Board Thread:Event Community Discussion/@comment-25730832-20170511175819/@comment-26574811-20170513021957

Dandan550 wrote: >The Kaiboukan were built with the purpose of settling fishing disputes between USSR and Japan, not for use as an escort in war.

Just to be reminder. Several of them had done a job of escorting merchant fleets. Some like Kunashiri participate in naval operations.

This is the reason why calling them PF is invalid. The IJN were "looking for excuses" at that time so that they'll build ships of such. But of course they didn't prioritize of improving them judging on seeing how pathetic the USN subs during those years.

I manage to understand why they're not made for expedition. Because it is obviously that wasn't their job anyway. Their job was to protect Transport/Merchant Fleets hence they can be place in the Transport Combine Fleet.

We can go to either DE or Escort. If I had to bother, I might go to the combinefleet forum to ask for someone's opinion about this. No, that's just your imagination. Remember Shimushu was planned in 1938, in Maru-3 plan, check Japan's territory in 1938, they don't have such a need for merchant escort at the time. Merchant escort was also not the focus of Maru-3, unlike Etorofu's Maru-kyuu.

Also, Japan don't need excuses for Shimushu. First, Maru-3 was the first plan after Japan withdrawn from the naval treaties, and second, Shimushu is defined to be unrestricted by those treaties due to her weaponry.

Finally, 1938 was right in the time when Japan was shifting from UK&US's side to Axis (1937~1940), how are they supposed to foresee the future of American subs sinking their merchant ships (they don't have convoys yet, so convoy escort is out of question)?

Shimushu was built entirely not for merchant escort. IJN was.... very stupid when it comes to convoy protection, it is unimaginable to think that they forsaw the need of convoy escort before the war. Etorofu (commissioned 1943), on the other hand, was indeed built for convoy escort, but she was designed on the basis of Shimushu, and therefore the improvements are limited.

Oh BTW, Japan don't have convoys until 1942 (and no "serious" convoys until 1944), how is Shimushu, completed in 1940, supposed to be built for convoy escort?