ZATSUYOSEN!
(KAMPAR later KASUMI MARU, prewar)
IJN KASUMI MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2015 Gilbert Casse and Peter Cundall
E 1914:
Kowloon, Hong Kong. Laid down by Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co. Ltd, as a 971-tons passenger/cargo ship for Straits Steamship Co. Ltd., Singapore.
1915:
Launched and named KAMPAR.
1915:
Completed and registered at Singapore, Malaya with Official Number (ON): 136519.
1934:
Mooring at Singapore. Call sign is VPKZ.
28 August 1939:
Requisitioned by the British Admiralty as an auxiliary (coastal) anti-submarine vessel.
August 1941:
On patrol mission in Singapore District waters.
December 1941:
On patrol mission in Penang District waters.
12 December 1941:
Heavily damaged by Japanese aircraft and beached. The crew abandon the ship without casualties.
13 December 1941:
Sustains further damage by Japanese aircraft while beached off Penang, Malaya. The magazine on board explodes and the ship is declared a total loss.
30 May 1942:
Taken over by Japanese Naval Forces.
March 1943:
Emergency repairs begin in situ.
24 June 1943:
Claimed by Yokosuka Prize Court.
15 July 1943:
Emergency repairs are completed. Departs for Singapore.
7 August 1943:
Officially allotted to Yokosuka Prize Court with No. 1942/100.
1943:
Renamed KASUMI MARU. Call sign is changed to JWZY.[1]
31 October 1943:
Registered in the IJN as an auxiliary transport attached to the Yokosuka Naval District with Yokosuka as home port under Navy’s instruction No. 2248.
1943:
Assigned to Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Takasu Shiro‘s (35) Southwest Area Fleet as an auxiliary transport (Otsu) category. [2]
5 January 1944:
Singapore. Conversion to military duty is completed by the 101st Naval Construction Unit.
2 May 1944:
Departs Olehleh, Sabang Island for Singapore.
12 May 1944:
Malacca Strait, about 20 nautical miles NE of Tanjung, Sumatra. KASUMI MARU strikes a mine probably laid 12 Mar ’44 by LtCdr Richard M. Favell’s HMS TRESPASSER (P-312), and sinks by the stern at 03-24S, 99-29E with unknown casualties.
10 August 1944:
Removed from the IJN Navy’s list under instruction No. 949.
Authors' Notes :
[1] Not to be confused with salvage vessel (ex-British KATHLEEN MOLLER) (1,487 GRT, ’13).
[2] There were two categories of Zatsuyosen. (Ko) category with an IJN Captain as supervisor aboard and (Otsu) category without.
Thanks go to Gengoro S. Toda of Japan.
Gilbert Casse and Peter Cundall.
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