The was a Japanese
cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
owned by
Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1941 by Hakodate Dock at
Hakodate
is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...
on the northern island of Hokkaidō.
History
The ''Yoshida Maru'' was built at Hakodate; and she left port in August 1941 on her maiden voyage.
[Haworth, R.B]
Miramar Ship Index''Yoshida Maru,'' ID#4048724
The 2,921-ton vessel had a length of 310 feet (93 m), and her beam was 45 feet (13.8 m). The single turbine, single screw propulsion produced an average speed of .
World War II
''Yoshida Maru'' was requisitioned as an auxiliary gunboat/minelayer of 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 ...
. She was armed with 3 guns of 12 cm and machineguns.
On 1 October, 1943 she was reregistered as an auxiliary transport.
On 18 January 1944, she was sunk by the submarine ''
USS Flasher'' at 140 miles west-southwest of
Minami-Tori-shima, with the loss of 76 passengers, eight crewmen and 15 gunners.
See also
*
List of Japanese hell ships
*
Foreign commerce and shipping of Empire of Japan
Notes
References
* Blair, Clay. (2001)
''Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan.''Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ;
*
Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1935)
''The Nomenclature of the N.Y.K. Fleet.''Tokyo : Nippon Yusen Kaisha
OCLC 27933596* Tate, E. Mowbray. (1986)
''Transpacific steam: the story of steam navigation from the Pacific Coast of North America to the Far East and the Antipodes, 1867-1941.''New York: Cornwall Books. ;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshida Maru
1941 ships
Ships of the NYK Line
Steamships of Japan
World War II merchant ships of Japan
Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Ships sunk by American submarines
World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
Maritime incidents in January 1944
Japanese hell ships