The ''Sagara Maru'' was a Japanese Sakito Maru class

cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...

converted to seaplane tender that served 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was hit by torpedoes from two different submarines before being finally sunk and abandoned. ''Sagara Maru'' was built in 1939 at the

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 187 ...

Yokohoma shipyard for the

Nippon Yusen Nippon Yūsen Kabushiki Kaisha (Japan Mail Shipping Line), also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company and is a member of the Mitsubishi ''keiretsu''. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a fle ...

company, being completed in 1940. She was the fifth of seven ships of the ''Sakito Maru''-class of high speed transports: ''

Sakito Maru ''Sakito Maru'' ( ja, 崎戸丸) was a 7,126-ton Japanese troop transport that operated during World War II. She was sunk on 1 March 1944 with great loss of life. Construction ''Sakito Maru'' was built in 1939 by the Mitsubishi Zosen Kaisha in ...

'' (崎戸丸), ''Sanuki Maru'' (讃岐丸), Sado Maru'' (佐渡丸), ''Sagami Maru'' (相模丸), ''Sagara Maru'' (相良丸), ''Sasako Maru'' (笹子丸), and ''Sakura Maru'' (佐倉丸). Shortly before Japan's entry into the war, she was acquired 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, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

and converted to an auxiliary seaplane tender. After hostilities commenced she was involved in the escort forces for landings at Sabang,

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military governme ...

and the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

, and after that spent the majority of her time patrolling and escorting convoys between

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. In December 1942 she was re-classified as a transport/replenishment ship. On 23 June 1943 off the coast of

Omaezaki 270px, Omaezaki City Hall is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Omaezaki is located at the tip of Omaezaki Peninsula on Japan's Pacific coast. , the city had an estimated population of 32,422 in 12,095 households and a population ...

, Japan she was spotted by ''

USS Harder Two ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS ''Harder'', named in honor of the harder, a fish of the mullet family found off South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost cou ...

'', who despite being spotted and fired upon managed to fire four torpedoes one of which hit the bow of ''Sagara Maru''. The destroyer 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 USS ''Pompano'' has been the name of more than one United States Navy ship, and may refer to: * , a supply boat in commission from 1917 to 1919 * , a submarine commissioned in 1937 and lost in 1943 * , a submarine canceled in 1945 See also *, a ...

'' spotted her on radar and managed to gain two torpedo hits. She was subsequently abandoned a few days later.

References

1939 ships Ships sunk by American submarines {{Japan-mil-ship-stub