The was a class of

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

s of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, serving during 1940 and

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 ...

Background

* 17 May 1937, the placed an order for three ocean liners to reinforce the Japan-Africa route. They were named ''Hōkoku Maru'', ''Aikoku Maru'' and ''Kōkoku Maru'' (later renamed ''Gokoku Maru''). * They were beautiful, and luxuriously equipped Their suites were named after ancient Japanese cities:''

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

''— ''Hōkoku Maru''; ''

Kyōto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

'' — ''Aikoku Maru''; and ''

Hakone is a town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 11,293 and a population density of 122 persons per km². The total area of the town is . The town is a popular tourist destination due to its many hot springs and views of ...

''— ''Gokoku Maru''.

Civilian service

* ''Hōkoku Maru'' was completed on 15 June 1940. Her maiden voyage was 2–12 July 1940,

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 To ...

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...

. * On 17 July 1940, she departed to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

on her only overseas voyage. After this she stayed close to the Japanese mainland, as 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 ...

(IJN) feared losing her. * ''Aikoku Maru'' was completed on 31 August 1941. * In September 1941, both ships were enlisted by the IJN.

Service in World War II

* ''Hōkoku Maru'' and ''Aikoku Maru'' became auxiliary cruisers, and they were assigned to the 24th Raider Division,

Combined Fleet The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...

. When they learned of the outbreak of war they were north of

Tuamotus The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (french: Îles Tuamotu, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extendin ...

. * 27 April 1942, ''Aikoku Maru'' supported submarine ''I-30'' which departed to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. * 4 August 1942, ''Gokoku Maru'' was completed. She acted in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

until 30 November 1942. * 11 November 1942, ''Hōkoku Maru'' was sunk by HMIS ''Bengal'' and tanker ''Ondina'' in the Indian Ocean. ''Aikoku Maru'' returned to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. * January 1943, ''Aikoku Maru'' and ''Gokoku Maru'' were dispatched to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

They engaged in troop transportation duties afterward. * 1 October 1943, they were classified to Auxiliary transport, and removed some armaments. * 17 February 1944, ''Aikoku Maru'' was sunk by air raid at Chuuk. * 10 November 1944, ''Gokoku Maru'' was sunk by a US submarine.

Photos

Image:Hokoku Maru.jpg, O.S.K. Lines ''Hōkoku Maru'' Image:Aikoku Maru-1941.jpg, O.S.K. Lines ''Aikoku Maru'' in 1941 Image:Gokoku Maru-1942.jpg, O.S.K. Lines ''Gokoku Maru'' on 2 April 1942 Image:Hokoku Maru-1942a.jpg, IJN ''Hōkoku Maru'' in May 1942 at Penang Image:Hokoku Maru-1942.jpg, IJN ''Hōkoku Maru'' on 29 July 1942 at Seletar Image:Hokoku maru-1942b.jpg, IJN ''Hōkoku Maru'' on 18 September 1942 at Seletar Image:Aikoku Maru-1942.jpg, IJN ''Aikoku Maru'' on 22 August 1942 at Seletar

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * Tashirō Iwashige, ''The visual guide of Japanese wartime merchant marine'', (Japan), May 2009 * Hisashi Noma (private publication), ''The Story of Mitsui and O.S.K. Liners lost during the Pacific War'', May 2002 *''Monthly Ships of the World No.535'', , (Japan), February 1998 * ''The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.53, "Japanese support vessels"'', (Japan), July 1981 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hokoku Maru Ocean liner classes World War II naval ships of Japan Ships built by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding