The was a Japan

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 ocean liner

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...

 owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha

Nippon Yusen

Japan-based or NYK Line, is one of the largest shipping companies in the world. It is a core Mitsubishi company. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo.-1870-1900:...

. The ship was built in 1938-1940 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...

 at Nagasaki, Japan

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...

. The vessel's pre-war design anticipated passenger service; but when work was completed, the onset of war had created somewhat different priorities.

The vessel was created as a sister ship of the Kasuga Maru

Kasuga Maru

The was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1938-1940 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan...

, and the Nitta Maru

Nitta Maru

The was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1938-1940 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan...

. None of the three survived the Second World War. Each in succession was re-fitted as a troopship; and each was later converted to an aircraft carrier. In 1941, Kasuga Maru was re-commissioned as the Japanese aircraft carrier Taiyō

Japanese aircraft carrier Taiyo

Taiyō was the lead ship of Taiyō-class of escort carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II.-Construction and Conversion:...

 and in late 1942, the Nitta Maru was recommissioned as the Japanese aircraft carrier Chūyō

Japanese aircraft carrier Chuyo

Chūyō was a Taiyō-class escort carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II.-Construction and Conversion:The was an ocean liner of the Nippon Yusen shipping line, laid down in the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki in May 1938, launched in May 1939 and commissioned on 23 March 1940...

.

Somewhat earlier in 1942, the Yawata Maru was recommissioned as the Japanese aircraft carrier Unyō

Japanese aircraft carrier Unyo

Unyō was a Taiyō-class escort carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II.-Construction and conversion:The liner of the shipping line Nippon Yusen, laid down in the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki in December 1938, launched in October 1939 and commissioned in July 1940, was...

.

When first launched, this ship was named after an important Shinto shrine.

History

The ship was built by Mitsubishi at Nagasaki on the southern island of Kyushu. The Yawata Maru was launched on October 31, 1939. She left port on July 31, 1940 on her maiden voyage.

The 17,163-ton vessel had a length of 559.3 feet (170 m), and her beam was 74 feet (22.5 m). The ship had an average speed of 18.5 knots (36.3 km/h).

Pacific War

After two years of service as a passenger liner, Yawata Maru was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The 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...

. Initially, the ship was assigned for transporting prisoners of war

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

, then refitted as an aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

 renamed Unyo

Japanese aircraft carrier Unyo

Unyō was a Taiyō-class escort carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II.-Construction and conversion:The liner of the shipping line Nippon Yusen, laid down in the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki in December 1938, launched in October 1939 and commissioned in July 1940, was...

. The warship was sunk by the submarine USS Barb

USS Barb (SS-220)

, a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the barbus.Her keel was laid down on 7 June 1941 by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 2 April 1942 , and commissioned on 8 July 1942, Lieutenant Commander John R...

on September 17, 1944, at position 220 nautical miles (407.4 km) southeast of Hong Kong, 19°08'N, 116°36'E .