KYURYOSEN!
(HYUGA MARU, prewar)
IJN HYUGA MARU :
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2020 Gilbert Casse, Berend van der Wal and Peter Cundall
25 September 1940:
Innoshima. Laid down by Osaka Tekkosho K.K. shipyard as a 994-tons deep sea trawler for Nippon Suisan K.K.
11 April 1941:
Launched and named HYUGA MARU. [1]
9 May 1942:
Completed and registered at Tokyo. Her call sign is JAAR.
14 May 1942:
Requisitioned by the IJN.
25 May 1942:
Registered as an auxiliary stores ship, (Ko) category attached to the Kure Naval District under instruction No. 930. To be rated as unit No. 10 from 28 May 1942. [2]
22 June 1942:
At 1500, departs Kure with auxiliary oiler KYOEI MARU and auxiliary stores ship HOKO MARU.
24 June 1942:
Her category is changed to (Otsu). [2]
30 June 1942:
Arrives at Kataoka Bay, Shimushu Island, Kuriles (now Zaliv Kozyrevskogo, Ostrov Shumushu, Kurilskiye Ostrova, Russia).
11 July 1942:
Departs Kataoka Bay and arrives at Paramushiro (now Paramushir, Russia), Kuriles later that day.
25 July 1942:
Departs Paramushiro and arrives at Shimushu later this day.
26 July 1942:
Departs Shimushu.
30 July 1942:
Arrives at Kiska (Narugamijima), Aleoutians.
1 August 1942:
Supplies minelayer UKISHIMA with heavy oil.
2 August 1942:
Supplies minelayer ISHIZAKI with heavy oil, fresh water and groceries.
3 August 1942:
Supplies minelayer UKISHIMA with heavy oil. Later comes alongside damaged transport KANO MARU. The ship had been torpedoed 31 July and entered Kiska Bay on 1 August severely damaged. Begins providing electric power and assists with cargo handling.
5 August 1942:
Ends providing electric power. HYUGA MARU on the starboard side and auxiliary gunboat HINO MARU No. 2 on the portside transfer damaged KANO MARU to anchorage. The damaged ship will later serve as an artificial harbor off the shoreline nearby for Daihatsu and Shohatsu landing craft.
25 August 1942:
Comes alongside KANO MARU to provide electric power. Thereafter departs.
29 August 1942:
Departs Kiska.
1 September 1942:
Arrives at Kataoka Bay.
14 September 1942:
Departs Kataoka Bay.
18 September 1943:
Arrives at Kiska.
21 September 1942:
Scheduled to be detached from the Northern Units and to be attached directly to the Combined Fleet, then to depart Yokosuka with food for Truk under Combined Fleet Wireless instruction No. 320.
22 September 1942:
Under worsening weather conditions and with increasing flooding, HYUGA MARU on starboard and auxiliary gunboat FUKUEI MARU No. 10 on port, both try without success to maintain KANO MARU off the shoreline and provide some buoyancy. Nonetheless, the deteriorating conditions soon forces the two ships to abort. At 0430, strong winds and waves drive KANO MARU to the coast. At 0830, she runs aground near South Head under an 80’ high cliff, about 1.5 mile SW of the harbor. At 0900, all remaining crew including her captain abandons ship. At 1430, an inspection deems KANO MARU beyond repair and she is subsequently abandoned.
23 September 1942:
Departs Kiska.
2 October 1942:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
14 October 1942:
Departs Yokosuka.
E24 October 1942:
Arrives at Truk, Central Carolines.
6 November 1942:
Departs Truk with Army transports ADEN and MATSUE MARUs.
11 November 1942:
Expected to arrive at Rabaul, New Britain.
4 December 1942:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
15 December 1942:
Departs Yokosuka in a south bound convoy also consisting of civilian passenger/cargo ship (C-APK) SHIBAZONO MARU escorted by subchaser CH-32. Later, off Hachijo Jima, CH-32 detaches and returns to Yokosuka.
26 December 1942:
At 1600, arrives at Truk.
2 January 1943:
At 1500, departs Truk via southern channel for Rabaul.
12 January 1943:
At 1700, departs Rabaul.
13 January 1943:
At 0800, arrives at Steffen Straits and then at Kavieng, New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago.
0910 ~ 1140: alongside heavy cruiser KUMANO and provisions her with food.
1155 ~ 1315: alongside heavy cruiser CHOKAI and provisions her with food.
E19 January 1943:
Departs Kavieng.
29 January 1943:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
6 February 1943:
Navy (Resv) Otaka Yoichi is appointed CO.
11 February 1943:
Departs Yokosuka for Truk in combined convoy 3211A and 3211B. 3211A consists of SHINYUBARI, KAIKO, HYUGA MARUs, TENYO MARU No. 2 GO and fleet supply ship KINEZAKI. Convoy 3211B consists of EBON and YOWA MARUs and EIKO MARU No. 2 GO. Both convoys are escorted by destroyer SAWAKAZE.
16 February 1943:
At 1444, LtCdr (later Vice Admiral) (USNA '27) Glynn R. Donaho’s USS FLYING FISH (SS-229) sights HYUGA MARU which has an air escort and an armed trawler as surface escort. He fires four torpedoes of which two hit HYUGA MARU. Air escort bombs fall close to USS FLYING FISH. Donaho sees the trawler dropping depth charges at random. 28 minutes after, HYUGA MARU sinks at 18-35N, 145-55E about 13.5 nautical miles off Agrihan Island, Marianas. Four of the crew are killed. The armed trawler picks up survivors and thereafter heads towards Pagan, Marianas. Later Auxiliary cruisers BANGKOK and SAIGON MARUs take the survivors to Saiki.
1 April 1943:
Removed from the Navy’s list under instruction No. 587.
Authors' Notes:
[1] Not to be confused with Army Landing craft depot ship No. 1,308 (9,687 GRT, ’44) and Army collier No. 5,587 (5,244 GRT, ’44)
[2] There were two categories of Kyuryosen. (Ko) category with an IJN Captain as supervisor aboard and (Otsu) category without.
Thanks go to Gengoro S. Toda of Japan.
- Berend van der Wal, Gilbert Casse and Peter Cundall.
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