''Enoura Maru'' was a Japanese cargo ship used by the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a

troop transport Troop transport may be: * Troopship * Military Railway Service (United States) * Military transport aircraft A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military aircraft, military-owned transport aircraft used ...

and

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

(POW) transport ship. Japanese POW transport ships are referred to as

hell ship A hell ship is a ship with extremely inhumane living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. It now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army to transport Allied prisoners of w ...

s, due to the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions and the many deaths that occurred on board. On 9 January 1945, while docked at the port of Takao in

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

and loaded with Allied prisoners of war who had survived the earlier sinking of ''

Ōryoku Maru was a Japanese passenger cargo ship which was commissioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II as a Troopship, troop transport and prisoner of war (POW) transport ship. Japanese POW transport ships are often referred to as hell sh ...

'', it was attacked by Allied aircraft resulting in the deaths of approximately 400 Allied POWs. The ''Enoura Maru'' was permanently disabled by the air raid, but was hit again by

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 ...

planes at Takao on 26 March 1945 and declared sunk. The ship actually survived afloat at the Takao dockside until the end of the war.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enoura Maru Japanese hell ships World War II naval ships of Japan World War II passenger ships of Japan Troop ships of Japan