MV Awa Maru

This article is about the motor vessel launched in 1942. For the steamship launched in 1899, see Awa Maru (1899).
Awa Maru
History
Civil naval ensign ([Hinmaru])Japan
NameAwa Maru
Operator Nippon Yusen (NYK)
BuilderMitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Nagasaki, Japan
Yard number770
Laid down10 July 1941[1]
Launched24 August 1942[1]
Completed5 March 1943[1]
In service1943
Out of service1 April 1945
FateTorpedoed and sunk by USS Queenfish
General characteristics
Tonnage11,249 gross register tons (GRT)
Length153 m (502 ft)
Beam20 m (66 ft)
Propulsion2 diesels, twin screws
Speed17 knots (31 km/h)
NotesSteel construction

The Awa Maru (阿波丸) was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1941–1943 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan. The vessel was designed for passenger service, but the onset of war by the time work was completed changed requirements, and she was requisitioned by the Japanese Navy. While sailing as a relief ship[2] under Red Cross auspices in 1945, she was torpedoed by USS Queenfish (SS-393), resulting in the death of all but one of the 2,004 people aboard.[3]

The ship's name came in part from the ancient province of Awa at the east end of Shikoku, in what is now Tokushima Prefecture.[4] This mid-century Awa Maru was the second NYK vessel to bear this name. A 6,309-ton Awa Maru was completed in 1899 and taken out of service in 1930.[5]

  1. ^ a b c Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander; Cundall, Peter. "AWA MARU: Tabular Record of Movement". Combined Fleet. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Harper2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ National Security Agency 1981, p. 4
  4. ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1935). The Nomenclature of the N.Y.K. Fleet, pp. 8, 80.
  5. ^ Haworth, R.B. Miramar Ship Index: ID #4004181