View source for Japanese submarine Ro-110

{{short description|Ro-100-class submarine}}
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|Ship country=Japan
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=''Submarine No. 401''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Kawasaki Heavy Industries|Kawasaki]], [[Kobe]], [[Japan]]
|Ship laid down=20 August 1942
|Ship renamed=''Ro-110''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship launched=26 January 1943
|Ship completed=6 July 1943
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=6 July 1943
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship fate=Sunk 11 February 1944
|Ship reinstated=
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship struck=30 April 1944
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class= {{sclass|Ro-100|submarine}}
|Ship displacement=*{{Convert|601|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} surfaced
*{{Convert|782|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|60.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}} overall
|Ship beam= {{convert|6.00|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|3.51|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*{{convert|1000|bhp|lk=in|abbr=on}} (diesel)
*{{convert|760|hp|abbr=on}} ([[electric motor]])
|Ship propulsion=*[[Diesel-electric]]
*1 × [[diesel engine]]
*1 × electric motor
|Ship speed=*{{convert|14.2|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|8|kn}} submerged
|Ship range=*{{convert|3500|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}} surfaced
*{{convert|60|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|3|kn}} submerged
|Ship crew=38
|Ship test depth={{convert|75|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship armament=*4 × bow {{convert|533|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tubes]]
*2 × [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|{{convert|25|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} Type 96]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]s or 1 × [[8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun|{{convert|76.2|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] L/40 AA gun
|Ship notes=
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[[File:Japanese_submarine_Ro-101_in_1943.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Japanese Submarine HIJMS Ro-101 in 1943|HIJMS Ro-101 in 1943]]
'''''Ro-110''''' was an [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[Ro-100-class submarine|''Ro-100''-class]] [[submarine]]. Completed and commissioned in July 1943, she served in [[World War II]], operating in the [[Indian Ocean]]. She was sunk in February 1944 during her third war patrol.

==Design and description==
The ''Ro-100'' class was a medium-sized, coastal submarine derived from the preceding [[Kaichū type submarine|''Kaichū'' type]]. They [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{Convert|601|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} surfaced and {{Convert|782|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} submerged. The submarines were {{convert|60.9|m|ftin|sp=us}} long, had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|6|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a [[draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|3.51|m|ftin|sp=us}}. They had a [[double hull]] and a diving depth of {{convert|75|m|ft|sp=us}}.<ref name=cd3>Carpenter & Dorr, p. 123</ref>

For surface running, the boats were powered by two {{convert|500|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} [[diesel engine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]]. When submerged each propeller was driven by a {{convert|380|hp|0|adj=on}} [[electric motor]]. They could reach {{convert|14.2|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|8|kn}} underwater. On the surface, the ''Ro-100''s had a range of {{convert|3500|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}}; submerged, they had a range of {{convert|60|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|3|kn}}.<ref name=c5>Chesneau, p. 204</ref>

The boats were armed with four internal bow {{convert|53.3|cm|in|1|abbr=on|sp=us}} [[torpedo tube]]s and carried a total of eight [[torpedo]]es. They were also armed with two single mounts for [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|{{convert|25|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} Type 96]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]s or a single [[8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun|{{convert|76.2|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] L/40 AA gun.<ref name=b4>Bagnasco, p. 193</ref>

==Construction and commissioning==

''Ro-110'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] as '''''Submarine No. 401''''' on 20 August 1942 by the [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries|Kawasaki]] at [[Kobe]], [[Japan]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo110>{{cite web |url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-110.htm |title=IJN Submarine RO-110: Tabular Record of Movement |first1=Bob |last1=Hackett |first2=Sander |last2=Kingsepp |work=combinedfleet.com |year=2016|access-date=4 October 2020}}</ref> She had been renamed '''''Ro-110''''' by the time she was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 26 January 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> She was completed and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 6&nbsp;July&nbsp;1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/>

==Service history==
===July–November 1943===
Upon commissioning, ''Ro-110'' was attached to the [[Sasebo Naval District]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> She was reassigned to Submarine [[Squadron (naval)|Squadron]] 11 on 10 July 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> On 10 November 1943 she was reassigned to Submarine Division 30 in Submarine Squadron 8 in the [[Southwest Area Fleet]], and she departed [[Sasebo]], Japan, that day and moved to [[Tachibana Bay]] on the coast of [[Kyushu]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> On 12 November 1944 she got underway from Tachibana Bay bound for [[Penang Island|Penang]] in Japanese-occupied [[British Malaya]], which she reached on 24 November 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/>

===First war patrol===
On 3 December 1943, ''Ro-110'' departed Penang to begin her first war patrol, tasked with raiding [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] shipping in the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> She attacked an Allied [[convoy]] in the [[Bay of Bengal]] southeast of [[Madras]], [[India]], on 14 December 1943 with a spread of [[torpedo]]es, damaging one ship.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> Another ship rammed her, wrecking one of her [[periscope]]s and the roof of her [[conning tower]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> The damage forced her to head back to Penang, where she arrived on 19 December 1943 and her [[commanding officer]] claimed to have sunk one ship.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/>

At 04:20<ref>Edwards, p. 73.</ref> on the day ''Ro-110'' attacked the convoy, a submarine torpedoed the [[United Kingdom|British]] 4,807-[[gross register ton]] armed [[merchant ship]] ''Daisy Moller'' {{convert|3|nmi}} off India's coast in the [[Eastern Ghats]] region.<ref>Edwards, p. 72.</ref> ''Daisy Moller'', which had left [[Bombay]], India, on 27 November 1943 with a cargo of war materials including ammunition, had made a brief stop at [[Colombo]], [[Ceylon]], before getting back underway on 8 December to complete her voyage by steaming independently to [[Chittagong]], India.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/><ref>Edwards, pp. 67, 70.</ref> After ''Daisy Moller''′s crew abandoned ship in three [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]] and a number of [[life raft]]s and she sank in the Indian Ocean at {{coord|16|21|N|082|13|E|name=''Daisy Moller''}}, the submarine surfaced and rammed the [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]], smashing them and spilling their occupants into the sea.<ref name=edwardsp75>Edwards, p. 75.</ref> The submarine's crew then [[Machine gun|machine-gunned]] the survivors in the water<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/><ref name=edwardsp75/> before also machine gunning the men aboard the life rafts.<ref>Edwards, p. 75–76.</ref> Sources disagree on the number of casualties.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> One source claims that 55 of ''Daisy Moller''′s 71 crew members died in the sinking and subsequent massacre, and that of her 16 survivors, 13 came ashore on the Indian coast in the [[Krishna River]] [[River delta|delta]] at midnight on 17 December 1943 after drifting {{convert|80|nmi}} to the south-southwest, that fishermen rescued three others from the wreckage of a lifeboat {{convert|6|nmi}} offshore in the same area later on 17 December, and that all 16 survivors were picked up at [[Masulipatam]] on 18 December 1943.<ref>Edwards, pp. 77–78.</ref> Other sources claim her crew totaled as many as 127 and that only 14 survived.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> ''Ro-110''′s log claimed that she never surfaced during her attack on the convoy, and whether she was the submarine which attacked ''Daisy Moller''′s survivors is a matter of controversy.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/>

===Second war patrol===

During her stay at Penang, ''Ro-110'' was reassigned to Submarine Division 30 in Submarine Squadron 8 in the [[6th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|6th Fleet]] on 1 January 1944.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> On 2 January 1944, she put to sea to conduct her second war patrol in the Indian Ocean.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> It was uneventful, and she returned to Penang later in January 1944.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/>

===Third war patrol===

''Ro-110'' again left Penang on 2 February 1944 to begin her third war patrol, assigned a patrol area in the Bay of Bengal.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> After she departed Penang, the Japanese never heard from her again.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/>

===Loss===

On 11 February 1944,<ref>[https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/u/united-states-submarine-losses/japanese-submarine-casualties-in-world-war-two-i-and-ro-boats.html Naval History and Heritage Command Japanese Submarine Casualties in World War Two (I and RO Boats)]</ref> ''Ro-110'' attacked Convoy JC-36 — which was bound from Colombo, Ceylon, to [[Calcutta]], India — in the Bay of Bengal {{convert|200|nmi}} northeast of Madras.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> She scored two torpedo hits on the British 6,274-gross register ton merchant ship ''Asphalion''.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> The torpedoes left six members of ''Asphalion''′s crew missing and ten injured and flooded her No. 3 [[Hold (ship)|hold]] and [[engine room]], crippling her.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> Her surviving crew abandoned ship at {{coord|17|28|N|083|32|E}}, but she remained afloat and later was [[Towing|towed]] to port.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/>

Meanwhile, the convoy's escorts counterattacked.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> The [[Royal Indian Navy]] [[Sloop-of-war|sloop]] {{HMIS|Jumna}} and the [[Royal Australian Navy]] [[corvette]]s {{HMAS|Ipswich|J186|6}} and {{HMAS|Launceston|J179|6}} gained [[sonar]] contact on ''Ro-110'' and attacked her with [[depth charge]]s.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> Their crews subsequently observed a large amount of oil rising to the surface and heard several large underwater explosions, marking the sinking of ''Ro-110'' at {{coord|17|25|N|083|21|E|name=''Ro-110''}}.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/>

On 15 March 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared ''Ro-110'' to be presumed lost with all 47 men on board.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/> The Japanese struck her from the Navy list on 30 April 1944.<ref name=combinedfleetRo110/>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
*{{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 book|last1=Carpenter|first1=Dorr B.|last2=Polmar|first2=Norman|title=Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904–1945|year=1986|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|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=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Edwards |first=Bernard |title=Blood and Bushido: Japanese Atrocities at Sea 1941–1945 |year=1997 |publisher=Brick Tower Press |location=New York |isbn=1-883283-18-3}} 
*{{cite web|url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-110.htm|title=IJN Submarine RO-110: Tabular Record of Movement|last1=Hackett|first1=Bob|last2=Kingsepp|first2=Sander|year=2016|work=SENSUIKAN! Stories and Battle Histories of the IJN's Submarines|publisher=Combinedfleet.com|access-date=4 October 2020}}

{{Ro-100 class submarines}}
{{February 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ro-110}}
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese submarines lost during World War II]]
[[Category:Ro-100-class submarines]]
[[Category:Warships lost in combat with all hands]]
[[Category:Submarines lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in February 1944]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:Submarines sunk by Australian warships]]
[[Category:Japanese war crimes]]