Tsushima Maru
Encyclopedia
Tsushima Maru (対馬丸) was a Japan
ese unmarked passenger/cargo ship that was sunk while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren by the submarine USS Bowfin
during World War II
. The ship was on her way from Okinawa to Kagoshima. On August 22, 1944, at between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. local time, Bowfin attacked the convoy in which the Tsushima Maru was sailing and sank her close by the island of Akusekijima
. 1,484 civilians, including 767 schoolchildren, were killed. 59 children survived the sinking.
The ship was part of Convoy Namo 103, which consisted of the following ships:
The crew of the USS Bowfin would not discover until 20 years later that the unmarked, unlit passenger-cargo vessel was transporting children.
Its wreck
was located and identified in December 1997.
Japan
Japan 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...
ese unmarked passenger/cargo ship that was sunk while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren by the submarine USS Bowfin
USS Bowfin (SS-287)
USS Bowfin , Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the bowfin, a voracious, predatory fish native to the Great Lakes, the Mississippi valley, and nearby waters...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The ship was on her way from Okinawa to Kagoshima. On August 22, 1944, at between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. local time, Bowfin attacked the convoy in which the Tsushima Maru was sailing and sank her close by the island of Akusekijima
Akusekijima
is a volcanic island located in the Tokara Islands in part of the Nansei Islands, Japan. Most of the island is surrounded by steep cliffs. Access to the island is limited to the "Ferry Toshima", which only runs twice a week and takes 11 hours from Kagoshima....
. 1,484 civilians, including 767 schoolchildren, were killed. 59 children survived the sinking.
The ship was part of Convoy Namo 103, which consisted of the following ships:
- Tsushima Maru (passenger / cargo vessel)
- Kazuura Maru (listed as Waura Maru in some sources, assumed to be a cargo vessel)
- Gyōkū MaruSS Gyōkū Maruwas a cargo ship that was built in 1941 as Empire Dragon by Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co Ltd, Hong Kong for the Ministry of War Transport...
(cargo vessel) - Destroyer Hasu (Momi classMomi class destroyerThe Momi class destroyers was a class of twenty one 2nd class destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. All were named for plants. Obsolete by the beginning of the Pacific War, the Momi were relegated to mostly secondary roles, with some vessels serving throughout the war as patrol vessels...
) - Gunboat UjiJapanese gunboat Uji (1940)was the second and final vessel in the gunboats in the Imperial Japanese Navy, that operated in China during the 1940s.-History:Uji was authorized under the Maru-3 Naval Expansion Budget of 1937...
The crew of the USS Bowfin would not discover until 20 years later that the unmarked, unlit passenger-cargo vessel was transporting children.
Its wreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
was located and identified in December 1997.