''Oigawa Maru'' (大井川丸) was a transport ship of the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
during
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 opposing ...
.
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. The convoy was attacked by aircraft of the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
and
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
from 2 March 1943, known as the
Battle of the Bismarck Sea
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2–4 March 1943) took place in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II when aircraft of the U.S. Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy carrying troop ...
. ''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 ()
There were 78 crewmen and 1,151 troops of the
51st Division who were killed in action.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oigawa Maru
1941 ships
Ships built in Japan
Maritime incidents in December 1941
Maritime incidents in March 1943