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{{Short description|Second world war Japanese warship}}
{{nihongo|'''''Gokoku Maru'''''|護國丸}} was an [[armed merchant cruiser]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] in [[World War II]], the last ship of the [[Hōkoku Maru-class ocean liner|''Hōkoku Maru'' class]] [[ocean liner]]s. The ship entered service in 1942 and was employed mainly as a [[Troopship|troop transport]].  She came under attack several times during her service career, and was sunk in a submarine attack in November 1944.

==Design==
''Gokoku Maru'' was laid down at the [[Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding|Tama shipyard]] in [[Okayama Prefecture]] prior to the outbreak of [[World War II]]. She was designed as a [[cargo liner]] for the [[Mitsui O.S.K. Lines|Osaka Shosen Lines]]'s regularly scheduled services between Japan and Africa. 
She was launched in April 1942 and completed in September of that year. During the building process, she was requisitioned by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] (in July 1942) and converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser. She was also outfitted as a submarine tender, but was employed mainly as a transport.<ref name=TROM>[http://www.combinedfleet.com/Gokoku_t.htm Gokoku Maru Tabular Record of Movement] B Hackett, S Kingsepp 1998-2014; retrieved 18 December 2018</ref>

==Service history==
After commissioning in September 1942, ''Gokoku Maru'' was assigned to a [[Singapore]] naval base. 
In December 1942 as part of Operation Hei-Go, she transported troops and supplies to [[Madang]], [[New Guinea]]. During this period, she was attacked by U.S. submarine {{USS|Albacore|SS-218|2}}. It hit her escort, the cruiser [[Japanese cruiser Tenryū|''Tenryu'']], and ''Gokoku Maru'' herself was bombed by a U.S. aircraft.
In January 1943, en route to [[Palau]], she was hit by a torpedo from the submarine {{USS|Searaven|SS-196|2}}, but it turned out to be a dud.
In February, as part of Operation Hinoe-Go 3, she was fired on by U.S. submarine {{USS|Runner|SS-275|2}}, but suffered no hits.
In July, she was involved in a collision and was forced to return to Japan for repairs.

In October, ''Gokoku Maru'' was part of operation Tei-Go 4, taking reinforcements from China to the Pacific theater. The convoy came under attack by a pack of three submarines led by [[Charles Momsen|Charles "Swede" Momsen]] in {{USS|Cero|SS-225|2}}; ''Gokoku Maru'' was fired on by {{USS|Shad|SS-235|2}}, but suffered no damage. The following month she was bombed by U.S. aircraft near [[Rabaul]], but again escaped injury.
In November, she  returned to Japan for a refit, but was again attacked, this time by {{USS|Gurnard|SS-254|2}}, and suffered two torpedo hits. ''Gokoku Maru'' survived, but spent the next six months under repair at [[Yokohama]]. 

In June 1944, she returned to service with convoy Hi-67. This convoy was attacked by U.S. submarine {{USS|Bang|SS-385|2}}, with two ships damaged, but ''Gokoku Maru'' escaped harm. 
In July, near [[Davao (province)|Davao]], she was torpedoed by {{USS|Dace|SS-247|2}}, scoring two hits, but both failed to explode.
In August, she was part of convoy Hi-72 to [[Manila]], returning in September. During this voyage, she was bombed and suffered one hit.<ref name=TROM/>

==Fate==
After temporary repairs, ''Gokoku Maru'' continued to operate, but in November, while en route to [[Sasebo, Nagasaki|Sasebo]] for repair, she was found by U.S. submarine {{USS|Barb|SS-220|2}}.
She was hit by two torpedoes and badly damaged. When she tried to escape, ''Gokoku Maru'' was hit again, and this time the damage was fatal; she sank on 10 November 1944 off [[Koshikijima Islands|Koshiki Jima]], [[Kyushu]], [[Japan]] with the loss of 326 crew and passengers.<ref name=TROM/><ref>{{cite web|title=USS BARB SS 220|url=http://pigboats.com/ww2/barb.html|website=Pigboats.com|access-date=9 January 2016|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231506/http://pigboats.com/ww2/barb.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=LaVO|first1=Carl P.|title=The Galloping Ghost: The Extraordinary Life of Submarine Legend Eugene Fluckey|date=2011|publisher=Naval Institute Press|page=91|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jRVFAAAAQBAJ&dq=Gokoku+Maru&pg=PT65|access-date=9 January 2016 |isbn=978-1612510460}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.combinedfleet.com/Gokoku_t.htm Gokoku Maru Tabular Record of Movement]

{{November 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Gokoku Maru''}}

{{coord missing|Pacific Ocean}}

[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by American submarines]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in November 1944]]
[[Category:Ships built by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]