RIKUGUN YUSOSEN

(ANYO MARU, prewar)

ANYO MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement

© 2013-2016 Bob Hackett

9 September 1911:
Nagasaki. Laid down at Mitsubishi Zosensho as Yard No. 229, a 9, 534 ton passenger-cargo ship for Toyo Kisen Kaisha, K. K. (TKK) (Oriental Steamship Co.) Yokohama.

26 January 1913:
Launched and named ANYO MARU.

6 June 1913:
Completed. She can accommodate 40 first class, 50 second class and 546 third class passengers.

1913:
Placed in service on TKK’s South American west coast route.

10 March 1926:
TKK is taken over by Nippon Yusen Kaisha K..K (NYK) Lines. ANYO MARU is transferred to NYK’s routes as the result of the merger.

1 June 1930:
ANYO MARU departs Singapore for South American west coast ports via Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kobe, Osaka, Yokohama and Hilo and Honolulu, Hawaii.

21 July 1936:
ANYO MARU departs Singapore via Hong Kong and Shanghai for Kobe, Osaka and Yokohama.

18 October 1941:
Requisitioned by the Imperial Army (IJA) and converted to a troop transport. Alloted IJA No.974.

18 December 1941: The Invasion of the Northern Philippines:
At 1200, ANYO MARU departs Mako, Pescadores for Lingayen Gulf, Philippines in Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Rear Admiral Nishimura Shoji's (39)(former CO of HARUNA) 2nd Lingayen Invasion Unit with 27 other IJA transports carrying the 7th Tank Regiment and an infantry regiment of the 48th Infantry Division escorted by DesRon 2's light cruiser NAKA, DesDiv 9's ASAGUMO, MINEGUMO, NATSUGUMO, minesweepers W-9, W-10, W-11, W-12, W-17 and W-18 and subchasers CH-4, CH-5, CH-6, CH-10, CH-11, CH-12, CH-16 , CH-17 and CH-18.

The Japanese main invasion at Lingayen Gulf consists of three transport echelons. The first is composed of 27 transports from Takao under Rear Admiral Hara Kensaburo, the second of 28 transports under Rear Admiral Nishimura and the third of 21 transports from Keelung under Rear Admiral Hirose Sueto. This force of 76 transports carries the main part of LtGen Homma Masaharu's 80,000-man 14th Army.

24 December 1941:
ANYO MARU and Rear Admiral Nishimura's 2nd Lingayen Invasion Unit arrive at Caba, Lingayen Gulf between 0110 and 0430. At 0530, LtGen Dobashi's 2nd Lingayen Invasion Unit begins landing troops.

9 February 1942: Operation "L" (L Sakusen) - The Invasions of Muntok, Banka Island and Palembang, Sumatra, Netherlands East Indies (NEI):
ANYO MARU departs Camranh Bay, Indochina in an invasion convoy consisting of transports ALASKA, KINUGAWA MANSEI, OYO, SADO, TACOMA, and TAJIMA MARUs escorted by Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Hashimoto Shintaro’s (41) DesRon 3 light cruiser SENDAI, DesDiv 11's FUBUKI, HATSUYUKI and SHIRAYUKI, DesDiv 20’s AMAGIRI, YUGIRI and ASAGIRI, MinSwpDiv 1’s W-1, W-2,W-3,W-4 and W-5 and SubChasDiv 11’s CH-7 and CH-8. Air cover is provided by floatplane fighters from seaplane tenders SAGARA and KAMIKAWA MARUs.

The convoy carries seven companies of the 229th Regiment of the IJA 38th Division, a mountain gun battery of the 10th Independent Mountain Artillery Battalion, an engineer company of the 38th Engineer Regiment and men of the 38th Medical Unit.

14 February 1942:
The invasion convoy successfully lands its troops on Sumatra.

8 March 1942: Operation "T" (T Sakusen) - The Invasion of Northern Sumatra:
At 1600 (JST), the northern Sumatra invasion convoy departs Singapore consisting of Army transports ANYO, ALASKA, RAKUYO and KINUGAWA MARUs and Navy transports TATSUMIYA and HEITO MARUs transporting the Kobayashi Detachment of the Imperial Guards Division and other elements of the same division. KORYU and KISOGAWA MARUs also steam in this convoy, but are later detached and head separately to Penang.

The convoy is escorted by DesRon 3 light cruiser SENDAI (F), DesDiv 19 ISONAMI, URANAMI and AYANAMI, DesDiv 20 AMAGIRI, ASAGIRI and YUGIRI, MineDiv 1 W1, W3, W4 and W5, SC-Div 11 CH-8 and CH-9, Escort No. 1 Force light cruisers KASHII and YURA, kaibokan SHIMUSHU and MineDiv 41's REISUI and TAKAO MARUs .

Distant cover is provided by Vice Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo’s (37) heavy cruiser CHOKAI (flagship), CruDiv 7’s MOGAMI, MIKUMA, KUMANO and SUZUYA, DesDiv 11 FUBUKI, HATSUYUKI and SHIRAYUKI and DesDiv 12 MURAKUMO and SHIRAKUMO. Light aircraft carrier RYUJO, seaplane tender SAGARA MARU and aircraft from the 40th Naval air Group, Seletar airfield and from the Bihoro Naval Air Group, Penang airfield provide air cover.

11 March 1942:
At 2030 (JST), the six transports of the Northern Sumatra invasion convoy are divided into the Koetaradja Group: ANYO, ATLAS and RAKUYO MARUs and the Sabang/Idi Group: HEITO KINUGAWA and TATSUMIYA MARUs.

12 March 1942:
At 0005 (JST), the two groups enter their assigned landing places. Unopposed landings begin at 0100.

14 April 1942: Transport Operation “U”:
ANYO MARU departs Singapore as part of the 3rd Transport Unit consisting of 32 marus including BRAZIL, BUYO, ENGLAND, GINYO, HAMBURG, HAVRE, HOKUROKU, KUWAYAMA, KOCHI, KENKOKU (3377 grt), MONTREAL, PENANG, SAMARANG, SUEZ, TAIKAI, TAZAN, TEIKAI (ex-German FULDA), YAWATA and YONEYAMA MARUs . The 3rd Transport Unit carries the 56th Mixed Brigade and other units and material.

15 April 1942:
At 0830, ANYO MARU departs Penang and joins the 3rd Convoy of Operation "U" also consisting of BRAZIL, BUYO, ENGLAND, GINYO, HAMBURG, HAVRE, HOKUROKU, KUWAYAMA, KOCHI, KENKOKU (3377 grt), MONTREAL, PENANG, SAMARANG, SUEZ, TAIKAI, TAIZAN, TEIKAI (ex-German FULDA), YAWATA and YONEYAMA MARUs and six unidentified merchant ships escorted by auxiliary gunboat CHOSA MARU and other unidentified escorts.

19 April 1942:
At 0138 arrives at Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar) and unloads. At 1801 departs.

22 April 1942:
At 1130 arrives at Penang.

30 April 1942:
At 0730, departs Penang.

1 May 1942:
At 1459 arrives at Keppel Harbor, Singapore.

2 May 1942:
At 0757, departs Keppel Harbor and at 1236 arrives at Seletar.

30 June 1942:
Re-requisitioned by the IJA as an Army/Civilian (A/C) shared employment ship ("Haitosen"). Alloted IJA No. 5013.

24 January 1943:
ANYO MARU departs Tokyo Bay in convoy No. 7124 also consisting of transports KINKA. KIZUGAWA and YAMAZURU (YAMATSURU) MARUs escorted by torpedo boat MANAZURU.

1 February 1943:
Sold to Nanyo Kaiun K.K., Tokyo,

6 September 1943:
At 0900, ANYO MARU departs Mako in convoy No. 321 also consisting of transports AWA, CEYLON, KOKUEI, SYDNEY and YAMAZURU MARUs and HINO MARU No. 1 and tanker KOSHIN MARU escorted by torpedo boat HAYABUSA.

13 September 1943:
Arrives at Saigon.

11 November 1943:
At 1600, ANYO MARU departs Moji for Takao in convoy No. 113-MA-07 also consisting of ARABIA, CHIYO, DAKAR, HIDA, NACHISAN, NANEI, NITTETSU, RYUYO, TOSEI, TAMAHOKO and SYDNEY MARUs escorted by destroyer KURETAKE.

13 November 1943:
At 0556, LtCdr Robert E. Dornin's (USNA '35) USS TRIGGER (SS-237) torpedoes and sinks NACHISAN MARU at 32-55N, 125-09E. KURETAKE drops five depth charges that damage TRIGGER slightly.

21 November 1943:
At 1140, arrives at Mako, Pescadores.

1 January 1945:
At 0715, ANYO MARU departs Moji for Takao in convoy MOTA-30 also consisting of DAIGA, HIKOSHIMA, HISAGAWA, MEIHO, MANJU, RASHIN, SANYO and TATSUYO MARUs escorted by kaibokan CD-26, CD-36, CD-39 and CD-67. ANJO MARU is carrying 1,084 tons of nitrates as cargo.

8 January 1945:
At 1830, Cdr (later Rear Admiral/MOH) Eugene B. Fluckey's (USNA ’35) USS BARB (SS-220) torpedoes TATSUYO MARU. Loaded with munitions, she explodes and sinks instantly with the loss of all 63 crewmen.

At 2047, LtCdr (later Cdr) Evan T. Shepard’s (USNA ’35) USS PICUDA (SS-382) fires torpedoes and gets three hits in ANYO MARU. She exploes, breaks in two. At 2050, she sinks at 24-34N, 120-37E. Many troops and 138 crewmen are KIA.[1]

Author's Notes:
[1] Several sources give full or partial credit for the sinking to Fluckey's USS BARB.

Thanks go to Erich Muehlthaler of Germany.

Bob Hackett

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