Repair Ship Akashi

Akashi was laid down at Sasebo Naval Arsenal on 18 January 1937, launched 29 June 1938, and commissioned 31 July 1939. She was the Imperial Japanese Navy's only purpose-built repair ship, designed from the keel up to maintain and repair the fleet at forward bases far from home dockyards. Displacing approximately 9,000 tons, Akashi carried an extraordinary range of machine tools, lathes, foundry equipment, and electric welding apparatus. She was capable of repairing torpedo tubes, gun mountings, turbine machinery, and even conducting emergency hull repairs. In practical terms she served as a mobile naval arsenal for the Combined Fleet, supporting operations in the Solomons and the Central Pacific. Her value was incalculable — she kept ships operational that would otherwise have required months-long voyages to Japan for repairs. On 30–31 March 1944, during Operation Desecrate One — the massive U.S. carrier raid on the main Japanese fleet anchorage at Palau — Akashi, anchored in shallow water in a cove off the northern part of Urukthapel Island, was hit by numerous bombs and rockets, burned out, and settled on the bottom. She was removed from the Navy List on 10 May 1944; her hulk remained at Palau until it was salvaged and scrapped in 1954.