View source for Japanese submarine Ro-38

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|Ship country=Japan
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=Submarine No. 204
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries|Mitsubishi]], [[Kobe]], [[Japan]]
|Ship laid down=20 June 1942
|Ship renamed=''Ro-38'' on 1&nbsp;November&nbsp;1942
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship launched=24 December 1942
|Ship completed=24 July 1943
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=24 July 1943
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship fate=*Missing after 19&nbsp;November&nbsp;1943
*Possibly sunk 24&nbsp;November&nbsp;1943
|Ship reinstated=
}}
{{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=[[Kaichū type submarine]] (K6 subclass)
|Ship displacement=*{{Convert|1115|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} surfaced
*{{Convert|1447|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|80.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} overall
|Ship beam= {{convert|7|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|4.07|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*{{convert|4200|bhp|lk=in|abbr=on}} (diesel)
*{{convert|1200|hp|abbr=on}} ([[electric motor]])
|Ship propulsion=*[[Diesel-electric]]
*1 × [[diesel engine]]
*1 × electric motor
|Ship speed=*{{convert|19.75|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|8|kn}} submerged
|Ship range=*{{convert|5000|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|16|kn}} surfaced
*{{convert|45|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|5|kn}} submerged
|Ship crew=61
|Ship test depth={{convert|80|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship armament=*4 × bow {{convert|533|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tubes]]
*1 × [[8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun|{{convert|76.2|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] L/40 [[anti-aircraft gun]]
*2 × single [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|{{convert|25|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} AA guns]]
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''''Ro-38''''' was an [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[Kaichū type submarine]] of the K6 [[ship class|sub-class]]. Completed and commissioned in July 1943, she served in [[World War II]] and was sunk in November 1943 during her first war patrol.

==Design and description==
The submarines of the K6 sub-class were versions of the preceding K5 sub-class with greater range and diving depth.<ref name=cd3/> They [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{Convert|1115|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} surfaced and {{Convert|1447|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} submerged. The submarines were {{convert|80.5|m|ftin|sp=us}} long, had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|7|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a [[draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|4.07|m|ftin|sp=us}}. They had a diving depth of {{convert|80|m|ft|sp=us}}.<ref name=b4>Bagnasco, p. 187</ref>

For surface running, the boats were powered by two {{convert|2100|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} [[diesel engine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]]. When submerged each propeller was driven by a {{convert|600|hp|0|adj=on}} [[electric motor]].<ref name=c5>Chesneau, p. 203</ref> They could reach {{convert|19.75|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|8|kn}} underwater. On the surface, the K6s had a range of {{convert|11000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}}; submerged, they had a range of {{convert|45|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|5|kn}}.<ref name=cd3/>

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 ten [[torpedo]]es. They were also armed with a single [[8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun|{{convert|76.2|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] L/40 [[anti-aircraft gun]] and two single [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|{{convert|25|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} AA guns]].<ref name=cd3>Carpenter & Dorr, p. 124</ref>

==Construction and commissioning==

''Ro-38'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] as '''''Submarine No. 204''''' on 20 June 1942 by [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries|Mitsubishi]] at [[Kobe]], [[Japan]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo38>{{cite web |url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-38.htm |title=IJN Submarine RO-38: Tabular Record of Movement |first1=Bob |last1=Hackett |first2=Sander |last2=Kingsepp |work=combinedfleet.com |year=2017|access-date=20 September 2020}}</ref> She was renamed '''''Ro-38''''' on 1 November 1942,<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> and was provisionally attached to the [[Maizuru Naval District]] that day.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 24 December 1942<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> and completed and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 24&nbsp;July&nbsp;1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/>

==Service history==

Upon commissioning, ''Ro-38'' was attached formally to the Maizuru Naval District,<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> and on 31 July 1943 she was assigned to Submarine [[Squadron (naval)|Squadron]] 11 for workups.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> On 31 October 1943 she was reassigned to Submarine Division 34 in the  [[6th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|6th Fleet]], and she departed [[Maizuru]] bound for [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]] that day. She arrived at Truk on 8&nbsp;November&nbsp;1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/>

''Ro-38'' got underway from Truk on 19 November 1943 to begin her first war patrol, assigned a patrol area in the [[Gilbert Islands]] in the vicinity of [[Butaritari|Makin]] and [[Tarawa]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> The Japanese never heard from her again.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/>

On 20 November 1943, the Battles [[Battle of Makin|of Makin]] and [[Battle of Tarawa|of Tarawa]] began with the U.S. landings on those [[atoll]]s. That day, the commander-in-chief of the 6th Fleet, [[Vice Admiral]] [[Takeo Takagi]], ordered ''Ro-38'' and the submarines {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-19||2}}, {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-21||2}}, {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-35||2}}, {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-39||2}}, {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-40||2}}, {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-169||2}}, {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-174||2}}, and {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-175||2}} to attack the U.S. invasion fleet off the atolls.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> On 26 November 1943, Takagi ordered ''I-19'', ''I-40'', ''I-169'', and ''Ro-38'' to form a patrol line north of Makin, with ''Ro-38'' northeast of Makin at the eastern end of the line.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> The 6th Fleet ordered ''Ro-38'' to move to a new patrol area southeast of Tarawa on 27 November 1943,<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> and on 4 December 1943 it sent her orders to patrol between Tarawa and [[Kanton Island|Canton Island]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> ''Ro-38'' did not acknowledge any of these orders.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/>

The circumstances of ''Ro-38''′s loss are unknown. It is possible that the [[United States Navy]] [[destroyer]] {{USS|Cotten|DD-669}} sank her west of Tarawa on 24 November 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> On 2 January 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared her to be presumed lost off the Gilbert Islands with all 77 hands.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/> She was stricken from the Navy list on 30 April 1944.<ref name=combinedfleetRo38/>

==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 web|url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-38.htm|title=IJN Submarine RO-38: Tabular Record of Movement|last1=Hackett|first1=Bob|last2=Kingsepp|first2=Sander|year=2017|work=SENSUIKAN! Stories and Battle Histories of the IJN's Submarines|publisher=Combinedfleet.com|access-date=20 September 2020}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/type_kaichu.htm|title=Kaichu Type|last=Hackett|first=Bob |author2=Sander Kingsepp |year=2003|work=Sensuikan!|publisher=Combinedfleet.com|access-date=20 September 2020}}
*{{cite book|last=Hashimoto|first=Mochitsura|others=Colegrave, E.H.M. (translator)|title=Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet 1942 – 1945|publisher=Cassell and Company|location=London|year=1954|id=ASIN B000QSM3L0}}
{{Kaichū type submarine}}
{{November 1943 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ro-038}}
[[Category:Ro-35-class submarines]]
[[Category:Kaichū type submarines]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese submarines lost during World War II]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in November 1943]]
[[Category:Missing submarines of World War II]]
[[Category:Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]]
[[Category:Warships lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Submarines lost with all hands]]