| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Suzuya Maru |
| Namesake | Suzuya River |
| Builder | Mitsui Tamano Engineering & Shipbuilding, Tamano |
| Yard number | 77 |
| Laid down | 30 May 1922 |
| Launched | 2 September 1922 |
| Sponsored by | Kita Nippon Kisen K.K. |
| Completed | 30 September 1922 |
| Acquired | Requisitioned by Imperial Japanese Navy, 1925 |
| Homeport | Otaru |
| Identification | 22520 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk by USS Guardfish off New Ireland, 13 June 1943 |
| Notes |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger/cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 864 GRT |
| Length | 56.39 m (185 ft 0 in) o/a |
| Beam | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 5.94 m (19 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power | 600 bhp |
| Propulsion | 1 triple expansion engine, single shaft, 1 screw |
| Speed | 11 knots |
Suzuya Maru (Japanese: 鈴谷丸) was an auxiliary transport and hell ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
History
She was laid down on 30 May 1922 by Mitsui Tamano Engineering & Shipbuilding at their Tamano shipyard at the behest of Kita Nippon Kisen K.K./Kitanihon Kisen. She was launched on 2 September 1922, completed on 30 September 1922, and registered in Otaru as Hokkai Maru No. 1 but had her name changed in 1924 to Suzuya Maru (after the Suzuya River in Karafuto Prefecture on Sakhalin Island, then part of Japan). Her sister ship was Hokkai Maru No. 2 (renamed Hayataka Maru). In 1925, she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Little is known of her service and she seemed to have lost her original name generally being referred to as No. 107 or Otaru Maru, Otari Maru, or Otaro Maru. On 15 August 1942, she took 179 prisoners of wars (POWs) at the port of Takao who had arrived aboard Nagara Maru. The POWs were all American senior civilian and military authorities of the Philippines and included Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright, Commander of Allied forces in the Philippines, and Major General Edward P. King who lead the defense of the Bataan Peninsula in the Battle of Bataan. She delivered the prisoners to the Karenko POW camp on the west coast of Formosa.
On 13 June 1943, Suzuya Maru was torpedoed and sunk by the US submarine USS Guardfish off the southwest coast of New Ireland (03°08′S 151°24′E / 3.133°S 151.400°E / -3.133; 151.400).
References
- ^ Nagasawa, Fumio (1998). "第一北海丸 HOKKAI MARU No.1 (1922)". Nostalgic Japanese Steamships (in Japanese).
- ^ Lettens, Jan (8 June 2011). "Suzuya Maru (+1943)". wrecksite.eu.
- ^ Erickson, James W. (2009). "Suzuya Maru 鈴谷丸". POWs of the Japanese. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021.
- Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2012). "Zatsuyosen: IJN Nagara Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- Beekhuis, Henk (4 February 2018). "Otaro Maru". Japanse krijgsgevangenkampen (in Dutch).
- Rohwer, Jürgen; Gerhard Hümmelchen. "Seekrieg 1943, June". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German).
- "Guardfish (SS-217)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
| Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1943 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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1942  1943  1944 May 1943 July 1943 | |