Kinai Maru (1930)

Last updated
KinaiMaru1930.JPG
Kinai Maru
History
NameKinai Maru
Builder Mitsubishi, Nagasaki
Launched1 April 1930
Identification
  • Official number: 35936
  • Code Letters JJBC
  • ICS Juliet.svg ICS Juliet.svg ICS Bravo.svg ICS Charlie.svg
FateSunk by gunfire from USS Plunger on 11 May 1943
General characteristics
Tonnage8360 tons (gross), 5041 tons (net)
Length446 ft (136 m)
Beam60.5 ft (18.4 m)
Depth40.7 ft (12.4 m)
Installed powerOil engines, twin screw, 1495 NHP, built by Mitsubishi Zosen Kaisha.

The MV Kinai Maru was an 8360 gross ton freighter built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd, Nagasaki, Japan, in 1930 for Osaka Shosen Kaisha for the Yokohama-New York City cargo run. [1]

Launched on 1 April 1930 and completed on 15 June, she was slated for an express service between Yokohama and New York. She broke the industry standard of 35 days by covering the route in 25 days. She plied this route until the outbreak of World War II and was requisitioned into Imperial Japanese Navy as a transport in late 1941.

Employed in support of Japan's war effort she participated in landing troops at the battle of Milne Bay. On 10 May 1943, she was torpedoed by the submarine USS Plunger near Truk at 0400. Stopped in the water, Tatsutake Maru came alongside and started transferring the 4,000 passengers and troops. At 0748 Plunger torpedoed Tatsutake Maru while she was still alongside Kinai Maru and Tatsutake Maru sank by the stern at 14-29N, 149-23E. At 1253, Plunger found Kinai Maru still afloat and torpedoed her again, without sinking her. The Japanese torpedo boat Hiyodori rescued the survivors of Tatsutake Maru and Kinai Maru and left the area. Still afloat on 11 May at 0600, Plunger surfaced and sank her by gunfire at 14-33N, 149-23E. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Montevideo Maru</i> Japanese ship (1925–1942)

Montevideo Maru was a merchant ship of the Empire of Japan. Launched in 1926, she was pressed into service as a military transport during World War II. It was sunk by the American submarine USS Sturgeon on 1 July 1942, drowning 1,054 people, mostly Australian prisoners of war and civilians who were being transported from Rabaul, the former Australian territory of New Guinea, to Hainan. The sinking is considered the worst maritime disaster in Australia's history. The wreck of the Montevideo Maru was discovered on 18 April 2023.

USS <i>Plunger</i> (SS-179) Submarine of the United States

USS Plunger (SS-179), a Porpoise-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named plunger after a diver or a daring gambler. Unlike most American submarines of the day, she was not named for a fish or other sea-dwelling creature.

USS <i>Pogy</i> (SS-266) Submarine of the United States

USS Pogy (SS-266), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pogy, or menhaden. She was credited with sinking 16 ships totaling 62,633 gross register tons during World War II.

USS <i>Sunfish</i> (SS-281) Submarine of the United States

The first USS Sunfish (SS-281), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, a plectognath marine fish, having a deep body truncated behind, and high dorsal and anal fins.

<i>Lisbon Maru</i> Japanese cargo liner and troopship

Lisbon Maru (りすぼん丸) was a Japanese cargo liner built at Yokohama in 1920 for a Japanese shipping line. During World War II, the ship was turned into an armed troopship. On her final voyage, Lisbon Maru was being used to transport prisoners of war between Hong Kong and Japan when it was torpedoed on 1 October 1942, sinking with a loss of over 800 British lives.

<i>Hikawa Maru</i> Japanese ocean liner

Hikawa Maru (氷川丸) is a Japanese ocean liner that Yokohama Dock Company built for Nippon Yūsen Kabushiki Kaisha. She was launched on 30 September 1929 and made her maiden voyage from Kobe to Seattle on 13 May 1930. She is permanently berthed as a museum ship at Yamashita Park, Naka-ku, Yokohama.

MV <i>Awa Maru</i>

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.

The MV Nankai Maru was an 8,416-gross register ton (GRT) freighter built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd, Nagasaki, Japan, in 1933 for Osaka Shosen Kaisha.

<i>Terukuni Maru</i> (1929)

Terukuni Maru (照国丸) was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). The ship was launched in 1929 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, on the southern island of Kyūshū, Japan, entering service in 1930. She sank off the English coast in 1939 after striking a mine. Her sinking has been described as Japan's only World War II casualty outside East Asia before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

<i>Yasukuni Maru</i>

Yasukuni Maru (靖国丸) was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). The ship was launched in 1930 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, on the southern island of Kyūshū, Japan, entering service in 1930. The ship was named for the Yasukuni Shrine, a famous Shinto shrine dedicated to the war dead of Japan, located in Tokyo.

The Nana Maru (南阿丸) was a Japanese cargo ship from the Seia Maru-class, which was sunk in military service by ML-KNIL Brewsters during World War II. It was part of the 11th Air Fleet.

<i>Heian Maru</i> (1930) Japanese ocean liner and auxiliary submarine tender.

Heian Maru (平安丸) was a Japanese ocean liner launched in 1930 and operated primarily on the NYK line's trans-Pacific service between Yokohama and Seattle. Shortly before the outbreak of the Pacific War, it was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and converted to use as an auxiliary submarine tender. In 1944 it was sunk by American aircraft at Chuuk Lagoon during Operation Hailstorm. Its submerged hulk – the largest of Chuuk's "Ghost Fleet" – remains a popular scuba diving destination.

<i>Tokai Maru</i> Japanese passenger-cargo ship sunk in Apra Harbor, Guam

The Tokai Maru was a Japanese passenger-cargo ship built by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard that was sunk in Apra Harbor, Guam, in 1943, during World War II. It had served as a fast ship service between New York City and Japan for Osaka Shosen Co. before World War II; during the war it was used as a military transport ship for the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Takao Maru (高雄丸) was a 4,282-ton Japanese combined cargo vessel/passenger ship built in 1927 by Uraga Dock Company for Osaka Shosen Kaisha. She was originally conceived as a high speed transport for perishable fruits, especially bananas, and had an advanced mechanical ventilation system to cool her cargo hold. She could also accommodate six first-class and 64 third-class passengers.

<i>Fuso Maru</i>

SS Fuso Maru was a Japanese ocean liner that was torpedoed by the United States Navy submarine USS Steelhead (SS-280) in the South China Sea 280 nautical miles (520 km) northwest of Cape Mayraira, Luzon, the Philippines, at, while she was travelling in Convoy MI-11 from Moji, Japan, to Miri, Borneo.

Gokoku Maru (護國丸) was an armed merchant cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II, the last ship of the Hōkoku Maru class ocean liners. The ship entered service in 1942 and was employed mainly as a troop transport. She came under attack several times during her service career, and was sunk in a submarine attack in November 1944.

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.

<i>Suwa Maru</i> Japanese ocean liner

Suwa Maru (諏訪丸) was a Japanese passenger/cargo ship owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). The ship was launched in 1914 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan. The ship was named for the Suwa Jinja, a noted Shinto shrine located in Suwa, Nagano.

<i>Hōkoku Maru</i>

Hōkoku Maru (報國丸) was an Hōkoku Maru-class ocean liner that served as an armed merchant cruiser in the Second World War. She was launched in 1939 and completed in 1940 for Osaka Shosen Lines.

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.

References

  1. "Osaka Shosen Kaisha". The Ships List. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  2. "Sinking of Tatsutake Maru and Kinai Maru". The Combined Fleet. Retrieved 28 February 2010.

See also

Foreign commerce and shipping of Empire of Japan

Coordinates: 14°29′N149°00′E / 14.483°N 149.000°E / 14.483; 149.000