''Korei Maru'' (''Japanese:'' 興嶺丸) was a Japanese cargo ship that was requisitioned 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 ...

and converted into an auxiliary netlayer.

History

She was laid down in 19 March 1939 at the

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

shipyard of Sanoyasu Senkyo K.K. for the benefit of Sanko Kisen K.K. She was launched on 20 May 1939, completed on 17 July 1939, and registered in

Amagasaki 270px, Amagasaki Castle 270px, Aerial view of Amagasaki city center 270px, Amagasaki Station is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 455,555 in 223,812 households, and a population de ...

. She worked as a cargo ship until 16 December 1941, when she was requisitioned by the

. She was designated as an auxiliary net-layer and her conversion was completed on 14 January 1942 at the

Maizuru Naval District was one of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the entire Sea of Japan coastline from northern Kyūshū to western Hokkaidō. History The strategic importance of the location of Maizur ...

. She was assigned to the 53rd Subchaser Division (along with subchasers ''Kyo Maru No. 2'' and ''Kyo Maru No. 11''), Third Fleet. The division was attached to the Second Base Force based at Takao,

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 ...

. Her commanding officer was Reserve Lieutenant Hirano Susumu (平野進).

Invasion of Batan Island

She was assigned to the Batan Island occupation force which began simultaneously with the

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the tim ...

tasked with establishing an air base to support future operations against American forces on

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

during the invasion of the Philippines. On 7 December 1941, the 53rd Subchaser division along with the 52nd Subchaser Division ( ''Shonan Maru No. 17'', ''Takunan Maru No. 5'', '' Fukuei Maru No. 15'') and the 54th Subchaser Division ('' Nagara Maru'', ''Shonan Maru No. 1'', ''Shonan Maru No. 2'') left Takao with

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

transport ''Teiun Maru'' carrying part of the 24th Airfield Battalion. On 8 December 1941, she met with remainder of the occupation force off the coast of Batan Island consisting of transport ''Kumagawa Maru'', destroyer , four ''Chidori''-class torpedo boats (''Chidori'', ''Manazuru'', ''Tomozuru'', ''Hatsukari''), two ''W-13''-class minesweepers (''W-13'', ''W-14''), two patrol boats ( ''Patrol Boat No. 1'', ''Patrol Boat No. 2''), two ''Tsubame''-class minelayers (''Kamome'', ''Tsubame''), three converted gunboats ('' Aso Maru'', ''Koso Maru'', ''Nampo Maru''), and seaplane tender, '' Sanuki Maru'' escorted by destroyer '' Tachikaze''.

Sinking

On 12 September 1944, she was sunk by aircraft from US Navy

Task Force 38 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...

off

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

at (). On 10 November 1944, she was struck from the Navy List.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korei Maru 1939 ships Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Net laying ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Ships sunk by US aircraft