Related Research Articles
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons took place on 24–25 August 1942 and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the second major engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Guadalcanal campaign. As at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, the ships of the two adversaries were never within sight of each other. Instead, all attacks were carried out by carrier-based or land-based aircraft.
Jun'yō was a Hiyō-class aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). She was laid down as the passenger liner Kashiwara Maru (橿原丸), but was purchased by the IJN in 1941 while still under construction and converted into an aircraft carrier. Completed in May 1942, the ship participated in the Aleutian Islands Campaign the following month and in several battles during the Guadalcanal Campaign later in the year. Her aircraft were used from land bases during several battles in the New Guinea and Solomon Islands Campaigns.
Furutaka was the lead ship in the two-vessel Furutaka-class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. The ship was named after Mount Furutaka, located on Etajima, Hiroshima immediately behind the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy. She was commissioned in 1926 and was sunk 12 October 1942 by USS Salt Lake City and USS Buchanan at the Battle of Cape Esperance.
The invasion of Tulagi, on 3–4 May 1942, was part of Operation Mo, the Empire of Japan's strategy in the South Pacific and South West Pacific Area in 1942. The plan called for Imperial Japanese Navy troops to capture Tulagi and nearby islands in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. The occupation of Tulagi by the Japanese was intended to cover the flank of and provide reconnaissance support for Japanese forces that were advancing on Port Moresby in New Guinea, provide greater defensive depth for the major Japanese base at Rabaul, and serve as a base for Japanese forces to threaten and interdict the supply and communication routes between the United States and Australia and New Zealand.
Chitose (千歳) was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy that served from 1938 to 1944, seeing service as a seaplane carrier and later as a light aircraft carrier during World War II. In her initial guise as a seaplane carrier, she first saw service during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938, and subsequently played a key role in the Imperial Japanese Navy's development of a network of seaplane bases on the islands of the Pacific Ocean. After the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, she took part in the Philippines campaign, the Dutch East Indies campaign, the Battle of Midway, and the Guadalcanal campaign, during which she was damaged in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and also saw service related to the Battle of Cape Esperance.
Kaiyō was an escort carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. The ship was originally built as the ocean liner Argentina Maru. She was purchased by the IJN on 9 December 1942, converted into an escort carrier, and renamed Kaiyō. The ship was primarily used as an aircraft transport, escort carrier and training ship during the war. She was badly damaged by repeated air attacks in July 1945 and was scrapped in 1946–48.
Seisho Maru was a cargo ship for Mitsui Bussan Kaisho in military service that was sunk by an American submarine during World War II. The ship had been built as SS West Caruth, a cargo ship for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) shortly after the end of World War I. Shortly after completion, the ship was inspected by the United States Navy for possible use as USS West Caruth (ID-2850) but was neither taken into the Navy nor ever commissioned under that name. Before being sold to Japanese owners in 1928, she was also known as SS Exmoor and SS Antonio Tripcovich.
Awazisan Maru (淡路山丸), also known as Awajisan Maru or Awagisan Maru, was a motor cargo vessel built by Tama Zosensho of Tamano for Mitsui & Co. Ltd. with intention of serving on their Yokohama to New York route. The ship remained in service between Japan and United States for two years before being requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Army. She was bombed and damaged during her first Army mission and subsequently torpedoed and sunk by a Dutch submarine in December 1941.
Fumizuki was one of twelve Mutsuki-class destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1920s. During the Pacific War, she participated in the Philippines Campaign in December 1941 and the Dutch East Indies Campaign in early 1942. In March, she was assigned to convoy escort duties in and around Malaya and the Dutch East Indies until she was transferred to Rabaul in early 1943 to ferry troops around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Ayatosan Maru was a 9,788 gross ton (10,930DWT) freighter that was built by Tama Shipbuilding Co., Tamano for Mitsui & Co. Ltd. launched in 1939. She had been intended to run the New York passenger and freight run, however she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and fitted out as a high-speed transport, which was completed in May 1941.
The Kōtoku Maru was a 6,702 gross ton freighter that was built by Mitsubishi Jūkōgyō Kabushiki-kaisha, Nagasaki for Hiroumi Syozi Kabushiki Kaisha launched in 1937. She was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and fitted out as an auxiliary ammunition ship.
I-11 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type A1 submarine that served during World War II. Designed as a submarine aircraft carrier and submarine squadron flagship, she was commissioned in 1942. She participated in the Guadalcanal campaign and patrolled off Australia, New Caledonia, and the Ellice Islands before she disappeared in 1944 during her sixth war patrol. She badly damaged the Royal Australian Navy light cruiser HMAS Hobart in 1943.
Fujikawa Maru was a refrigerated cargo ship originally built in 1938 for the Toyo Kaiun Kisen Kaisha and was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II for use as an auxiliary armed aircraft transport or ferry. She was rerated as an auxiliary transport 1 January, 1944. She was sunk in Truk Lagoon in 1944 during Operation Hailstone and is now a leading wreck diving site for scuba divers.
The Tenyo Maru was a 6,843-gross register ton passenger cargo ship built by Mitsubishi, Nagasaki for Toyo Kisen Kabushiki Kaisha in 1935. She was chartered to Mitsui and plied the New York route until she was requisitioned on 9 September 1941 by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and converted at the Harima shipyard to a minelayer, which was completed on 31 October 1941.
Aikoku Maru (愛国丸) was an armed merchant cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The ship entered service in 1940, the ship was later converted to an ammunition ship. She was sunk in February 1944 during Operation Hailstone.
Dona Nati was one of three identical cargo ships built in 1939 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, San Marco, Trieste, Italy, for the De La Rama Steamship Company, Inc., Iloilo, Philippines, intended for service between the Philippines West Coast and North America. The ship was engaged in normal commerce until it became a key player in events in the Philippines after December 7, 1941, and the Japanese invasion of the islands. Dona Nati had arrived in Manila along with the ships President Grant, John Lykes, Cape Fairweather, and American Leader in a convoy escorted by the USS Boise (CL-47) on December 4, 1941. She had escaped to Australia where she became particularly notable as being one of only three ships to successfully run the Japanese blockade in attempts to supply the forces cut off in the Philippines. The ship was retained under Army control and on April 28, 1943, was one of twenty-eight vessels forming the fleet available to the Southwest Pacific command under General MacArthur.
Tama Maru was an auxiliary minesweeper of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
I-33 was an Imperial Japanese Navy B1 type submarine. Completed and commissioned in 1942, she served in World War II, making one war patrol that included the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, before sinking accidentally in September 1942. Refloated and repaired, she sank again in a diving accident during post-repair sea trials in June 1944.
Unyo Maru No. 2 was a Japanese cargo ship. Launched in 1937, the ship was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy in November 1941, a month before the outbreak of the Pacific War. The ship was assigned as a transport and took part in the landings at Sarawak and Kuching, delivering supplies and equipment. On 26 December 1941, while off Kuching, Unyo Maru No. 2 was attacked by Dutch Air Force bombers; the cargo ship was sunk with the loss of eight crew aboard.
SS Dainichi Maru was a Japanese troop- and Hell ship that was torpedoed by the United States Navy submarine USS Gurnard in the South China Sea west of Luzon, Philippines in the Luzon Strait at, while she was travelling in Convoy 772 from Takaoka, Japan, to Manila, Philippines.
References
- ↑ "Lloyd's Register 1941–42" (PDF). plimsollshipdata. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ↑ "Mitsui Bussan Kaisha Mitsui Steamship Co. Ltd". The Ships List. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ↑ "Minelayer Okinoshima". The Combined Fleet. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ↑ "Pacific Wrecks - Azumasan Maru (Deep Ruinin Wreck)".
- ↑ "Jack Cram's PBY story".
- ↑ "Azumsasan Maru". Tulagi Dive. Retrieved 15 June 2018.