USS Sturgeon (SS-187), a Salmon-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sturgeon. Her 1944 sinking of the Japanese troopship Toyama Maru, killing more than 5,000 Japanese, was one of the highest death tolls from the sinking of a single ship in history. Her 1942 sinking of the Montevideo Maru which, unknown to crew on the Sturgeon, was carrying over 1,000 POWs, was the worst maritime disaster in Australian history.
A hell ship is a ship with extremely inhumane living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. It now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army to transport Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and rōmusha out of the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Hong Kong, and Singapore in World War II. These POWs were taken to the Japanese Islands, Formosa, Manchukuo, Korea, the Moluccas, Sumatra, Burma, or Siam to be used as forced labor.
The Japanese aircraft carrier Taiyō was the lead ship of her class of three escort carriers. She was originally built as Kasuga Maru (春日丸), the last of three Nitta Maru class of passenger-cargo liners built in Japan during the late 1930s for NYK Line. The ship was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in early 1941 and was converted into an escort carrier. Taiyō was initially used to transport aircraft to distant air bases and for training, but was later used to escort convoys of merchant ships between Japan and Singapore. The ship was torpedoed twice by American submarines with negligible to moderate damage before she was sunk in mid-1944 with heavy loss of life.
Arisan Maru was a 6,886 GRT Type 2A freighter constructed in 1944 during World War II and was one of Imperial Japan's hell ships. The vessel, named for a mountain on Taiwan, was initially used as a troop transport. The vessel was then turned over for use for the transportation of prisoners of war (POWs) from the Philippines to Manchuria, China or Japan. On October 24, 1944, the ship was torpedoed by an American submarine and sank. Of the 1,781 POWs aboard, all of them escaped the sinking ship but were not rescued by the Japanese. In the end, only nine of the prisoners survived the sinking.
Atago Maru was a merchant ship built prior to World War II in Glasgow in 1924 by Lithgows & Sons for Nippon Yusen. One of the first diesel-engined cargo ships in service in Japan, Atago Maru was converted to an oil tanker in 1942. Returning to service in 1943, the ship saw extensive service traveling in convoys during World War II. On 28 November 1944, the vessel was bombed by a United States Army Air Forces bomber while at anchor off Borneo. The shipwreck is a popular diving site in Malaysia.
The Awa Maru (阿波丸) was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1941–1943 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan. The vessel was designed for passenger service, but the onset of war by the time work was completed changed requirements, and she was requisitioned by the Japanese Navy. While sailing as a relief ship under Red Cross auspices in 1945, she was torpedoed by USS Queenfish (SS-393), resulting in the death of all but one of the 2,004 people aboard.
Gyōkū Maru (暁空丸) was a 6,854 GRT cargo ship that was laid down 6 December, 1941 as Empire Dragon by Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co Ltd, Hong Kong for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was seized by the Japanese on 26 December, 1941 with the fall of Hong Kong and completed as Gyōkū Maru in August, 1943, serving until September 1944 when she was torpedoed and sunk by USS Thresher in the Yellow Sea.
The Shin'yō Maru incident occurred in the Philippines on September 7, 1944, in the Pacific theater of World War II. In an attack on a Japanese convoy by the United States Navy submarine USS Paddle, 668 Allied prisoners of war were killed fighting their Japanese guards or killed when their ship, Shinyō Maru, was sunk. Only 82 Americans survived and were later rescued.
SS Rakuyo Maru (楽洋丸) was a passenger cargo ship built in 1921 by the Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Nagasaki for Nippon Yusen Kisen Kaisha.
Mayasan Maru (摩耶山丸) was a Japanese landing craft depot ship used extensively to transport Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) troops during 1943 and 1944. After avoiding damage in seven separate submarine attacks in earlier convoys, she was sunk in the East China Sea by the submarine USS Picuda on 17 November 1944 while part of Convoy Hi-81. The sinking caused one of the highest maritime casualty counts of World War II. Some 3,536 people died.
Sakito Maru was a 7,126-ton Japanese troop transport that operated during World War II. She was sunk on 1 March 1944 with great loss of life.
Hawaii Maru was a 9,482-ton Japanese troop transport during World War II, which sank on 2 December 1944 with great loss of life.
Akagi Maru was one of three Akagi Maru-class armed merchantmen of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was launched in 1936. Akagi Maru was used initially used as a refrigerated cargo/passenger ship between ports in Japan, Europe and South America. The ship took part in World War II in the Pacific Ocean and was sunk with great loss of life by air attack on 17 February 1944 in Chuuk Lagoon as a part of the Allied Operation Hailstone.
Hokkai Maru was a Kinai Maru-class auxiliary transport of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. She participated in the Japanese occupation of British Borneo and was part of ill-fated convoy HI-71.
W-101 or No. 101 was a Bangor-class minesweeper that was seized by the Imperial Japanese Navy before completion during World War II and converted into a convoy escort.
Cha-156 or No. 156 was a No.1-class auxiliary submarine chaser of the Imperial Japanese Navy that served during World War II.
CH-7 or No. 7 was a No.4-class submarine chaser of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
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.
Take was one of 18 Matsu-class escort destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) near the end of World War II. Completed in mid-1944, the ship spent her short career escorting troop and supply convoys. She was damaged in the Battle of Ormoc Bay in early December and returned to Japan for repairs. Remaining in home waters for the rest of the war, she was modified to deliver Kaiten manned torpedoes in early 1945. Take was surrendered to the Allies at the end of the war and used to repatriate Japanese troops until 1947. Mid-year the destroyer was turned over to the United Kingdom and later scrapped.
Momo was one of 18 Matsu-class escort destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Completed in mid-1944, the ship spent her short career escorting troop and supply convoys. She played a minor role in the Battle of Ormoc Bay in early December, escorting a troop convoy in the Philippines. Momo was badly damaged by American aircraft while escorting a hell ship full of Japanese evacuees and Allied prisoners of war a week later from Manila, Philippines, to Japanese Taiwan. The destroyer was sunk by an American submarine on 15 December with the loss of 92 of her crew.
Japan
