Notoro-class oiler

The Notoro-class oilers (能登呂型給油艦) were a class of seven oilers of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), serving during the 1920s and World War II. They were also called the Erimo-class oilers (襟裳型給油艦), after Notoro and Shiretoko were converted to other ship types.

Construction
They were built under pre-Eight-eight fleet plans, the Eight-four fleet plan and the Eight-six fleet plan. All ships of the class were named after capes in Japan (e.g. Irō is a cape at the southern tip of Izu Peninsula).

Service history
The class devoted themselves to importing crude oil from North America and Southeast Asia. The Notoro and the Ondo-class oileres made 388 voyages carrying a total of 3,000,000 tons of oil up to 1941.

During World War II they were not able to accompany the fleet, due to their low speed. Instead they were engaged in supply duties at naval bases.