Kizugawa Maru
![]() Bow and deck gun of the Kizugawa Maru, 2018
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History | |
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Name | Kizugawa Maru |
Builder | Kawaminami, Nagasaki[1] |
Launched | May 11, 1941[2] |
Completed | July 1941[1] |
Identification | Official Number 48643[1] |
Fate | Scuttled in Apra Harbor, Guam, June 27, 1944 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | WWII Standard D-class ship (jpn.) class[3] |
Tonnage | 1,915 GRT[1] |
Length | 82.8 metres (272 ft)[3] |
Beam | 12.2 metres (40 ft)[3] |
Draft | 6.2 metres (20 ft)[3] |
Propulsion | steam, 1 x 3-cyl. triple expansion engine, single shaft, 1 screw[3] |
Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h)[3] |
Armament | 1 x 8cm/40 deck gun, 1 x single 25mm Type 96 gun, 2 x single 13mm Type 93 MGs, 1 x 7,7mm MG, 5 rifles, 2 depth charges, 1 hydrophone[3] |
Wreck of Kizugawa Maru | |
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Location | Piti, Guam, USA |
Waterbody | Apra Harbor |
Nearest land | Cabras Island |
Dive type | Deep, Wreck |
Depth range | 65 to 140 ft (20 to 43 m) |
Average visibility | 10 to 20 m (33 to 66 ft) |
Entry type | Boat |
Bottom composition | Metal, silt |
Water | Salt |
Kizugawa Maru (Japanese: 木津川丸, きづがわまる), or Kitsugawa Maruα, is a World War II-era Japanese water tanker sunk in Apra Harbor, Guam. Damaged by a submarine torpedo attack off Guam on April 8, 1944, she was towed into port for repairs. In port, she was further damaged in three separate U.S. air attacks during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign. Deemed irreparable, Kizugawa Maru was scuttled by shore guns on June 27, 1944. The shipwreck is now a deep recreational diving site.
History[]
On April 8, 1944, she was part of a supply convoy from Saipan to the garrison at Woleai,[4] when she was damaged in the port engine room[5] by a torpedo attack by USS Seahorse about 47 kilometres (29 mi) off the eastern coast of Guam at 13°16′N 145°11′E / 13.267°N 145.183°E. She was then towed to Apra Harbor for repairs by the destroyer Minazuki .[2] Thirty-seven of her sailors were killed in the attack.[5] In the same attack, Seahorse fatally damaged the munitions transport Aratama Maru, which grounded itself in Talofofo Bay.[6] At the time, Guam was occupied by the Japanese after being captured from the U.S. in 1941.
During the U.S. Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, Kizugawa Maru was further damaged during an air raid on 11 April, and again on 11 and 27 June. Declared beyond repair after the raid on the 27 June, she was scuttled by shore gunfire.[4][2] Due to her engine room flooding quickly, she sank straight down and sits upright in northern Apra Harbor.[7][8][9] About 80% intact, the wreck has a 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun[2] on her bow with three or four boxes of ammunition.[10] In 2007, researchers noted a large concrete block had crashed through the bow deck structure, apparently due to an mooring accident.[11]
Dive site[]
Kizugawa Maru is a deep recreational diving site, sometimes referred to as the Kitz. She is lauded as an "excellent wreck dive"[9] and a rival to "any that can be found on Truk."[8] The top of Kizugawa Maru's mast is at 60 feet (18 m), while the bow gun sits at 100 feet (30 m). Damage from six bombs is at 130 feet (40 m), with the silt bottom of the harbor at 140 feet (43 m). Due to the depth, recreational divers use Nitrox or are severely limited on the time available at the gun or deck in order to avoid incurring a decompression obligation.[10] Trained wreck divers considering penetration are further cautioned about plentiful silt, as well as twisted metal around the engine room and holds.[8]
U.S. Navy divers measuring the deck gun in 1987 as part of Project Sea Mark for Navy historic sites
Navy diver and survey line at the stack in 1987
The mast of Kizugawa Maru from the deck
Ship ladder in 2018
The 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun on her bow
References[]
- ^α Commonly referred to in diving-related sources as "Kitsugawa Maru." Appears to be a result of a misreading of づ (-zu) for つ (-tsu). Presumed to be named after the river.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Kitsugawa Maru (4048643)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d 木津川丸の船歴 [Ship history of Kizugawa Maru]. Tokusetsukansen (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Kizugawa Maru Cargo Ship 1940-1944". Wrecksite. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Kizugawa Maru". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "グアムの沈船!!木津川丸". GO DIVE GUAM (in Japanese). October 5, 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ "Seahorse (SS-304) of the US Navy". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Kitsugawa Maru". Guam Dive Guide. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Kitsugawa Maru". Asia Dive Site. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Diving in War in the Pacific National Historical Park". National Park Service. October 30, 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Kitsugawa Maru". Pacific Wrecks. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ Jeffery, Bill; Palmer, Kalle Applegate (2017). "The Need for a Multivocal Approach to Researching and Managing Guam's World War II Underwater Cultural Heritage" (PDF). International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 46 (1): 164–178. doi:10.1111/1095-9270.12206.
See also[]
Media related to Kizugawa Maru at Wikimedia Commons
- Underwater diving on Guam
- 1941 ships
- Ships built in Japan
- Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy
- Maritime incidents in June 1944
- Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places
- Wreck diving sites
- Apra Harbor
- Underwater diving sites in Guam