''Korei Maru'' (''Japanese:'' 興嶺丸) was a Japanese cargo ship that was requisitioned by 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 surrend ...

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 opposing ...

and converted into an auxiliary netlayer.

History

She was laid down in 19 March 1939 at the

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

shipyard of Sanoyasu Senkyo K.K. for the benefit of Sanko Kisen K.K. She was launched on 20 May 1939, completed on 17 July 1939, and registered in

Amagasaki 270px, Amagasaki Castle 270px, Aerial view of Amagasaki city center 270px, Amagasaki Station is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 455,555 in 223812 households, and a population de ...

. She worked as a cargo ship until 16 December 1941, when she was requisitioned by the

. She was designated as an auxiliary net-layer and her conversion was completed on 14 January 1942 at the

Maizuru Naval District was one of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the entire Sea of Japan coastline from northern Kyūshū to western Hokkaidō. History The strategic importance of the location of Maizu ...

. She was assigned to the 53rd Subchaser Division (along with subchasers ''Kyo Maru No. 2'' and ''Kyo Maru No. 11''),

Third Fleet The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering ...

. The division was attached to the Second Base Force based at Takao, Formosa. Her commanding officer was Reserve Lieutenant Hirano Susumu (平野進).

Invasion of Batan Island

She was assigned to the Batan Island occupation force which began simultaneously with the

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...

tasked with establishing an air base to support future operations against American forces on

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

during the invasion of the Philippines. On 7 December 1941, the 53rd Subchaser division along with the 52nd Subchaser Division ( ''Shonan Maru No. 17'', ''Takunan Maru No. 5'', '' Fukuei Maru No. 15'') and the 54th Subchaser Division ('' Nagara Maru'', ''Shonan Maru No. 1'', ''Shonan Maru No. 2'') left Takao with

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 ...

transport ''Teiun Maru'' carrying part of the 24th Airfield Battalion. On 8 December 1941, she met with remainder of the occupation force off the coast of Batan Island consisting of transport ''Kumagawa Maru'', destroyer , four ''Chidori''-class torpedo boats (''Chidori'', ''Manazuru'', ''Tomozuru'', ''Hatsukari''), two ''W-13''-class minesweepers (''W-13'', ''W-14''), two patrol boats ( ''Patrol Boat No. 1'', ''Patrol Boat No. 2''), two ''Tsubame''-class minelayers (''Kamome'', ''Tsubame''), three converted gunboats ('' Aso Maru'', ''Koso Maru'', ''Nampo Maru''), and seaplane tender, '' Sanuki Maru'' escorted by destroyer '' Tachikaze''.

Sinking

On 12 September 1944, she was sunk by aircraft from US Navy

Task Force 38 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet), was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through the end of the war in August 1945. The tas ...

off

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

at (). On 10 November 1944, she was struck from the Navy List.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korei Maru 1939 ships Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Net laying ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Ships sunk by US aircraft