The Kamikawa Maru-class cargo ship (神川丸型貨物船, Kamikawa Maru-gata Kamotsusen) was a type of cargo ship of Japan, serving during the 1930s and World War II. Four of the five ships of the class were converted to seaplane tenders during the war.
 Kamikawa Maru
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kamikawa Maru-class Cargo ship |
| Builders | Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Operators | |
| Built | 1936–1940 |
| In commission | 1937–1969 |
| Planned | 5 |
| Completed | 5 |
| Lost | 4 |
| Retired | 1 (Kiyokawa Maru) |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo ship/Seaplane tender |
| Displacement | 6,853 to 6,872 long tons (6,963 to 6,982 t) gross |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 19.0 m (62 ft 4 in) |
| Draught | 8.23 m (27 ft 0 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | |
| Capacity | 650,000 cu ft (18,000 m3) freight as cargo ship |
| Crew | 65 as cargo ship |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried |
|
| Aviation facilities |
|
History
editIn 1930, the Ōsaka Mercantile Steamship Co.Ltd. (O.S.K. Lines) put into service the Kinai Maru-class cargo ship[1] on the Japan-New York route. Competing Japanese steamship companies produced and placed their own cargo ships on the North America route.
In 1936, the Kawasaki Line built four Kamikawa Maru-class ships. They had much higher cruising speeds and capacity than their competitors. However, they were commandeered in sequence and did not survive to the end of the war.
Ships in class
edit| Name | Kanji | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kamikawa Maru | 神川丸 | Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard | 5 August 1936 | 13 December 1936 | 15 March 1937 | Kawasaki Line |
| Kiyokawa Maru | 聖川丸 | 21 October 1936 | 16 February 1937 | 15 May 1937 | Kawasaki Line; Kōbe Line (and after 15 August 1963) | |
| Kimikawa Maru | 君川丸 | 2 November 1936 | 11 March 1937 | 15 July 1937 | Kawasaki Line | |
| Kunikawa Maru | 國川丸 | 11 March 1937 | 12 June 1937 | 1 November 1937 | Kawasaki Line | |
| Hirokawa Maru | 宏川丸 | 6 April 1939 | 10 May 1940 | 12 October 1940 | Kawasaki Line |
Service
edit| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 18 September 1937 | Enlisted by the Navy |
| 19 September 1937 | classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender |
| 1 October 1937 | Assigned to the 3rd Fleet |
| 1 December 1937 | Assigned to the 3rd Carrier Division, 3rd Fleet |
| 1 February 1938 | 3rd Carrier Division was transferred to the 5th Fleet |
| 1 July 1938 | Assigned to the 3rd Fleet |
| 15 December 1938 | Classified to Auxiliary aircraft transport |
| 15 November 1939 | Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender, assigned to the China Area Fleet |
| 1 April 1940 | Assigned to the 2nd China Expeditionary Fleet |
| 15 November 1940 | Assigned to the 6th Carrier Division, Combined Fleet |
| 10 April 1941 | Assigned to the 12th Carrier Division, 3rd Fleet |
| 7 December 1941 | Sortie for the Battle of Malaya |
| 10 March 1942 | Assigned to the 4th Fleet |
| 18 April 1942 | Sortie for Operation MO |
| 20 May 1942 | Assigned to the 11th Carrier Division, Southeast Area Fleet |
| 28 May 1942 | Sortie for Operation MI |
| 15 June 1942 | Sortie for Operation AL |
| 14 July 1942 | 11th Carrier Division was moved to the 2nd Fleet |
| 23 August 1942 | Sortie for the Guadalcanal Campaign |
| 1 April 1943 | 11th Carrier Division was moved to the Southeast Area Fleet |
| 15 April 1943 | 11th Carrier Division was disbanded |
| 29 May 1943 | Sunk by USS Scamp at northwest of Kavieng 01°36′S 150°24′E / 1.600°S 150.400°E |
| 15 July 1943 | Removed from naval ship list and discharged |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 28 September 1941 | Enlisted by the Navy |
| 5 October 1941 | Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender |
| 10 November 1941 | Assigned to the 4th Fleet |
| 6 December 1941 | Sortie for the Battle of Guam |
| 23 December 1941 | Sortie for the Battle of Wake Island |
| 6 January 1942 | Sortie for the Battle of Rabaul |
| 1 December 1942 | Classified to Auxiliary transport, and assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District |
| 1 April 1943 | Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender, and assigned to the 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet, Southwest Area Fleet |
| 1 July 1943 | Assigned to the Southwest Area Fleet |
| 1 October 1943 | Classified to Auxiliary transport |
| 1 June 1944 | Assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District |
| 14 July 1944 | Entry to the Hi-68 Convoy |
| 20 August 1944 | Entry to the TaMo-26 Convoy |
| 14 November 1944 | Entry to the Convoy Hi-81 |
| 8 December 1944 | Entry to the MaMo-25 Convoy |
| 29 January 1945 | Entry to the Hi-93 Convoy |
| 11 February 1945 | Entry to the Hi-88C Convoy |
| 25 February 1945 | Entry to the TaMo-44 Convoy |
| 16 March 1945 | Entry to the MoTa-43 Convoy |
| 1 April 1945 | Entry to the TaMo-53 Convoy |
| 20 July 1945 | Sunk by air raid at Kaminoseki |
| 30 November 1945 | Discharged |
| 9 December 1947 | Refloated |
| 20 October 1949 | Repairs were completed |
| 15 August 1963 | Sold to Kōbe Line |
| 14 December 1969 | Scrapped |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 6 July 1941 | Enlisted by the Navy |
| 25 July 1941 | Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender |
| 1 September 1941 | Assigned to the 5th Fleet |
| 10 December 1941 | Assigned to the 21st Division, 5th Fleet |
| 1 September 1941 | Removed from 21st Division |
| 8 June 1942 | Sortie for the Operation AL |
| 1 October 1943 | Classified to Auxiliary transport and assigned to the Northeast Area Fleet |
| 20 November 1943 | Assigned to the Combined Fleet |
| 13 July 1944 | Entry to the Hi-69 Convoy |
| 2 October 1944 | Entry to the Hi-76 Convoy |
| 21 October 1944 | Entry to the Mata-30 Convoy |
| 23 October 1944 | Sunk by submarine USS Sawfish at WNW of Cape Bojeador 18°58′S 118°40′E / 18.967°S 118.667°E |
| 10 December 1944 | Removed from naval ship list and discharged |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 31 October 1941 | Enlisted by the Navy |
| 10 November 1941 | Classified to Auxiliary transport |
| 10 December 1941 | Assigned to the Combined Fleet |
| 14 July 1942 | Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender, and assigned to the 4th Fleet |
| 24 August 1942 | Sortie for the Solomon Islands campaign |
| 1 April 1943 | Assigned to the 11th Carrier Division, Southeast Area Fleet |
| 15 April 1943 | Removed from 11th Carrier Division |
| 3 May 1943 | Entry to the No. 2023 Convoy |
| 8 May 1943 | Entry to the No. 4508 Convoy |
| 1 June 1943 | Entry to the No. 3601A Convoy |
| 5 August 1943 | Entry to the No. 4805 Convoy |
| 15 September 1943 | Entry to the No. 3914 Convoy |
| 28 September 1943 | Entry to the No. 1292 Convoy |
| 1 October 1943 | Classified to Auxiliary transport, and assigned to the Kure Naval District |
| 16 October 1943 | Entry to the O-602B Convoy |
| 1 November 1943 | Entry to the No. 7101 Convoy |
| 21 December 1943 | Entry to the Hi-27 Convoy |
| 20 March 1944 | Entry to the H-22 Convoy |
| 29 March 1944 | Struck a naval mine at Balikpapan |
| 8 May 1944 | Temporary repairs were completed, however struck a naval mine once again; Later sank in shallow water |
| 26 September 1944 | Refloated and temporary repairs were completed |
| 21 May 1945 | Sunk by air raid |
| 30 November 1945 | Discharged |
| 3 May 1947 | Removed from naval ship list |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 8 February 1941 | Enlisted by the Army; Classified to Nucleus Anti-Aircraft vessel |
| 8 December 1941 | Sortie for the Battle of Malaya; Landed the Andō Detachment, 5th Infantry Division at Pattani |
| 20 February 1942 | Sortie for the Dutch East Indies campaign; Landed the 16th Army at Palembang |
| 23 March 1942 | Sortie for the Invasion of the Andaman Islands; Landed the one battalion of the 18th Division at Ross Island |
| 14 October 1942 | Sortie for the Guadalcanal Campaign |
| 15 October 1942 | Landed the one battalion of the 38th Division at Guadalcanal; Damaged by U.S. aircraft and artillery, sunk by destroyer USS Meade at Tassafaronga Point |
Photos
edit-
Kawasaki Line Kiyokawa Maru -
Kawasaki Line Kimikawa Maru -
Kawasaki Line Kunikawa Maru -
Kawasaki Line Hirokawa Maru
-
IJN Kamikawa Maru circa 1939 at Xiamen -
IJN Kamikawa Maru in June 1942 at Kiska -
IJN Kimikawa Maru in Autumn 1942 at Ōminato Naval Base -
IJN Kimikawa Maru in April 1943 at Ōminato Naval Base
-
IJN Kamikawa Maru-class in 1943 -
IJN Kimikawa Maru in Summer 1943 -
IJN Kiyokawa Maru (above) on 10 March 1942
Footnotes
edit- ^ 8300 tons, 18.5 kt. Kinai Maru (畿内丸), Hokuriku Maru (北陸丸), Tōkai Maru (東海丸), San'yō Maru (山陽丸), Nankai Maru (南海丸), Hokkai Maru (北海丸), Kantō Maru (関東丸), and Kansai Maru (関西丸).
Bibliography
edit- Tashirō Iwashige, The visual guide of Japanese wartime merchant marine, "Dainippon Kaiga". Archived from the original on 2002-12-07. (Japan), May 2009
- Shinshichirō Komamiya, The Wartime Convoy Histories, "Shuppan Kyōdōsha". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-09-11. (Japan), October 1987
- Monthly Ships of the World, "Kaijinsha". (Japan)
- No. 481, Special issue Vol. 40, History of Japanese aircraft carriers, May 1994
- No. 525, June 1997
- No. 600, September 2002
- Science of the Ships No. 403, Ministry of Transport, May 1982
- The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No. 25, Japanese seaplane tenders w/ auxiliary seaplane tenders, "Ushio Shobō". (Japan), March 1979