Sagara Maru

The Sagara Maru was a Japanese Sakito Maru class cargo liner converted to seaplane tender that served during World War II. It was hit by torpedoes from two different submarines before being finally sunk and abandoned.

Sagara Maru

History
Japan
Builder:	Mitsubishi Shipbuilding
Launched:	23 March 1939
Fate:	Torpedoed and beached 23 July 1943
General characteristics (as seaplane tender)
Class and type:	Sakito Maru
Displacement:	7,189 tons
Length:	479 ft 9 in
Beam:	62 ft 4 in
Draught:	32 ft 3 in
Propulsion:	2 8-cyl 2-stroke Mitsubishi-Sulzer Diesel engines; 2 shafts, 16000 bhp
Speed:	18 knots
Armament:	2 × 5.5-inch/14cm guns 2 × 13.2mm machine guns
Aircraft carried:	×6 Mitsubishi F1M ×2 Nakajima E8N
Aviation facilities:	2 catapults

Sagara Maru was built in 1939 at the Mitsubishi Yokohoma shipyard for the Nippon Yusen company, being completed in 1940.

Shortly before Japan's entry into the war, she was acquired by the Imperial Japanese Navy and converted to an auxiliary seaplane tender.[1] After hostilities commenced she was involved in the escort forces for landings at Sabang, Rangoon[2] and the Andaman Islands, and after that spent the majority of her time patrolling and escorting convoys between Penang and Singapore.[3] In December 1942 she was re-classified as a transport/replenishment ship.[4]

On 23 June 1943 off the coast of Omaezaki, Japan she was spotted by USS Harder,[5] who despite being spotted and fired upon managed to fire four torpedoes one of which hit the bow of Sagara Maru. The destroyer Sawakaze took her in tow but to avoid sinking she was beached. Ten days later, on 4 July, before she can be re-floated, USS Pompano spotted her on radar and managed to gain two torpedo hits. She was subsequently abandoned a few days later.[3][6]