Japanese transport ship Kita Maru (1918)

Kita Maru (Japanese: 喜多丸) was a Dutch-built, steel-hulled steamship that was seized by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and converted into an auxiliary transport.

S.s. Gemma of the Gouvernementsmarine, 1930
History
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Name: Gemma
Builder: Gusto Shipyard (nl:Werf Gusto), Schiedam
Launched: 1918
Sponsored by: Gouvernementsmarine
Fate: scuttled, 2 March 1942
History
Empire of Japan
Name: Kita Maru
Acquired: repaired by the Empire of Japan, 1942
Commissioned: 1 August 1943
Homeport: Sasebo
Fate: unknown
Notes:
General characteristics
Class and type: Steamer[2]
Tonnage: 845 long tons (859 t) standard[2]
Length: 53.4 m (175 ft 2 in) overall[2]
Beam: 9.0 m (29 ft 6 in)[2]
Draught: 3.0 m (9 ft 10 in)[2]
Armament: 1 x 75 mm[3]

History

She was launched in 1918 at the Gusto Shipyard in Schiedam[2] for the benefit of the Gouvernementsmarine and named Gemma.[4] She was armed with a single 75 mm gun.[3][4] She was scuttled by Dutch forces at Surabaya on 2 March 1942[3][4] after the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. On 27 October 1942, she was refloated and repaired by the No. 102 Naval Construction and Repair Department at Surabaya, Java.[5] On 28 January 1943, her repairs were completed and on 1 August 1943, she was designated as a special transport ship, and assigned to the Sasebo Naval District.[4] On 1 March 1944, she arrived at Surabaya as part of the Southern Expeditionary Fleet.[4] She spent most of the war ferrying supplies and men and assisting disabled ships between ports in and around Indonesia (Kota Bharu, Surabaya, Balikpapan, and Samarinda).[4] On 24 September 1944, she assisted the gunboat Nankai and the Hokkai Maru, disabled by enemy mines[6][7] laid by the submarine USS Bowfin 15 miles west of Sebuku Island at 03°37′S 116°25′E.[8]

She survived the war and was struck from the Navy List on August 15 1945.[4] Her last known port-of-call was Makassar.[4]

References
  1. Toda, Gengoro S. "Tokusetsu Gunkan (Converted Gunboats - Stats)" (PDF). Imperial Japanese Navy - Tokusetsukansen (in Japanese).
  2. Toda, Gengoro S. "Tokusetsu Gunkan (Converted Gunboats - Stats)" (PDF). Imperial Japanese Navy - Tokusetsukansen (in Japanese).
  3. Womack, Tom (1 December 2015). The Allied Defense of the Malay Barrier, 1941-1942. McFarland & Company. pp. 276–278. ISBN 9781476662930.
  4. Toda, Gengoro S. "喜多丸の船歴(Kita Maru- Ship History)". Imperial Japanese Navy -Tokusetsu Kansen (in Japanese).
  5. Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander. "History of the IJN's No. 102 Naval Construction and Repair Department at Surabaya, Java (Indonesia)". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  6. Toda, Gengoro S. (21 September 2019). "北海丸の船歴 (Hokkai Maru - Ship History)". Imperial Japanese Navy - Tokusetsukansen (in Japanese).
  7. Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2012). "Zatsuyosen: IJN Hokkai Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  8. Toda, Gengoro S. "南海の船歴 (Gunboat Nankai- Ship History)". Imperial Japanese Navy -Tokusetsu Kansen (in Japanese).

Steamships

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