Terukuni Maru class ocean liner
Encyclopedia
The was a class of ocean liner
s of Japan, serving during the 1930s, and after World War II.
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
s of Japan, serving during the 1930s, and after World War II.
Background
- In 1925, Swedish American LineSwedish American LineSwedish American Line was a passenger and cargo shipping line. It was founded in December 1914 under the name Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika, beginning ocean liner service from Gothenburg to New York in 1915...
was constructed the excellent passenger MS KungsholmMS Kungsholm (1928)MS Kungsholm was a passenger liner owned and operated by the Swedish American Line from 1928 to 1941 on transatlantic services from Gothenburg to New York as well as cruising out of New York. It was built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany...
. The was shocked for her. - In 1927-28, the NYK Line placed an order for eight ocean liners to reinforce the JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
–Seattle route (3 × Hikawa Maru classHikawa Maru class ocean linerThe was a class of ocean liners of Japan, serving during 1930s, and after World War II.-Background:* In 1925, Swedish American Line was constructed the excellent passenger MS Kungsholm...
), Japan–San Francisco route (3 × Asama Maru class), and Japan–LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
route (2 × Terukuni Maru class). The Terukuni Maru class were named the and .
Terukuni Maru
- 9 January 1929: Laid Down at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki Shipyard.
- 19 December 1929: Launched.
- 31 May 1930: Completed.
- 30 June 1930: Maiden voyage for YokohamaYokohamais the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
–London. - (after): She sailed 24 times until September 1939.
- 24 September 1939: The 25th sailing to Lomdon.
- 19 November 1939: Arrived off South DownsSouth DownsThe South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
. She anchored here till minesweeping of the River Thames by Royal Navy was over. - 08:30, 21 November 1939: Weigh anchor.
- 12:53: She struck a naval mine at 51°50′N 01°30′E.
- 13:35: Sunk.
Yasukuni Maru
- 22 April 1929: Laid Down at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki Shipyard.
- 15 February 1930: Launched.
- 31 August 1930: Completed.
- 22 September 1930: Maiden voyage for Yokohama–London.
- (after): She sailed many times until October 1939.
- 25 October 1939: Enlisted by the NavyImperial Japanese NavyThe Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
. Classification to the Auxiliary transport. - 11 December 1939: Discharged.
- 29 October 1940: Enlisted by the Navy. 30 October, armament fitted in Kure Naval ArsenalKure Naval Arsenalwas one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. -History:The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the Japanese home islands along with the establishment of the...
. - 16 December 1940: Classification to the Auxiliary submarine tender.
- 11 January 1941: Fitting out was completed, and assigned to the 1st Submarine Division, 6th Fleet.
- 20 December 1941: Assigned to the 3rd Submarine Division, 6th Fleet.
- 1 February 1942: Bombed by Task Force 8 (USS EnterpriseUSS Enterprise (CV-6)USS Enterprise , colloquially referred to as the "Big E," was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the seventh U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Launched in 1936, she was a ship of the Yorktown class, and one of only three American carriers commissioned prior to World War II to...
) at KwajaleinKwajaleinKwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
. - 1 March 1942: Arrived at Kure Naval Arsenal and repairs were started.
- 23 April 1942: Repairs were completed. Sailed to TrukChuukChuuk — formerly Truk, Ruk, Hogoleu, Torres, Ugulat, and Lugulus — is an island group in the south western part of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia , along with Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Chuuk is the most populous of the FSM's...
and Kwajalein. - 15 September 1943: Assigned to the 6th Fleet.
- 31 January 1944: Sunk by USS TriggerUSS Trigger (SS-237)was a Gato-class submarine, the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the triggerfish, any of numerous deep-bodied fishes of warm seas having an anterior dorsal fin with two or three stout erectile spines....
at northwest off Truk 09°15′N 147°13′E. - 10 March 1944: Removed from naval ship lists, and discharged.