Japanese submarine Ha-101

Ha-101 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-101-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in November 1944, she served during the final months of World War II, carrying out operations in Japanese waters and a single supply run. She surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945 and was disposed of in October 1945.

Design and description
The Ha-101-class submarines were designed as small, cheap transport submarines to resupply isolated island garrisons. They displaced 429 LT surfaced and 493 LT submerged. The submarines were 44.5 m long, had a beam of 6.1 m and a draft of 4.04 m. They were designed to carry 60 t of cargo.

For surface running, the boats were powered by a single 400 bhp diesel engine that drove one propeller shaft. When submerged the propeller was driven by a 140 hp electric motor. They could reach 10 kn on the surface and 5 kn underwater. On the surface, the Ha-101s had a range of 3000 nmi at 10 kn; submerged, they had a range of 46 nmi at 2.3 kn. The boats were armed a single mount for a 25 mm Type 96 anti-aircraft gun.

Construction and commissioning
Ha-101 was laid down on 8 June 1944 by Kawasaki at Senshu, Japan, as Small Supply Submarine No. 4601, the lead submarine of the Ha-101 class. She was launched on 22 August 1944 and was named Ha-101 that day. She subsequently was towed to the Kawasaki yard at Kobe, Japan, for fitting-out. She was completed and commissioned at Kobe on 22 November 1944.

Service history
Upon commissioning, Ha-101 was assigned to Submarine Squadron 11 for workups. In mid-January 1945 she conducted workups with her sister ships JAPANESE SUBMARINE Ha-102 and JAPANESE SUBMARINE Ha-104 in the Iyo Nada in the Seto Inland Sea. She was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 7 on 27 January 1945 and in early February 1945 moved to Yokosuka, Japan, to take part in a series of exercises with Ha-102.

Submarine Squadron 7 was disbanded on 20 March 1945, and Ha-101 was reassigned that day to Submarine Division 16 for supply operations. On 13 May 1945, she took part in deep-diving tests of an Imperial Japanese Army Yu-type transport submarine north of Shikoku off Iyomishima Island.

On 17 June 1945, Ha-101 got underway from Yokosuka to make a supply run to Marcus Island, which she reached on 28 June 1945. After unloading her cargo, she began her return voyage the same day and returned to Yokosuka on 7 July 1945. After arriving, she began a conversion to carry aviation gasoline.

Hostilities between Japan and the Allies ended on 15 August 1945, and on 2 September 1945, Ha-101 surrendered to the Allies at Yokosuka. The Japanese struck her from the Navy list on 15 September 1945. She was disposed of in Japan in October 1945; historians disagree on whether she was scrapped at Uraga Dockyard in Uraga or scuttled off Shimizu that month.