SS China Maru (1920)

History
Japan
Name	China Maru
Owner	Kawasaki Kisen Kabushiki Kaisha (1920–1941) Imperial Japanese Navy (1941–1944)
Builder	Kawasaki Dockyard Company, Kobe
Launched	1920
Fate	Sunk by US aircraft on 21 September 1944
Status	Shipwreck
General characteristics
Displacement	5,870 GRT
Length	385 feet (117 m)
Beam	51 feet (16 m)
Draught	36 feet (11 m)
Propulsion	Triple expansion engines (437 NHP)
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)

The China Maru was a 5,870-gross register ton cargo ship built by Kawasaki Dockyard Company, Kobe, for Kawasaki Kisen Kabushiki Kaisha in 1920. The cargo ship ran aground off Balum Island, Feni Islands, Papua New Guinea, on 26 June 1939, while steaming to Sydney from Yokohama, and was later refloated. She was requisitioned in 1941 by the Imperial Japanese Navy for use during World War II. On 10 March 1942, during the invasion of Lae-Salamaua, China Maru was damaged by SBD aircraft from the United States Navy aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Yorktown off Lae, New Guinea.

Fate

On 21 September 1944, while anchored off Manila, Philippines, China Maru was hit by bombs from US Navy Task Force 38.1, 38.2, and 38.3 aircraft, and sunk at 14°35′N 120°55′E.

See also

Foreign commerce and shipping of Empire of Japan

External links

• Chronological List of Japanese Merchant Vessel Losses