''Awazisan Maru'' (淡路山丸), also known as ''Awajisan Maru'' or ''Awagisan Maru'', was a motor cargo vessel built by Tama Zosensho of

Tamano is a city located in southern Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The city was officially founded on August 3, 1940. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 60,101 and a population density of 580 persons per km². The total area i ...

for Mitsui & Co. Ltd. with intention of serving on their

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

to New York route. The ship remained in service between Japan and United States for two years before being requisitioned by 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 ...

. She was bombed and damaged during her first Army mission and subsequently torpedoed and sunk by a Dutch submarine in December 1941.

Design and construction

The ship was launched in 1939 and was notable for being the most advanced freighter of its time. It was commissioned by the

to transport troops in

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 was part of the

Japanese Invasion of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles betwee ...

on 8 December 1941.

Operational history

Imperial Japanese Army

Along with its sister ship and ''Sakura Maru'', she was carrying around 5,000 troops during the landings at

Kota Bharu Kota Bharu, colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mouth of the Kelantan River. The ...

. ''Awazisan Maru'' was bombed by a

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and p ...

aircraft of No. 1 Squadron RAAF, set afire and was abandoned to drift. It is believed that the freighter sunk or was subsequently torpedoed by the Dutch submarine K XII. The invasion of Malaya preceded the attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

by an hour and a half, making it the first Japanese campaign of

, likely making ''Awazisan Maru'' the very first casualty in the war. ''Awazisan Maru'' now lies in of water off the coast of Pantai Sabak in Kota Bharu and is fast becoming a popular diving destination due to its remarkable history. It is more popularly known amongst local divers as the ''Japanese Invasion Wreck''.

Citations

External links

The Japanese landings in 1941 on Malaya

Diving The Awazisan Maru
* Ahmad, Sager & Tiong, John
"End Of Western Rule"
''New Straits Times Press (Malaysia)''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Awazisan Maru 1938 ships Ships built in Japan World War II merchant ships of Japan Troop ships of Japan Maritime incidents in December 1941 World War II shipwrecks in the South China Sea Ships sunk by Dutch submarines