Japanese submarine chaser Cha-194

Cha-194 or No. 194 (Japanese: 第百九十四號驅潜特務艇) was a No.1-class auxiliary submarine chaser of the Imperial Japanese Navy that served during World War II and with Japan during the post-war period.

History
Imperial Japanese Navy
Name	Cha-194
Builder	Miho Shipyard, Shizuoka
Yard number	2044
Laid down	31 January 1944
Launched	29 June 1944
Completed	21 August 1944
Commissioned	21 August 1944
Decommissioned	30 November 1945
Fate	mobilized by the Allied occupation forces, 1 December 1945
Allied Occupation Force
Acquired	1 December 1945
Decommissioned	1 August 1947
Fate	transferred to Ministry of Transportation, 1 January 1948
Ministry of Transportation
Acquired	1 January 1948
Fate	transferred to Japan Maritime Safety Agency, 1 May 1948
Japan Maritime Safety Agency
Acquired	1 May 1948
Renamed	Patrol Vessel Mizutori (PB-42), 1 August 1949 Patrol Vessel Mizutori (PS-42), 1 July 1950
Stricken	1 April 1953
Fate	ran aground and abandoned, August 1952
General characteristics
Class & type	No.1-class submarine chaser
Displacement	130 long tons (132 t) standard[1]
Length	29.20 m (95 ft 10 in) overall
Beam	5.65 m (18 ft 6 in)
Draught	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	1 × intermediate diesel shingle shaft, 400 bhp (300 kW)
Speed	11.0 knots (20.4 km/h; 12.7 mph)
Range	1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 10.0 kn (18.5 km/h; 11.5 mph)
Complement	32
Armament	1 × 13.2 mm machine gun 22 × depth charges 1 × dunking hydrophone 1 × simple sonar

History

Her construction was authorized under the Maru Sen Programme (Ship # 2001–2100). She was laid down on 31 January 1944 as ship 2044 at the Miho Shipyard in Shimizu City (jp:清水市, now part of Shizuoka City)^[1] and launched on 29 June 1944.^[2]

She was completed and commissioned on 21 August 1944,^[2] fitted with armaments at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, and assigned to the Chishima Area Base Force, Northeast Area Fleet under captain Someya Sakuji (染谷　作次)^[2] and tasked with patrolling around the Kuril Islands. On 18 June 1945, she was assigned to the Tsugaru Defense Force and tasked with defending the Tsugaru Strait.^[2] Cha-194 survived the war and was decommissioned on 30 November 1945.^[2][3]

On 1 December 1945, she was enrolled as a minesweeper by the occupation forces,^[2] one of 269 Japanese ships that served as a minesweeper under the Allied forces after the war.^[4] She conducted minesweeping operations based out of Ominato and later Shimonoseki.^[2] On 1 August 1947, she was demobilized^[2] and on 1 January 1948, she was released to the Ministry of Transportation.^[2]

On 1 May 1948, she was assigned to the Japan Maritime Safety Agency, a sub-agency of the Ministry of Transportation, and designated on 1 August 1949 as patrol vessel Mizutori (みずとり) (PB-42).^[2] On 1 July 1950, she was re-designated as patrol vessel Mizutori (PS-42).^[2] In August 1952, she ran aground near Sakata and was abandoned as a total loss.^[2] She was delisted on 1 April 1953.^[2]