Japanese transport ship Oigawa Maru

Oigawa Maru (大井川丸) was a 6,494 GRT transport ship of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

History
 Empire of Japan
Name: Oigawa Maru
Owner: Toyo Kaiun K.K.
Builder: Kawaminami Kogyo K.K., Nagasaki
Laid down: c. 1940[1]
Launched: 30 January 1941
Completed: 8 May 1941
In service: 1941
Fate: Requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy as an auxiliary transport ship, 23 September 1941
History
 Imperial Japanese Navy
Name: Oigawa Maru
Operator: Imperial Japanese Navy
Acquired: 2 November 1941
In service: 1941-1943
Identification: No. 408[1]
Fate: Sunk by PT boats off Finschhafen, 3 March 1943
General characteristics [1][2]
Tonnage:
Length: 445 ft 10 in (135.89 m)
Beam: 58 ft 5 in (17.81 m)
Height: 32 ft 2 in (9.80 m)
Propulsion: 3500 shp gas turbine engine
Speed: 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) max
Armament: Anti-aircraft guns

On 10 December 1941, while unloading troops at Pandan, Philippines, she was bombed and damaged and beached to prevent sinking.

She left Rabaul, New Britain on 1 March 1943, as part of Operation 81, carrying a cargo of troops, equipment, fuel, landing craft and ammunition for Lae, New Guinea.[3] The convoy was attacked by aircraft of the United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force from 2 March 1943, known as the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Oigawa Maru was bombed and damaged on 3 March, and was later sunk by motor torpedo boats PT-143 and PT-150 and sank at (06°58′S 148°16′E)

78 crewmen and 1,151 troops of the 51st Division were KIA. [4]

Notes
  1. Hackett, Robert. "OIGAWA MARU: Tabular Record of Movement". CombinedFleet. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  2. "Standard Merchant Type 1A Cargo Ships". CombinedFleet. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  3. McAulay 1991, p. 39
  4. "Oigawa Maru (+1943)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 2016-10-01.

References
  • McAulay, Lex (1991). Battle of the Bismarck Sea. New York: St Martins Press. ISBN 0-312-05820-9. OCLC 23082610.
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