Oil -Desperate War of Japan in the Pacific-

Oil

Fuel for warships

Year replaced for oil
Year	Battleships or Carriers
1930	Kirishima
1935	Fuso and Yamashiro, Kaga
1936	Nagato and Mutsu
1937	Ise and Hyuga
1938	Kongo and Haruna, Akagi
1940	Hiei

IJN warships fueld British good coal shipped from Cardiff in Japanese-Russo War. The Russian Baltic Fleet burned Japanese coal to cost down ironically. The fleet steamed much black smoke than Japanese fleet.^[10] Soon IJN transferred to coal briquette after the war. The technology was developed in France. IJN built a big coal briquette factory in Tokuyama. The Great Fleet fueld coal and came to Japan in 1908. Sailors had to carry coal in the warships in ports with hard work. IJN battleship Satuma burned mix of coal and oil, which loaded 2,860t coal and 377t oil, and was commissioned on 25 Mar 1905. IJN launched Cruiser Ikoma equiped with boilers for coal and oil each on 24 March 1906. IJN launched Kawachi equiped with boilers for oil only.^[8] IJN bought oil from Rising Sun Co. in 1912. Fuel of all the IJN warships were to transfer in 1929. IJN Nara class destroyers were installed with two boilers for coal and oil each. Kawakaze class destroyers adopted four boilers for oil in IJN destoryers. Urakaze was launched in UK on 14 September 1915. Destroyer Kawakaze II was equiped with four boilers for oil and launched in Yokosuka Arsenal on 11 November 1918.

While USN had commssioned battleship Nevada (BB-36) equiped with boilers for oil only on 11 March 1916.^[9] Battleship New York (BB-34) and Texus (BB-35) replaced boilers for oil from 1925 to 1927. USN battleships had run by oil in 1930s. It is easy to refuel oil than coal from oiler. So I think that USN could communicate Hawaii Guam, Philippines across the Pacific with a lots of oilers and a few of aircraft carriers, if IJN challanged a battle before 1935. While IJN aircraft carrier Akagi could not refuel on sea till 1938 because Kaga adopted two kinds of boilers for coal and oil each. With out oil, Kaga could not run at full speed. US always has paid attention to Europe across the Atlantic first.

I think Japan has to make effort to have deeper relation with US now. Japan cannot live on peace without free sea under mighty sea power.

Anxiety of oil shortage

Tbl.1 Oil export in 1938
Nation	bbl/day	Share
USA	185,492	30.1%
Venezuela	185,126	30.0%
Iran	67,312	10.9%
Dutch East India	45,026	7.3%
Romania	34,424	5.6%
Iraq	30,955	5.0%
Colombia	18,453	3.0%
Trinidad	16,383	2.7%
Mexico	13,803	2.2%
Peru	13,135	2.1%
Russia	4,916	0.8%
Ecuador	1,686	0.3%
Argentina	541	0.1%
Total	617,252	100.0%

Tbl.2 Domestic consumed heavy oil [kbbl] ([kbbl]/day)
Year	IJA	IJN	Civil	Sum
1940	101	5221 (14.30)	1405	6727 (18.43)
1941	125	6541 (17.92)	903	7569 (20.74)
1942	100	10818 (29.64)	1238	12156 (33.30)
1943	100	9372 (25.68)	2402	11874 (32.53)
1944	0	7674 (21.02)	1404	9078 (24.87)
1945 ^Apr-Sep	0	1824	370	2194

Fuel of IJN depended on 70 % from US. The rest of it from Dutch Eas India in 1920s. Okada Cabinet declared denunciation of Wasington Treaty on 29 December 1934. Okada was an admiral. IJN imported oil from Russia instead of Dutch East India in 1930s. Thinking of oil, why did Japan shake hands with Germany? All most of oil export nations were intimate to UK and US. Targets of Japan and Germany were Dutch East India and Romania each. The Dutch East India producted 10,902,222 kL and 10,904,762 in 1939 and 1940. Japan spent 2.993 Mbbl ( 476,000 kL ) in domestic land in 1937. If IJA occupied, oil shortage issue would resolve. But Japan did not prepare tankers to transport. IJN did not think of USN submarine operation serious. Japan failed the south operation, though Japan continued to occupy Borneo and Java till the end of the Pacific War.

IJA organized a survey team to search for natural resources in Manchuria in June 1932. The leader of the team was an IJN expert of oil.^[11] The team did not study others surveys and old Chinese literature. A survey of Bank of Japan had reported two oil wells in 1917. The wells were located in Taikei (Daqing Field). Shen Kuo wrote oil in his book. The oil fields were found by Chinese engineers in 1959. Chinese leaders could make decision to be independent from Russia, as China got oil. Japan missed an oil field in the mid of Manchuria!
Ishii, p27-31

IJA stationed troops in the south of French Indochina to stop arms transport from USA on 28 July 1941. US imposed overall embargo of oil on Japan on 1 August. Japan had imported 80% of spending oil in domestic from US, 10% of East India of Netherlands in 1941. The remains were from Mexico, Bahrain, Romania, etc^[1]. Tbl.1 shows oil export of main nations in the world. USA shared 30% in the world.

Nagano, CNO of IJN told that IJN were spending 400t of oil per hour on 23 October 1941 in a meeting with Tojo Cabinet^[2]. IJN spent 14.30 kbbl per day in 1940 fiscal year as shown in Tbl.2 14.30 kbbl is equivalent 2.274 kL, and 94.8 kL per hour only. Density of oil may be 1 nearly. So IJN spent oil of 95t per hour in 1940. IJN insisted that warships did not work because of oil shortage in 2 years. I think Navy Minsitry knew the correct spending rate. Nagano told much oil spending rate of 4 folds to open a fire against US. After all, Nagano told Prime Minister Tojo wrong important information. I think IJN wanted the Pacific War at least. IJN sometimes told IJA wrong informations during the Pacific War for IJN operations.

Tbl.3 Loss or use of crude oil in the south [kbbl] (kbbl/day) ^{Ishii, p.197}
Year 1942 1943 1944 1945

Production 25940 49630 36930 6550

Import 10520
(28.8) 14500
(39.7) 4980
(13.6) 1140

Subtraction 15420 35130 31950 5410

USN sank oil tankers of Japan in the Pacific War. As a result, Japan failed to import of oil to the mainland. Tbl.3 shows production and import of oil. The subtraction means a spent amount or loss in the south of the Pacific. Prime Minister Tojo inspected installations of Palembang in July 1943^[3]. Though Japan announced to resolve oil shortage in 1943, The import was only 34% in 1944, comparing with the previous year, and was 74% compared with 1940.

IJN carrier strike groups with 2nd Koku Sentai and 3rd Koku Sentai steamed out of Honshu Seikai to Tawi-tawi on 16 May 1944 because oil was in short supply. But USN invaded Mariana as first than Philippines. Distance between Mariana and Japan mainland is shorter than distance between Tawi-tawi and Mariana. After all, IJN fast excellent oilers were lost in 1944.
Terasaki, p137

IJN stopped running warships spending more than 12,000t of fuel per month in Japan in February 1945^[4]. This meant that IJN would be unable to work battleships and cruisers. So GF regrouped a fleet of a bttleship and 5 destroyers on 1 April, when USN invaded Okinawa. GF told a staff of escorting merchant ships to cut off 4,000t of fuel for Yamato on 6 April^[5]. Yamato had docked as follows in 1944 and 1945,

1944Jan10 Arrived at Kure from Truk
1944Jan28 Docked in
1944Feb03 Docked out
1944Feb25 Docked in
1944Mar18 Docked out
1944Nov23 Arrived at Kure from Burnei
1944Nov24 Docked in
1945Jan03 Docked out
1945Mar19 Arrived off Mitajiri
1945Apr06 Went on mission of Ten-go operation
1945Apr07 Sank at 1425

GF decided not to feed Yamato enough to go back. This meant that the operation was a suicide mission. But Yamato did not pull out fuel actually^[6]. Destoryers were full of fuel. The fleet might have 10,000t of fuel. 10,000t fuel is 11,800 kL ( 74 kbbl). IJN spent 1,824 kbbl in April to September 1945.^[12] The mission spent 4 % of 1,824 kbbl. IJN had only 250,000 kL ( 1,572 kbbl ) in the end of the Pacific War^[7]. IJN had 21,717 kbbl of stock in January 1942. The stock was 1,817 kbbl on 1 April and 794 kbbl on 1 July 1945.^[13]

Destroyer Fuyuzuki, Ryouzuki, Hamakaze and Yukikaze came back to Sasebo on 8 April.

Nations declared war on Japan

Date	Nation
1945Feb28	Iran
1945Mar01	Saudi Arabia
1945Mar27	Argentina
1945Apr12	Spain, Chile
1945May23	Denmark
1945Jun06	Brazil
1945Jun26	Greece
1945Aug09	Russia, Mongol

Date	Nation
1945Feb09	Ecuador
1945Feb12	Peru
1945Feb13	Paraguay
1945Feb14	Venezuela
1945Feb22	Uruguay
1945Feb23	Turkey
1945Feb26	Egypt, Syria
1945Feb27	Lebanon

Date	Nation
1942May22	Mexico
1943Jan17	Iraq
1943Jul11	Norway
1943Dec04	Bolivia
1944Jan27	Liberia
1944Sep22	Finland
1944Oct31	Romania
1944Nov07	Bulgaria

Government passed the last memorandum to the US. All the oil export nations declared war on Japan, though Government of Japan declared the Pacific War for self-existence and self-defense.

Oil export nations are shown in block charaters. US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Dominica, Nicaragua, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras declared war on Japan on 8 December 1941. China and Panama declared on 9 December. Netherlands, Cuba and Belgium declared on 10 December.
Ryaku nenpyo
Tai-nichi Sensen Fukoku-koku
Participants in WWII

Gasoline

Desperate War of Japan in the Pacific

Charcoal bus

Gasoline shares in Japan
Year	IJA	IJN	Merchant[Mbbl]
1940	16.0%	3.6%	6.32	80.4%
1941	39.5%	10.8%	1.58	49.7%
1942	45.3%	14.2%	1.07	40.5%
1943	40.8%	17.7%	1.05	41.5%
1944	64.1%	17.7%	0.26	18.1%
1945	65.3%	16.3%	0.16	18.4%

Charcoal bus

Japan was dependent on gasolin imported from US before the Pacific War. Government limited usage of gasolin in merchant or civil fields in 1941. So buses or taxies were modified to run by burning charcoal fuel. The merchant fields was 80.4% share, 6.323 million bbl in 1940 year. The table shows change of comsumption and merchant share of gasoline. The comsumption for merchant use decreased 1/40 sharply in the Pacific War.
Hinkoku, p108, p124-126
Hokkaido Bus Association

Import and production

Refined oil of Japan [kbbl]
Year	Import	Production	Total
1940	15,110	10,806	25,916
1941	5,242	15,997	21,239
1942	2,378	16,674	19,052
1943	4,652	16,167	20,819
1944	3,334	9,615	12,949
1945	0	1,933	1,933

Japan always worried about shortage of gasoline in the Pacific War. The table shows the import and the production of gasloine etc. US banned export of high quality aviation gasoline in December 1939 and low quality gasoline (less than 87 octane) in Jul 1940.
Ishii, p72-73
レギュラーガソリンの比重は0.73、プレミアムガソリンで0.77、軽油では 0.83

IJA Tokuyama oil refinery plant suceeded in production of 92 octane aviation gasoline in March 1937. IJA Yokkaichi oil refinery accomplished a crude distillation unit in June 1941. IJA Mancuria oil refinery plant succeeded in production of 92.6 aviation gasoline in September 1944.

Comsumption [kbbl] ^{Ishi, p50-51}
Year Auto Aviation

1931 4,099 296

1932 5,456 314

1933 5,613 387

1934 5,573 391

1935 7,534 428

1936 7,241 557

1937 8,874 714

1938 7,836 969

1939 6,105 1,094

1940 7,864 1,287

1941 3,188 2,223

1942 2,642 3,826

1943 2,527 5,190

1944 1,416 4,776

1945
^Apr-Sep 577 818

Sale of oil [ML] ^{Sekiyu-seihin}
Year Gasoline Jet

1972 24,871 1,516

1973 27,223 1,673

1980 34,543 2,967

1990 44,783 3,739

1996 53,032 4,736

1999 57,251 4,639

2000 58,372 4,611

2001 58,821 4,995

2002 59,830 4,603

2003 60,561 4,502

2004 61,476 4,906

2005 58,421 5,129

2006 60,552 5,453

2007 59,064 5,916

2008 57,473 5,676

Japan occupied Java in 1942. So occupied oil plants of Palembang began export of gasoline to Japan. The export of gasoline increased in 1943. But it decreased again because oil tankers were sunk by US submrines and aircraft in 1944. IJA Iwakuni oil refinery plant began to produce gasoline in 1943. But the plant could not work well because of shortage of imported oil in the end of 1944. The last two oil tanker from the south entered Tokuyama Port on Mar 1945. But 112 B-29s released 500lb bombs of 549t on 10 May 1945. 40% of the bombs hit it and destroyed. IJA had stock of 300kL (1,887bbl) aviation gasoline only in the end of the Pacific War.
Ishii, p216

[1] Hinkoku, p31
[2] Hinkoku, p107
[3] Ishii, p196
[4] Hinkoku, p119
[5] Oui, p362
[6] Katamichi nenryou
[7] Ishii, p216
[8] 徳山海軍燃料廠年表
[9] 米国軍艦　機関部 data
[10] Ishii, p40-42
[11] Enomoto ( 1894-1987 )
[12] Ishi, p50
[13] Hinkoku, p109-110