Suzuya Maru (Japanese: 鈴谷丸) was an auxiliary transport and hell ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Suzuya Maru |
| Namesake | Suzuya River |
| Builder | Mitsui Tamano Engineering & Shipbuilding, Tamano |
| Yard number | 77 |
| Laid down | 30 May 1922 |
| Launched | 2 September 1922 |
| Sponsored by | Kita Nippon Kisen K.K. |
| Completed | 30 September 1922 |
| Acquired | Requisitioned by Imperial Japanese Navy, 1925 |
| Homeport | Otaru |
| Identification | 22520 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk by USS Guardfish off New Ireland, 13 June 1943 |
| Notes |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger/cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 864 GRT[1] |
| Length | 56.39 m (185 ft 0 in) o/a[1] |
| Beam | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)[1] |
| Draught | 5.94 m (19 ft 6 in)[1] |
| Installed power | 600 bhp[2] |
| Propulsion | 1 triple expansion engine, single shaft, 1 screw[2] |
| Speed | 11 knots[2] |
History
editShe was laid down on 30 May 1922 by Mitsui Tamano Engineering & Shipbuilding at their Tamano shipyard at the behest of Kita Nippon Kisen K.K./Kitanihon Kisen.[1][2] She was launched on 2 September 1922, completed on 30 September 1922, and registered in Otaru as Hokkai Maru No. 1 but had her name changed in 1924 to Suzuya Maru (after the Suzuya River in Karafuto Prefecture on Sakhalin Island, then part of Japan).[3] Her sister ship was Hokkai Maru No. 2 (renamed Hayataka Maru).[3] In 1925, she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy.[2] Little is known of her service and she seemed to have lost her original name generally being referred to as No. 107 or Otaru Maru, Otari Maru, or Otaro Maru.[3] On 15 August 1942, she took 179 prisoners of wars (POWs) at the port of Takao who had arrived aboard Nagara Maru.[3][4] The POWs were all American senior civilian and military authorities of the Philippines[5] and included Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright, Commander of Allied forces in the Philippines, and Major General Edward P. King[3] who lead the defense of the Bataan Peninsula in the Battle of Bataan. She delivered the prisoners to the Karenko POW camp[3] on the west coast of Formosa.
On 13 June 1943, Suzuya Maru was torpedoed and sunk by the US submarine USS Guardfish off the southwest coast of New Ireland (03°08′S 151°24′E / 3.133°S 151.400°E).[3][6][7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Nagasawa, Fumio (1998). "第一北海丸 HOKKAI MARU No.1 (1922)". Nostalgic Japanese Steamships (in Japanese).
- ^ a b c d e Lettens, Jan (8 June 2011). "Suzuya Maru (+1943)". wrecksite.eu.
- ^ a b c d e f g Erickson, James W. (2009). "Suzuya Maru 鈴谷丸". POWs of the Japanese. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2012). "Zatsuyosen: IJN Nagara Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- ^ Beekhuis, Henk (4 February 2018). "Otaro Maru". Japanse krijgsgevangenkampen (in Dutch).
- ^ Rohwer, Jürgen; Gerhard Hümmelchen. "Seekrieg 1943, June". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German).
- ^ "Guardfish (SS-217)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 31 December 2011.