Japanese minelayer Yaeyama
Open-knowledge reference entry
Yaeyama (八重山) was a small minelayer of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was in service during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II primarily as an escort vessel. She was named after the Yaeyama Islands in the Ryukyu Islands chain. She was the first Japanese warship built with an all-welded hull.
Background and construction
The Imperial Japanese Navy budget for Fiscal 1927 include a small minelayer for coastal and river service to complement its larger minelayers, the former cruisers Aso, and Tokiwa. Yaeyama was launched by the Kure Naval Arsenal in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan on 15 October 1931, and was commissioned into service on 31 August 1932.
Operational history
On completion, Yaeyama was assigned to the Sasebo Naval District. In August 1937, following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Yaeyama was assigned as flagship for Admiral Tanimoto’s 11th Gunboat Division, at Shanghai and was responsible for patrols on the Yangzi River. Yaeyama covered the landing of Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF) reinforcements in the Battle of Shanghai, and participated in the evacuation of 20,000 Japanese civilians and non-combatants from the city back to Japan. She was then placed on the reserve list on 1 December 1937.
Yaeyama was reactivated on 25 May 1938 and assisted in covering the landings of more Japanese troops in Tianjin and along the Yangzi River in July.
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