View source for Japanese submarine Ro-52

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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=Japan
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=''Submarine No. 26''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries|Mitsubishi]], [[Kobe]], [[Japan]]
|Ship laid down=10 August 1918
|Ship launched=9 March 1920
|Ship completed=30 November 1920
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=30 November 1920
|Ship renamed=''Ro-52'' on 1&nbsp;November&nbsp;1924
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship decommissioned=1 April 1932
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 April 1932
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Decommissioned 1932
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Japanese Type L submarine]] (L1 subclass)
|Ship displacement=*{{Convert|893|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} surfaced
*{{Convert|1,075.2|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|70.59|m|ftin|abbr=on}} overall
|Ship beam= {{convert|7.16|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|3.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*{{convert|2,400|bhp|lk=in|abbr=on}} (diesel)
*{{convert|1,600|shp|abbr=on}} ([[electric motor]])
|Ship propulsion=*[[Diesel-electric]]
*2 × [[Vickers]] [[diesel engine]]s, 75 tons fuel
*2 × electric motor
*2 x shafts
|Ship speed=*{{convert|17|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|10.2|kn}} submerged
|Ship range=*{{convert|5,500|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}} surfaced
*{{convert|80|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn}} submerged
|Ship crew=45
|Ship test depth={{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on|0}}
|Ship armament=*6 × {{convert|450|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tubes]] (4&nbsp;x&nbsp;[[Bow (ship)|bow]], 2&nbsp;x&nbsp;broadside)
*10 x [[Type 44 torpedo|Type 44]] [[torpedo]]es
*1 × [[8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun|{{convert|76.2|mm|in|abbr=on|0}}]] gun
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''''Ro-52''''', originally named '''''Submarine No. 26''''', was an [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[Japanese Type L submarine|Type L]] [[submarine]] of the L1 subclass. She was commissioned in 1920, sank accidentally in 1923 and again in 1925, was refloated and repaired each time, and was decommissioned in 1932.

==Design and description==
The submarines of the Type L1 sub-class were copies of the Group 1 subclass of the British [[British L-class submarine|L-class submarine]] built under license in Japan with technical supervision by the British firm [[Vickers]]. The Imperial Japanese Navy procured them in order to acquire advanced British submarine technology, as well as the highly reliable Vickers [[diesel engine]]s that powered the Type L1 submarines. They [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{Convert|893|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} surfaced and {{Convert|1,075.2|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} submerged. The submarines were {{convert|70.59|m|ftin|sp=us}} long and had a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|7.16|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a [[Draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|3.90|m|ftin|sp=us}}. They had a diving depth of {{convert|60|m|ft|sp=us|0}}.

For surface running, the submarines were powered by two {{convert|1,200|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} Vickers [[diesel engine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]]. When submerged each propeller was driven by an {{convert|800|shp|0|adj=on}} [[electric motor]]. They could reach {{convert|17|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|10.2|kn}} underwater. On the surface, they had a range of {{convert|5,500|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}; submerged, they had a range of {{convert|80|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn}}.

The submarines were armed with six internal {{convert|450|mm|in|0|abbr=on|sp=us}} [[torpedo tube]]s — four in the [[Bow (ship)|bow]] and two mounted athwartships and firing on the broadside — and carried a total of ten [[Type 44 torpedo|Type 44]] [[torpedo]]es. They were also armed with a single [[8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun|{{convert|76.2|mm|in|abbr=on|0}}]] gun deck gun.

==Construction and commissioning==

''Ro-52'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] as '''''Submarine No. 26''''' on 10 August 1918 by [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries|Mitsubishi]] at [[Kobe]], [[Japan]].<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52>{{cite web |url= http://www.ijnsubsite.info/RO-Sub%20Details/RO-52.htm |title=RO-52 ex No-26 |work=iijnsubsite.info |year=2018|access-date=11 October 2020}}</ref> [[Ceremonial ship launching|Launched]] on 9 March 1920,<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/> she was completed and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 30&nbsp;November&nbsp;1920.<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/>

==Service history==

Upon commissioning, ''Submarine No. 26'' was attached to the [[Yokosuka Naval District]] and assigned to Submarine Division 3.<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/> On 1&nbsp;December&nbsp;1920, Submarine Division 3 was assigned to Submarine [[Squadron (naval)|Squadron]] 1 in the [[1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|1st Fleet]].<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/> Submarine Division 3 was reattached to the Yokosuka Naval District on 1 December 1921 and was assigned that day to the [[Yokosuka Defense Division]],<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/> then was reassigned on 1 June 1922 to the [[Ominato Defense Division]].<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/> On 1 December 1922, ''Submarine No. 26'' was attached to the [[Kure Naval District]] and reassigned to Submarine Division 11, in both of which she remained for the rest of her active career.<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/> She was assigned to the [[Kure Defense Division]] on 1 December 1922.<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/>

On 13 March 1923, ''Submarine No.26'' collided with the [[Steamship|steamer]] {{SS|Ryosei Maru||2}} off [[Hiroshima]], Japan.<ref name=airship55>[https://books.google.com/books?id=w3SwjKNvUUcC&q=ondo&pg=PA56 ''Airship Investigation: Report of Col. Henry Breckenridge'', Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1933, p. 55.]</ref> On 29 October 1923, ''Submarine No. 26'' was moored to a [[buoy]] alongside the [[protected cruiser]] {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Yahagi|1911|2}} in the harbor at [[Kure, Hiroshima|Kure]], Japan, during a memorial service for ''[[Japanese submarine Ro-31|Submarine No. 70]]''— which had sunk in August 1923 with heavy loss of life — with the [[admiral]] commanding the Kure Naval District in attendance when she suddenly began to sink rapidly by the [[Bow (ship)|bow]].<ref name=reuters>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45624206 Anonymous, "Japanese Submarine Sinks in Kure Harbor," Reuters, October 29, 1923.]</ref><ref name=disastersofthedeep>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NoajAwAAQBAJ&dq=Ro-55+sank+October+1923+Kobe&pg=PT252 Gray, Edwyn, ''Disasters of the Deep: A Comprehensive Survey of Submarine Accidents & Disasters'', Appendix II: Naval Submarines Lost By Accident or Error Since 1900], Barnsley, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books, 2003, {{ISBN|0 85052 987 5}}, unpaginated.</ref> She struck the buoy, then began to sink quickly by the [[stern]], and within 20 minutes she had settled on the bottom at a depth of {{convert|8|fathom|0}} with only her [[periscope]] and [[wireless]] mast protruding above the surface.<ref name=reuters/> Her entire crew survived the sinking and another submarine′s crew rescued everyone who had been aboard.<ref name=reuters/> In its immediate aftermath, the sinking was attributed to flooding in a water tank,<ref name=reuters/> but the investigation into the incident concluded that she sank when her [[torpedo tube]] doors opened accidentally.<ref name=airship55/><ref name=disastersofthedeep/> Plans were made immediately to [[Marine salvage|salvage]] her, without any particular difficulties anticipated.<ref name=reuters/> She was refloated on 17 November 1923, repaired, and returned to service.<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/>

''Submarine No. 26''′s duty in the Kure Guard District ended on 1 December 1923,<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/> but she continued to serve in the Kure Naval District and was renamed '''''Ro-52''''' on 1 November 1924.<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/> On 29 October 1925, ''Ro-52'' sank again without loss of life while tied up at a [[pier]] because of flooding through a torpedo tube that an investigation attributed to carelessness.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=w3SwjKNvUUcC&q=ondo&pg=PA56 ''Airship Investigation: Report of Col. Henry Breckenridge'', Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1933, p. 56.]</ref> She again was refloated and repaired. She was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] and stricken from the Navy list on 1 April 1932.<ref name=ijnsubsiteRo52/>

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

==Bibliography==
*''{{cite web |url=http://rekigun.net/ |title=Rekishi Gunzō}}, History of Pacific War Extra, "Perfect guide, The submarines of the Imperial Japanese Forces"'', Gakken (Japan), March 2005, {{ISBN|4-05-603890-2}}
*''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.43 Japanese Submarines III'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), September 1980, Book code 68343-44
*''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.132 Japanese Submarines I "Revised edition"'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), February 1988, Book code 68344-36
*''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.133 Japanese Submarines II "Revised edition"'', Ushio Shobō (Japan), March 1988, Book code 68344-37
{{Japanese Type L submarines}}
{{1923 shipwrecks}}
{{1925 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ro-052}}
[[Category:Ro-51-class submarines]]
[[Category:Japanese L type submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]]
[[Category:1920 ships]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Japan]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1923]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1925]]
[[Category:Japanese submarine accidents]]