Japanese seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru

Kamikawa Maru (神川丸) was a seaplane tender in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The ship was initially built at Kawasaki's Kōbe Shipyard and launched on 13 December 1936 as a merchant vessel for the Kawasaki Kisen K. K. Line. On 18 September 1937 the IJN requisitioned her as an aircraft transport ship and she was refitted in 1939 as a seaplane tender. The ship subsequently saw service in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific Campaign of World War II. On May 29, 1943, Kamikawa Maru was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Scamp approximately 250 miles (400 km) northwest of Kavieng, New Ireland at 01°36′S 150°24′E.

Kamikawa Maru at Amoi, China sometime between 1938 and 1940.
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Kamikawa Maru
Builder	Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard
Laid down	August 5, 1936
Launched	December 13, 1936
Acquired	March 15, 1937
Commissioned	September 18, 1937
Out of service	May 29, 1943
Stricken	July 15, 1943
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk by United States Navy submarine Scamp
General characteristics
Class and type	Kamikawa Maru-class seaplane tender
Displacement	6,863 tons standard
Length	479 ft (146.0 m)
Beam	62 ft (18.9 m)
Draft	30 ft (9.1 m)
Installed power	7,600 shp (5,700 kW)
Propulsion	1 Kawasaki-MAN diesel engine, 1 shaft
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Armament	2 x 5.9 in (150 mm) guns 2 x Type 96 25 mm (0.98 in) AA guns 2 x 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns
Aircraft carried	12 seaplanes (24 stored)
Aviation facilities	Two catapults, cranes

References

• Global Security (2009). "IJN Kamikawa Maru Seaplane Tender". Military. GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
• Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp; Allan Alsleben (2006). "IJN Seaplane Tender Kamikawa Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". Tokusetsu Suijoki-Bokan!. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
• Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp; Allan Alsleben (2006). "Kamikawa Maru Class". Tokusetsu Suijoki-Bokan!. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009.