The was a 5,974 gross ton passenger ship that was built by Kawasaki Dockyard Company, Kobe, for Tōyō Kisen Kabushiki Kaisha, launched in 1931. She was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Army

Imperial Japanese Army

-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

 and fitted out as a fast troop transport.

She was part of the invasion fleet that landed troops during the invasion of Ambon

Battle of Ambon

The Battle of Ambon occurred on the island of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies , on 30 January – 3 February 1942, during World War II. A Japanese invasion was resisted by Dutch and Australian forces...

 on 30 January 1942, and part of the invasion fleet at Buna and Gona

Invasion of Buna-Gona

The Invasion of Buna-Gona, called Operation RI by the Japanese, was an operation by Imperial Japanese forces to occupy the Buna-Gona area in the Territory of New Guinea between 21–24 July 1942 during the Pacific campaign of the Second World War...

.

On 4 March 1944, she was damaged when struck by a large wave and driven aground off Matsuwa Jima, in the Kuril Islands

Kuril Islands

The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...

. Ryoyo Maru was anchored in a harbour along the Kuril Islands, when she was struck by a torpedo from on 2 May. She settled in 24 feet (7.3 m) of water, decks awash at 48-04N, 153-16E.

External links

• Chronological List of Japanese Merchant Vessel Losses