''Yamafuku Maru'' was an auxiliary

transport ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She served primarily as a troop transport and cargo ship during the war.

History

''Yamafuku Maru'' was laid down in 1939 at the

Sakurajima Sakurajima ( ja, 桜島, literally "Cherry Blossom Island") is an active stratovolcano, formerly an island and now a peninsula, in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. The lava flows of the 1914 eruption connected it with the Ōsumi Peninsula ...

shipyard of Osaka Iron Works K.K. at the behest of shipping company, Yamashita Kisen K.K. She was launched in March 1940 and completed 10 July 1940. On 15 May 1941, she was requisitioned as an auxiliary transport by the

and attached to the

Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its headquarters, a ...

under Captain Honda Torao Yokosuka with

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

as her homeport. In January 1942, she served as a

troop transport A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

in the second echelon of the Ambon invasion force (consisting of transports ''Yamura Maru'', ''Yamagiri Maru'', ''Kirishima Maru'', ''Hino Maru #5'', and ''Katsuragi Maru'') escorted by the 8th Destroyer Division (consisting of

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s , , , and ), and minesweepers ''W-9'' and ''W-11'' which delivered 5,300 personnel consisting of the Itō Detachment of the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

(IJA), under

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Takeo Itō was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Biography Takeo Itō was born in the city of Fukuoka in the Fukuoka prefecture The commanding officer of the IJA 228th Infantry Regiment at the start of the Second Sino-Japanese W ...

, comprising the 38th Division HQ and the 228th Infantry Regiment, along with

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

from the 1st Kure

Special Naval Landing Force The Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF; ja, 海軍特別陸戦隊, Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai) were naval infantry units of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and were a part of the IJN Land Forces. They saw extensive service in the Second Sino ...

(part of the

China Area Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy organized after the Battle of Shanghai. It reported directly to the Imperial General Headquarters and had the same organizational level as the Combined Fleet. This article handles their predecessor fl ...

), and two platoons of the Sasebo SNLF under

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Koichiro Hatakeyama. In May 1942, she participated in the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...

(Operation "MI") where she was assigned to Miyamoto Sadachika's 16th Minesweeper Unit (along with auxiliary minesweepers , , , ; submarine chasers , , and ; cargo ship ''Meiyo Maru''; and auxiliary ammunition ship ). On 23 November 1943, she departed

for Truk as part of convoy No. 3123 with auxiliary transports ''Shoko Maru'' and ''Tatsutagawa Maru'', IJN transport ''Manju Maru'', cargo ship ''Shiganoura Maru'', destroyer , and auxiliary gunboat ''Choan Maru No. 2 Go''. On 23/24 November, the convoy was unsuccessfully attacked northwest of Hachijo-Jima by with all torpedoes missing. On 28 November 1943, the convoy was again attacked, this time and northwest of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

; the initial attack was unsuccessful. ''Snook'' attacked again just before midnight and successfully hit and sank ''Yamafuku Maru'' with four torpedoes at () with 60 men lost. On 5 January 1944, she was struck from the Navy List.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamafuku Maru 1940 ships Ships sunk by American submarines Maritime incidents in November 1943 World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Ships built by Osaka Iron Works