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{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image=
| Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Empire of Japan|Japan]]
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=''Submarine No. 213''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Kure Naval Arsenal]], [[Kure, Hiroshima|Kure]], [[Japan]]
|Ship laid down=30 June 1941
|Ship renamed=''Ro-103''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship launched=6 December 1941
|Ship completed=21 October 1942
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=21 October 1942
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship fate=Missing after 28&nbsp;July&nbsp;1943
|Ship reinstated=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship struck=1 November 1943
|Ship reinstated=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Ro-100|submarine}}
|Ship displacement=*{{Convert|601|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} surfaced
*{{Convert|782|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|60.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}} overall
|Ship beam= {{convert|6.00|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|3.51|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*{{convert|1000|bhp|lk=in|abbr=on}} (diesel)
*{{convert|760|hp|abbr=on}} ([[electric motor]])
|Ship propulsion=*[[Diesel-electric]]
*1 × [[diesel engine]]
*1 × electric motor
|Ship speed=*{{convert|14.2|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|8|kn}} submerged
|Ship range=*{{convert|3500|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}} surfaced
*{{convert|60|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|3|kn}} submerged
|Ship crew=38
|Ship test depth={{convert|75|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship armament=*4 × bow {{convert|533|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tubes]]
*2 × [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|{{convert|25|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} Type 96]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]s or 1 × [[8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun|{{convert|76.2|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] L/40 AA gun
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''''Ro-103''''' was an [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] {{sclass|Ro-100|submarine|0}} [[submarine]]. Completed and commissioned in October 1942, she served in [[World War II]], operating in the [[Solomon Islands (archipelago)|Solomon Islands]], [[Rabaul]], and [[New Guinea]] areas and sinking two [[cargo ship]]s. She disappeared in July 1943 during her fifth war patrol.

==Design and description==
The ''Ro-100'' class was a medium-sized, coastal submarine derived from the preceding [[Kaichū type submarine|''Kaichū'' type]]. They [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{Convert|601|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} surfaced and {{Convert|782|LT|t|0|disp=flip}} submerged. The submarines were {{convert|60.9|m|ftin|sp=us}} long, had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|6|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a [[draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|3.51|m|ftin|sp=us}}. They had a [[double hull]] and a diving depth of {{convert|75|m|ft|sp=us}}.<ref name=cd3>Carpenter & Polmar, p. 123</ref>

For surface running, the boats were powered by two {{convert|500|bhp|lk=in|0|adj=on}} [[diesel engine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]]. When submerged each propeller was driven by a {{convert|380|hp|0|adj=on}} [[electric motor]]. They could reach {{convert|14.2|kn|lk=in}} on the surface and {{convert|8|kn}} underwater. On the surface, the ''Ro-100''s had a range of {{convert|3500|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}}; submerged, they had a range of {{convert|60|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|3|kn}}.<ref name=c5>Chesneau, p. 204</ref>

The boats were armed with four internal bow {{convert|53.3|cm|in|1|abbr=on|sp=us}} [[torpedo tube]]s and carried a total of eight [[torpedo]]es. They were also armed with two single mounts for [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|{{convert|25|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} Type 96]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]s or a single [[8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun|{{convert|76.2|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] L/40 AA gun.<ref name=b4>Bagnasco, p. 193</ref>

==Construction and commissioning==

''Ro-103'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] as '''''Submarine No. 213''''' on 30 June 1941 by the [[Kure Naval Arsenal]] at [[Kure, Hiroshima|Kure]], [[Japan]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo103>{{cite web |url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-103.htm |title=IJN Submarine RO-103: Tabular Record of Movement |first1=Bob |last1=Hackett |first2=Sander |last2=Kingsepp |work=combinedfleet.com |year=2017|access-date=29 September 2020}}</ref> She had been renamed '''''Ro-103''''' by the time she was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 6 December 1941.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> She was completed and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 21&nbsp;October&nbsp;1942.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

==Service history==
Upon commissioning, ''Ro-103'' was attached to the [[Kure Naval District]] and was assigned to the Kure Submarine [[Squadron (naval)|Squadron]] for workups.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> On 5 January 1943, she was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 7 in the [[8th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|8th Fleet]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> She departed Kure that day, called at [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]] from 14 January to 4 February 1943, and arrived at [[Rabaul]] on [[New Britain]] on 8 February 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

===First war patrol===

''Ro-103'' got underway from Rabaul on 9 February 1943 for her first war patrol, assigned a patrol area east of [[Port Moresby]], [[New Guinea]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> The patrol was uneventful, and she returned to Rabaul on 28 February 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

===Grounding===

In the [[Battle of the Bismarck Sea]], fought between 2 and 4 March 1943, [[United States Army Air Forces]] and [[Royal Australian Air Force]] aircraft and [[United States Navy]] [[PT boat]]s annihilated a Japanese [[convoy]] in the [[Bismarck Sea]] that was attempting to carry the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]'s [[51st Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|51st Division]] to [[Lae]] on [[New Guinea]], sinking all eight ships of the convoy and four of the eight [[destroyer]]s escorting them.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> ''Ro-103'' got underway from Rabaul on 7 March 1943 to rescue survivors.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

''Ro-103'' was in the [[Solomon Sea]] off [[Kiriwina]] in the [[Trobriand Islands]] when she ran aground in darkness on 8 March 1943 on an uncharted [[reef]] at {{coord|08|20|S|150|45|E|name=''Ro-103''}}.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> She sent a [[distress signal]] to Rabaul, which ordered the submarine {{ship|Japanese submarine|Ro-101||2}} to get underway from Rabaul and [[Towing|tow]] ''Ro-103'' off the reef.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> Meanwhile, ''Ro-103''{{'}}s crew lightened her by dumping food, supplies, and [[torpedo]]es overboard, but she remained aground.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> On 10 March 1943, ''Ro-103'' sighted an unidentified [[destroyer]] to the south, and her [[commanding officer]] ordered her classified documents thrown overboard in anticipation of an attack by the destroyer, but the destroyer apparently did not detect ''Ro-103'' and continued on its way.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

After ''Ro-103''{{'}}s crew dumped [[diesel fuel]] and [[fresh water]] overboard to further lighten her, ''Ro-103'' finally floated free of the reef on 11 March 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> ''Ro-101'', which had not yet arrived on the scene, was ordered to return to Rabaul.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> ''Ro-103'' also made for Rabaul, which she reached on 17 March 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

===Second war patrol===

After the [[Combined Fleet]] initiated Operation ''I-Go'' — a reinforcement of the [[11th Air Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|11th Air Fleet]] base at Rabaul by planes from the [[aircraft carrier]]s {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Zuikaku||2}} and {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Zuihō||2}} and of the Japanese naval air base on [[Balalae Island]] in the [[Shortland Islands]] by planes from the aircraft carriers {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Hiyō||2}} and {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Jun'yō||2}}<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> — ''Ro-103'' departed Rabaul on 30 March 1943 in company with the submarine {{ship|Japanese submarine|Ro-102||2}} to support the operation by patrolling in the vicinity of [[Guadalcanal]] in the southeastern [[Solomon Islands (archipelago)|Solomon Islands]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> The patrol passed quietly, and she returned to Rabaul on 20 April 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

===Third war patrol===

On 9 May 1943, ''Ro-103'' departed Rabaul to begin her third war patrol, bound for a patrol area east of Guadalcanal.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> After another uneventful patrol, she returned to Rabaul on 1 June 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

===Fourth war patrol===

''Ro-103'' got underway from Rabaul on 12 June 1943 for her fourth war patrol, assigned a patrol area in the Solomon Islands in the vicinity of [[Gatukai Island]] and [[Makira|San Cristobal]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> She was {{convert|50|nmi}} south of the eastern tip of San Cristobal on 23 June 1943 when she sighted a [[convoy]] of what she identified as three [[Transport (ship)|transports]] escorted by three destroyers.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> She attacked the convoy in the vicinity of {{coord|11|26|S|162|01|E|name=USS ''Aldura'' (AK-72)}}, sinking the [[cargo ship]] {{USS|Aludra|AK-72|6}} and so badly damaging the cargo ship {{USS|Deimos|AK-78|6}} that the destroyer {{USS|O'Bannon|DD-450|6}} later [[Scuttling|scuttled]] her at {{coord|11|35|S|162|08|E|name=USS ''Deimos'' (AK-78)}}.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

On 29 June 1943, ''Ro-103'' was on the surface after sunset recharging her [[Electric battery|batteries]] when she sighted seven [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] ships south of Gatukai Island.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> The ships she sighted probably were among those bound for the [[New Georgia Islands]] in the central Solomons, where the [[New Georgia campaign]] began on 30 June 1943 with the U.S. landings on [[New Georgia]], [[Rendova Island|Rendova]], and other islands.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> ''Ro-103'' returned to Rabaul on 4 July 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

===Fifth war patrol===

After a week at Rabaul, ''Ro-103'' departed on 11 July 1943 to begin her fifth war patrol.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> Her orders called for her to patrol in the vicinity of Rendova, but on 13 July 1943 she received new orders to move instead to a patrol area in [[Vanga Bay]] off [[Vangunu]].<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> Between 15 and 24 July 1943, she sighted Allied forces three times, but never achieved an attack position against them.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> She transmitted a message reporting these sightings from a position north of New Georgia on 28 July 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> The Japanese never heard from her again.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

===Loss===

The circumstances of ''Ro-103''{{'}}s loss remain a mystery.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>  On 10 August 1943, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared her to be presumed lost in the Solomon Islands with all 43 men on board.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/> The Japanese struck her from the Navy list on 1 November 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetRo103/>

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

==References==
*{{cite book|last=Bagnasco |first=Erminio |title=Submarines of World War Two |year=1977 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=0-87021-962-6}} 
*{{cite book|last1=Carpenter|first1=Dorr B.|last2=Polmar|first2=Norman|title=Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904–1945|year=1986|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-396-6|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-103.htm|title=IJN Submarine RO-103: Tabular Record of Movement|last1=Hackett|first1=Bob|last2=Kingsepp|first2=Sander|year=2017|work=SENSUIKAN! Stories and Battle Histories of the IJN's Submarines|publisher=Combinedfleet.com|access-date=29 September 2020}}

{{Ro-100 class submarines}}
{{March 1943 shipwrecks}}
{{July 1943 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ro-103}}
[[Category:Ro-100-class submarines]]
[[Category:1941 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by Kure Naval Arsenal]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese submarines lost during World War II]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in March 1943]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in July 1943]]
[[Category:Missing submarines of World War II]]
[[Category:Warships lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Submarines lost with all hands]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]

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