The SS ''China Maru'' was a 5,870- gross register ton cargo ship built by Kawasaki Dockyard Company,

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

, for Kawasaki Kisen KK in 1920.

History

The cargo ship ran aground off Balum Island, Feni Islands, Papua New Guinea, on 26 June 1939, while steaming to Sydney from Yokohama, and was later refloated. She was requisitioned in 1941 by the Imperial Japanese Navy for use during World War II.

Invasion of Guam

On 8 December 1941, she was assigned to Operation "G", the

invasion of Guam The Battle of Guam (21 July–10 August 1944) was the American recapture of the Japanese-held island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese from the United States in the First Battle of Guam in 1941 during t ...

as one of 10 transports carrying Major General Horii Tomitaro's 55th Infantry Corps. The naval operation was headed by the 4th Fleet operating out of

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

consisting of minelayer ''Tsugaru'' as flagship; seaplane tender ''Kiyokawa Maru''; 4 cruisers, ''Aoba'', ''Furutaka'', ''Kako'', ''Kinugasa'' (Cruiser Division 6, detached from 1st Fleet); and 4 destroyers, ''Oboro'' (detached from Carrier Division 5 of the IJN 1st Air Fleet), and ''Kikuzuki'', ''Uzuki'', and ''Yūzuki'' (Destroyer Division 23, detached from Carrier Division 2, IJN 1st Air Fleet). The remaining ships all belonged to the Fifth Base Force, 4th Fleet consisting of Gunboat Division 7 (''Hirotama Maru'', ''Shotoku Maru''), Subchaser Division 59 (subchasers ''Shonan Maru No. 5'', ''Shonan Maru No. 6''; netlayer ''Shofuku Maru''), Subchaser Division 60 (subchasers ''Kyo Maru No. 8'', ''Kyo Maru No. 10''; netlayer ''Shuko Maru''), and Minesweeper Division 15 (''Fumi Maru No. 2'', ''Seki Maru No. 3'').

Invasion of Salamaua–Lae

On 10 March 1942, during the invasion of Lae-Salamaua, ''China Maru'' was damaged by

SBD SBD may refer to: * Douglas SBD Dauntless, a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber * San Bernardino International Airport, airport identifier code SBD * Savings Bank of Danbury, a bank headquartered in Connecticut * Schottky bar ...

aircraft from the United States Navy aircraft carriers and off

Lae Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...

, New Guinea.

Fate

On 21 September 1944, while anchored off Manila, Philippines, ''China Maru'' was hit by bombs from US Navy Task Force 38.1, 38.2, and 38.3 aircraft, and sunk at .

Notes

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