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Toyama Maru (富山丸) was a 7,089-ton Japanese troop transport during World War II. On 29 June 1944, Toyama Maru was transporting over 6,000 men of the Japanese 44th Independent Mixed Brigade when she was torpedoed and sunk.
 Toyama Maru in 1941
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan | |
| Name | Toyama Maru |
| Namesake | Toyama |
| Owner | NYK Line (1915-1937)
Nanyo Kaiun K.K. (1937-1938) Ono Shoji Gomei K.K. (1938-1943) Taiyo Kogyo, K. K (1943-1944) |
| Ordered | 1913 |
| Builder | Mitsubishi Dockyard & Engineering Works |
| Laid down | 4 August 1913 |
| Launched | 20 March 1915 |
| Completed | 3 June 1915 |
| In service | June 1915 |
| Out of service | June 29th 1944 |
| Fate | Sunk by USS Sturgeon near Tairajima, 29 June 1944 |
| Notes | 6th deadliest Maritime disaster |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Troop transport |
| Tonnage | 7,085 GRT |
| Length | 135.6 metres (445 ft) |
| Beam | 17.7 metres (58 ft) |
| Draught | 10.4 metres (34 ft) |
| Installed power | 5700 shp |
| Propulsion | 4 x Steam turbine engines DR geared to dual shaft, 2 screws, 4 single boilers, 12 corrugated furnaces |
| Speed | 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) |
| Complement | 4330 |
| Crew | 76 |
Building and registration
editToyama Maru was Laid down on the 4th of August 1913, at Mitsubishi Dockyard & Engineering Works as Yard No. 243. In Nagasaki, and was launched on the 20th of March 1915, and completed 3 months later. Toyama Maru had a length of 445 ft (135 m) a beam of 58 ft (17 m). With a tonnage of 7,085 GRT, she had a speed of about 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).[1]
Career
editAfter Toyama Maru was completed she began her maiden voyage, under the NYK Line. During the First World War she served European routes, transportation food and Ammunition. She survived World War I, and for the next 14 years she had an uneventful career. In 1933 she was switched to the Kobe to Surabaya route, in 1937, she was sold to the Company Nanyo Kaiun K.K. She served with the Company until 1938, when she was sold to the Company Ono Shoji Gomei K.K. She had an uneventful life until September 1941.
Service in World War 2
editIn September 1941 she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Army to serve in the Second World War. She would be used as a Troop transport and transported troops. In 1943 As the result of a merger, Toyama Maru is transferred to Taiyo Kogyo, K. K. She would continue to serve as a Troop transport until June 1944. [2]
Sinking
editOn 27 June 1944, Toyama Maru departed Kagoshima Bay bound for Naha City on what would become her final voyage, with over 6,000 people aboard. She departed with 11 other ships forming the Kata 412 convoy. At 07:30, the American submarine USS Sturgeon (SS-187), stalking the convoy, spotted and fired four torpedoes at Toyama Maru. Two of the torpedos hit the bow, igniting hundreds of gasoline drums, engulfing the ship in flames. A third torpedo hit mid-ship, breaking the ship in half, and she promptly sank in the Nansei Shoto, off Taira Jima, Japan, at approximate position 27º47'N, 129º05'E. 5,400 soldiers and crew members were killed during the sinking, with 600 surviving. [3]
See also
editReferences
edit- Yahara, Hiromichi (1997). The Battle for Okinawa. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-18080-7.
External links
edit- ^ "Toyama Maru (+1944)". wrecksite. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall. "IJA Toyama Maru". Combined Fleet website. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "Toyama Maru (+1944)". wrecksite. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
* Duncan, George. "1944: Maritime Disasters of World War II". Historical Facts of World War II.