Tamahoko Maru

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tamahoko Maru
History
Japan
NameTamahoko Maru
OwnerKaiyo Kisen K. K.
BuilderHarima Dock Company
Launched1919
In service1919-1944
Out of service24 June 1944
FateSunk, 24 June 1944
General characteristics
Type Passenger-cargo ship
Tonnage6,780 tons[1]
Length129.5 m
Beam17.7 m
Draught8.84 m
Speed13.2 knots

SS Tamahoko Maru was a Japanese passenger-cargo ship, used as a hell ship, which was torpedoed by submarine USS Tang on 24 June 1944, carrying 772 Allied POWs of which 560 died.

Service history[]

Tamahoko Maru sailed on 20 June 1944 with 772 POWs (197 British, 42 American, 258 Australian and 281 Dutch) from Takao for Moji in convoy HO-02. There were also some 500 Japanese soldiers on board. On 24 June 1944 at 11:50 pm, in the Koshiki Straits 40 miles SW of Nagasaki, the Tamahoko Maru was torpedoed by USS Tang and sank in less than 2 minutes at 32-24N, 129-38E.[2]

An escort picked up the Japanese survivors and left the POWs in the water, to be picked up the next morning by a small whaling ship, which brought 212 survivors to Nagasaki. They spent the rest of the war in the . The other 560 POWs, 35 crewmen and an unknown number of Japanese soldiers were lost.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ "Tamahoko Maru (+1944)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  2. ^ "IJA Transport TAMAHOKO (ex-YONE) MARU : Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  3. ^ "SS TAMAHOKO MARU". Australian POWS WW2. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2016-10-30.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""