SS Yoshida Maru explained

The was a Japanese cargo ship owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1941 by Hakodate Dock at Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaidō.

History

The Yoshida Maru was built at Hakodate; and she left port in August 1941 on her maiden voyage.^[1]

The 2,921-ton vessel had a length of 310 feet (93 m), and her beam was 45 feet (13.8 m). The single turbine, single screw propulsion produced an average speed of 11kn.^[1]

World War II

Yoshida Maru was requisitioned as an auxiliary gunboat/minelayer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was armed with 3 guns of 12 cm and machineguns.On 1 October, 1943 reregistered as an auxiliary transport.^[2] On 18 January 1944, she was sunk by the submarine USS Flasher at 140 miles west-southwest of Minami-Tori-shima, 23.8333°N 179°W with the loss of 76 passengers, eight crewmen and 15 gunners.^[3]

See also

• List of Japanese hell ships
• Foreign commerce and shipping of Empire of Japan

References

• Blair, Clay. (2001). Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ;
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1935). The Nomenclature of the N.Y.K. Fleet. Tokyo : Nippon Yusen Kaisha. OCLC 27933596
• Tate, E. Mowbray. (1986). Transpacific steam: the story of steam navigation from the Pacific Coast of North America to the Far East and the Antipodes, 1867-1941. New York: Cornwall Books. ;

Notes and References

1. Haworth, R.B. Miramar Ship Index: Yoshida Maru, ID#4048724.
2. Web site: Japanese Transports . Combinedfleet.com . 4 October 2022.
3. Web site: The Official Chronology of The US Navy in World War II . HyperWar Foundation . 2015-02-21.