003}}
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Japan]]
[[Category:Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Army]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of Japan]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in November 1944]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels]]
[[Category:Japanese submarines lost during World War II]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Philippines]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the South China Sea]]
[[Category:Naval ships captured by the United States during World War II]]