Aikoku Maru (1940)

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Aikoku Maru in Singapore in 1942
History
Empire of Japan
NameAikoku Maru
Ordered1937 fiscal year
Builder
Tamano, Okayama
Laid down29 December 1938
Launched25 April 1940
Completed31 August 1941
Stricken31 March 1944
FateSunk by air attack, 16 February 1944
General characteristics
Type
Armed merchant cruiser
Tonnage10,438 GRT
Length160.8 m (527 ft 7 in)
w/l
Beam20.2 m (66 ft 3 in)
Draught8.8 m (28 ft 10 in)
Propulsion
Speed20.9 knots (38.7 km/h; 24.1 mph)
Complement133
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × Kawanishi E7K floatplane
General characteristics (after 1942)
Armament
Aircraft carried2 × Aichi E13A floatplanes
Aikoku Maru in 1941 in Mitsui livery

Aikoku Maru (愛国丸) was an

armed merchant cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The ship entered service in 1940, the ship was later converted to an ammunition ship. She was sunk in February 1944 during Operation Hailstone
.

Design

Aikoku Maru was laid down at the

gross register tons,[1] with a length of 160.8 m (527 ft 7 in). Powered by two Mitsui B&W diesel engines with 13,000 shp (9,700 kW) driving twin screws, she was capable of 20.9 knots
(38.7 km/h; 24.1 mph). The vessel was launched on 25 April 1940, and was named Aikoku Maru at that time.

She was designed to be a combined

passenger liner / cargo vessel for the Osaka Shosen Lines
's regularly scheduled services to South America. Provisionally named Kyoto, the design for the new vessel was to have boasted of luxurious suite rooms. The vessel was built with large government subsidies provided from 1936 to encourage the production of large, high-speed transports and tankers, which could be quickly converted to military use in times of conflict.

Although ostensibly a luxury ocean liner, the military had a say in the design of Aikoku Maru with an eye towards its future use as a troop transport. Provision was made for landing craft and for the anchoring of naval artillery.

Operational history

Immediately on completion on 31 August 1941, Aikoku Maru was officially requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was converted into an

float plane
(with one additional aircraft as a spare).

As an auxiliary cruiser and submarine tender

On 15 October 1941, the 24th Raider Squadron (CruDiv24), consisting of Aikoku Maru, Hōkoku Maru, and Kiyosumi Maru was created under the Combined Fleet. Aikoku Maru and her sister ship Hōkoku Maru were forward deployed to Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands at the end of November in preparation for the upcoming hostilities against the United States.[2]

On 13 December 1941, Aikoku Maru and Hōkoku Maru sank SS Vincent (6,210 GWT), an American merchant vessel with a cargo of rice from Australia to

Oita
.

On 14 February 1942, at

Ceylon. She placed a prize crew on board, but en route back to Japan, her New Zealander engine crew managed to sabotage the cargo and engine spares.[2]

After repairs at

Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Guns were added, and an additional 70 torpedoes were loaded. She continued to be based out of Penang until late August under the command of Tamotsu Oishi
.

From September, Aikoku Maru was assigned to the

IJA 38th Infantry Division to Rabaul for the reinforcement of Guadalcanal. After accomplishing this mission by 10 October, her Commerce Raiding Unit was reactivated, and Aikoku Maru transited the Sunda Strait into the Indian Ocean on 7 November, together with Hōkoku Maru.[2]

Ondina in 1943

On 11 November, the raiders attacked the Dutch tanker

Cocos Islands. Hōkoku Maru was closer and attacked first, but a shot from Ondina's 4-inch guns hit Hōkoku Maru's starboard torpedo tube, and detonated the torpedo. A fire broke out, which quickly raged out of control, causing the aft magazine to explode, sinking the vessel. Aikoku Maru then arrived, and drove off Bengal while Ondina also attempted to escape. Aikoku Maru scored six hits on Ondina with her guns, but her two torpedoes missed. However, with their ship damaged and out of ammunition, the crew of Ondina abandoned ship. Aikoku Maru fired on Ondina′s lifeboats, rescued 278 survivors of Hōkoku Maru, and returned to Penang, and from there to Singapore and Rabaul. Meanwhile, the crew of Ondina managed to re-enter their ship and effect repairs, escaping to Fremantle, Australia.[5]

As a military transport

From 16 December 1942, Aikoku Maru was reassigned back to the IJN 8th Fleet, primarily as a military transport to support

USAAF Fifth Air Force, but was not hit. She returned to Kure on 29 December 1942.[2]

As part of "Operation C" (the Reinforcement of New Guinea), on 5 January 1943, Aikoku Maru loaded the IJAAF 209th Airfield Battalion, 14th Aerial Repair Shop and others, a total of 691 men plus 34 vehicles at

Pusan in Korea, arriving at Rabaul on 14 January. She was then sent to Qingdao in Japanese-occupied China, arriving 24 January, and from there to Cebu (2 February) and Palau (7 February), where she loaded additional troops and cargo, delivering the reinforcements successfully to Wewak on 23 February. She returned to Kure on 5 April.[2]

On 10 July 1943, as part of a convoy including the aircraft carrier Un'yō, Aokoku Maru was attacked by the submarine USS Halibut 170 nautical miles (310 km; 200 mi) north of Truk, which fired six torpedoes. One struck Aikoku Maru, causing moderate damage. On her return voyage, on 15 July, she was attacked again, this time by the submarine USS Tinosa, whose four torpedoes all missed. She returned to Kure on 2 September.[2]

On 6 October, Aikoku Maru returned to Tamano for repairs and refitting with additional weaponry, which included two 152 mm guns and four twin-mount Type 96s. The refitting work was completed by 31 December 1943.

Japanese ammunition ship Aikoku Maru blowing up; the air crew which dropped the torpedo was missing and believed to have been caught in the explosion. 16 February 1944

On 21 January 1944, Aikoku Maru loaded the 629 men of the 66th Naval Guard Unit, with ammunition, supplies and construction materials. The convoy was attacked 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) northwest of Truk by the submarine

TBM Avenger and its three-man crew from Torpedo Squadron 6 were also destroyed in the explosion of the ship.[6]

Aikoku Maru was removed from the

navy list
on 30 March 1944.

Shipwreck

The wreck of Aikoku Maru is a popular

Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1969, but she was not positively identified until later. In July 1980, a Japanese recovery team retrieved the remains of approximately 400 men who were killed in the attack, but the remains of hundreds more remain on site.[7]

On 17 February 1994, a memorial monument was placed on Aikoku Maru′s deck at a depth of approximately 38 metres (125 ft). The monument was a joint project of the Chuuk Visitors Bureau,

dive shop at Chuuk Atoll.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ Lindemann, p. 145
  2. ^ a b c d e f g [1] CombinedFleet.com: Aikoku Maru Tabular Record of Movement
  3. ^ Cressman, The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II; page 68
  4. ^ Boyd, The Japanese Submarine Force and World War II; page 90
  5. ^ Visser, Jan (1999–2000). "The Ondina Story". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011.
  6. ^ Pacific Wrecks
  7. ^ Jackson, Top Wreck Dives of the World; page 127
  8. ^ Larry McLean, S.S. Thorfinn Crew and monument placer

References

Further reading

External links

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