Kamikawa Maru-class seaplane tender
The Kamikawa Maru-class cargo ship (神川丸型貨物船, Kamikawa Maru-gata Kamotsusen) was a type of cargo ship of Japan, serving during the 1930s and World War II. Four of the five ships of the class were converted to seaplane tenders during the war.
![]() Kamikawa Maru | |
Class overview | |
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Name: | Kamikawa Maru-class Cargo ship |
Builders: | Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation |
Operators: | |
Built: | 1936–1940 |
In commission: | 1937–1969 |
Planned: | 5 |
Completed: | 5 |
Lost: | 4 |
Retired: | 1 (Kiyokawa Maru) |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Cargo ship/Seaplane tender |
Displacement: | 6,853 to 6,872 long tons (6,963 to 6,982 t) gross |
Length: |
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Beam: | 19.0 m (62 ft 4 in) |
Draught: | 8.23 m (27 ft 0 in) |
Propulsion: |
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Speed: | |
Capacity: | 650,000 cu ft (18,000 m3) freight as cargo ship |
Crew: | 65 as cargo ship |
Armament: |
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Aircraft carried: |
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Aviation facilities: |
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Background
- In 1930, the Ōsaka Mercantile Steamship Co.Ltd. (O.S.K. Lines) put into service the Kinai Maru-class cargo ship[1] on the Japan-New York route.
- Competing Japanese steamship companies produced and placed their own cargo ships on the North America route.
- In 1936, the Kawasaki Line built four Kamikawa Maru-class ships. They had much higher cruising speeds and capacity than their competitors.
- However, they were commandeered in sequence and did not survive to the end of the war.
Ships in class
Name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kamikawa Maru (神川丸) | Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard | 5 August 1936 | 13 December 1936 | 15 March 1937 | Kawasaki Line |
Kiyokawa Maru (聖川丸) | Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard | 21 October 1936 | 16 February 1937 | 15 May 1937 | Kawasaki Line Kōbe Line (and after 15 August 1963) |
Kimikawa Maru (君川丸) | Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard | 2 November 1936 | 11 March 1937 | 15 July 1937 | Kawasaki Line |
Kunikawa Maru (國川丸) | Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard | 11 March 1937 | 12 June 1937 | 1 November 1937 | Kawasaki Line |
Hirokawa Maru (宏川丸) | Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard | 6 April 1939 | 10 May 1940 | 12 October 1940 | Kawasaki Line |
Service
Date | |
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18 September 1937 | Enlisted by the Navy. On 19 September, classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender. |
1 October 1937 | Assigned to the 3rd Fleet. |
1 December 1937 | Assigned to the 3rd Carrier Division, 3rd Fleet. |
1 February 1938 | 3rd Carrier Division was transferred to the 5th Fleet. |
1 July 1938 | Assigned to the 3rd Fleet. |
15 December 1938 | Classified to Auxiliary aircraft transport. |
15 November 1939 | Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender, assigned to the China Area Fleet. |
1 April 1940 | Assigned to the 2nd China Expeditionary Fleet. |
15 November 1940 | Assigned to the 6th Carrier Division, Combined Fleet. |
10 April 1941 | Assigned to the 12th Carrier Division, 3rd Fleet. |
7 December 1941 | Sortie for the Battle of Malaya. |
10 March 1942 | Assigned to the 4th Fleet. |
18 April 1942 | Sortie for Operation MO. |
20 May 1942 | Assigned to the 11th Carrier Division, Southeast Area Fleet. |
28 May 1942 | Sortie for Operation MI. |
15 June 1942 | Sortie for Operation AL. |
14 July 1942 | 11th Carrier Division was moved to the 2nd Fleet. |
23 August 1942 | Sortie for the Guadalcanal Campaign. |
1 April 1943 | 11th Carrier Division was moved to the Southeast Area Fleet. |
15 April 1943 | 11th Carrier Division was disbanded. |
29 May 1943 | Sunk by USS Scamp at northwest of Kavieng 01°36′S 150°24′E. |
15 July 1943 | Removed from naval ship list and discharged. |
Date | |
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28 September 1941 | Enlisted by the Navy. |
5 October 1941 | Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender. |
10 November 1941 | Assigned to the 4th Fleet. |
6 December 1941 | Sortie for the Battle of Guam. |
23 December 1941 | Sortie for the Battle of Wake Island. |
6 January 1942 | Sortie for the Battle of Rabaul. |
1 December 1942 | Classified to Auxiliary transport, and assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District. |
1 April 1943 | Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender, and assigned to the 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet, Southwest Area Fleet. |
1 July 1943 | Assigned to the Southwest Area Fleet. |
1 October 1943 | Classified to Auxiliary transport. |
1 June 1944 | Assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District. |
14 July 1944 | Entry to the Hi-68 Convoy. |
20 August 1944 | Entry to the TaMo-26 Convoy. |
14 November 1944 | Entry to the Convoy Hi-81. |
8 December 1944 | Entry to the MaMo-25 Convoy. |
29 January 1945 | Entry to the Hi-93 Convoy. |
11 February 1945 | Entry to the Hi-88C Convoy. |
25 February 1945 | Entry to the TaMo-44 Convoy. |
16 March 1945 | Entry to the MoTa-43 Convoy. |
1 April 1945 | Entry to the TaMo-53 Convoy. |
20 July 1945 | Sunk by air raid at Kaminoseki. |
30 November 1945 | Discharged. |
9 December 1947 | Refloated. |
20 October 1949 | Repairs were completed. |
15 August 1963 | Sold to Kōbe Line. |
14 December 1969 | Scrapped. |
Date | |
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6 July 1941 | Enlisted by the Navy. |
25 July 1941 | Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender. |
1 September 1941 | Assigned to the 5th Fleet. |
10 December 1941 | Assigned to the 21st Division, 5th Fleet. |
1 September 1941 | Removed from 21st Division. |
8 June 1942 | Sortie for the Operation AL. |
1 October 1943 | Classified to Auxiliary transport and assigned to the Northeast Area Fleet. |
20 November 1943 | Assigned to the Combined Fleet. |
13 July 1944 | Entry to the Hi-69 Convoy. |
2 October 1944 | Entry to the Hi-76 Convoy. |
21 October 1944 | Entry to the Mata-30 Convoy. |
23 October 1944 | Sunk by submarine USS Sawfish at WNW of Cape Bojeador 18°58′S 118°40′E. |
10 December 1944 | Removed from naval ship list and discharged. |
Date | |
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31 October 1941 | Enlisted by the Navy. |
10 November 1941 | Classified to Auxiliary transport. |
10 December 1941 | Assigned to the Combined Fleet. |
14 July 1942 | Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender, and assigned to the 4th Fleet. |
24 August 1942 | Sortie for the Solomon Islands campaign. |
1 April 1943 | Assigned to the 11th Carrier Division, Southeast Area Fleet. |
15 April 1943 | Removed from 11th Carrier Division. |
3 May 1943 | Entry to the No. 2023 Convoy. |
8 May 1943 | Entry to the No. 4508 Convoy. |
1 June 1943 | Entry to the No. 3601A Convoy. |
5 August 1943 | Entry to the No. 4805 Convoy. |
15 September 1943 | Entry to the No. 3914 Convoy. |
28 September 1943 | Entry to the No. 1292 Convoy. |
1 October 1943 | Classified to Auxiliary transport, and assigned to the Kure Naval District. |
16 October 1943 | Entry to the O-602B Convoy. |
1 November 1943 | Entry to the No. 7101 Convoy. |
21 December 1943 | Entry to the Hi-27 Convoy. |
20 March 1944 | Entry to the H-22 Convoy. |
29 March 1944 | Struck a naval mine at Balikpapan. |
8 May 1944 | Temporary repairs were completed, however struck a naval mine once again. Later sank in shallow water. |
26 September 1944 | Refloated and temporary repairs were completed. |
21 May 1945 | Sunk by air raid. |
30 November 1945 | Discharged. |
3 May 1947 | Removed from naval ship list. |
Date | |
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8 February 1941 | Enlisted by the Army. Classified to Nucleus Anti-Aircraft vessel. |
8 December 1941 | Sortie for the Battle of Malaya. She landing the Andō Detachment, 5th Infantry Division at Pattani. |
20 February 1942 | Sortie for the Dutch East Indies campaign. Landing the 16th Army at Palembang. |
23 March 1942 | Sortie for the Invasion of the Andaman Islands. Landed the one battalion of the 18th Division at Ross Island. |
14 October 1942 | Sortie for the Guadalcanal Campaign. |
15 October 1942 | She landing the one battalion of the 38th Division at Guadalcanal. Damaged by U.S. aircraft and artillery, sunk by destroyer USS Meade at Tassafaronga Point. |
Photos
- Kawasaki Line Kiyokawa Maru
- Kawasaki Line Kimikawa Maru
- Kawasaki Line Kunikawa Maru
- Kawasaki Line Hirokawa Maru
- IJN Kamikawa Maru circa 1939 at Xiamen
- IJN Kamikawa Maru in June 1942 at Kiska
- IJN Kimikawa Maru in Autumn 1942 at Ōminato Naval Base
- IJN Kimikawa Maru in April 1943 at Ōminato Naval Base
- IJN Kamikawa Maru-class in 1943
- IJN Kimikawa Maru in Summer 1943
- IJN Kiyokawa Maru (above) on 10 March 1942
Footnotes
- 8300 tons, 18.5 kt. Kinai Maru (畿内丸), Hokuriku Maru (北陸丸), Tōkai Maru (東海丸), San'yō Maru (山陽丸), Nankai Maru (南海丸), Hokkai Maru (北海丸), Kantō Maru (関東丸), and Kansai Maru (関西丸).
Bibliography
- Tashirō Iwashige, The visual guide of Japanese wartime merchant marine, "Dainippon Kaiga". Archived from the original on 2002-12-07. (Japan), May 2009
- Shinshichirō Komamiya, The Wartime Convoy Histories, "Shuppan Kyōdōsha". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-09-11. (Japan), October 1987
- Monthly Ships of the World, "Kaijinsha". (Japan)
- No. 481, Special issue Vol. 40, History of Japanese aircraft carriers, May 1994
- No. 525, June 1997
- No. 600, September 2002
- Science of the Ships No. 403, Ministry of Transport, May 1982
- The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No. 25, Japanese seaplane tenders w/ auxiliary seaplane tenders, "Ushio Shobō". (Japan), March 1979
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