Japanese landing ship Mayasan Maru
| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan
|
|
| Name: | Mayasan Maru |
| Builder: | Mitsui Shipbuilding, Tamano, Japan |
| Laid down: | 27 August 1941 |
| Launched: | 29 June 1942 |
| Completed: | 14 December 1942 |
| Commissioned: | December 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk, 17 November 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Landing Craft Depot Ship |
| Displacement: | 11,910 long tons (12,101 t) standard |
| Length: | 459 ft 1 in (139.93 m) |
| Beam: | 62 ft 4 in (19.00 m) |
| Depth: | 23 ft 1 in (7.04 m) |
| Propulsion: | 10,800 hp (8,054 kW) diesel engines |
| Speed: | 20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
20 × Daihatsu class landing craft |
| Armament: |
|
| Aviation facilities: | flight deck |
Mayasan Maru was a Japanese landing craft depot ship used extensively to transport Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) troops during 1943 and 1944. After avoiding damage in seven separate submarine attacks in earlier convoys, she was sunk in the East China Sea by the submarine USS Picuda on 17 November 1944 while part of Convoy Hi-81. The sinking caused one of the highest maritime casualty counts of World War II. Some 3,536 lives were lost.
The ship was laid down at the Mitsui shipyard in Tamano on 27 August 1941 as a Type M cargo ship for the Mitsui Line. While still under construction the ship was requisitioned by the Imperial Navy and converted to a Landing Craft Depot Ship. She was fitted with a flight deck above the hull, but no hangar. Launched on 29 June 1942, the ship was completed and commissioned in December 1942.
Her maiden voyage was from Hiroshima to Rabaul and return with convoy B-2 in January 1943. Mayasan Maru made a second voyage with convoy B-2 carrying IJA troops from Pusan to Rabaul in February. She then traveled to Palau in March, Rabaul in April, and Truk in May. She avoided damage while returning to Japan in convoy No. 4508 attacked by USS Plunger from May 9 through 11th, 1943; and completed a round trip from Japan to Singapore in June. She joined convoy 0-603 from Japan to Palau in late August and convoy N-404 from Palau to Rabaul in September. While returning to Palau, she avoided damage when convoy O-602A was attacked by USS Scamp on 18 September 1943. She completed two trips from Palau to Japan in October with convoys FU-202 and FU-302 before joining convoy SA-17 for a trip to Singapore in November. She traveled from Singapore to Pusan in December; and avoided damage when return convoy Hi-27 was attacked by USS Flying Fish in the South China Sea on 26 December 1943.
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Wikipedia