RIKUGUN HAITOSEN!
(Type 1TM Standard Tanker underway)
KOKUEI MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement
©2011-2013 Bob Hackett
Revision 3
E 1942:
Yokohama. Laid down at Mitsubishi Jukogyo K. K. as a 5,155-ton Type 1TM Wartime Standard Merchant Tanker for Nitto Kisen K. K., Tokyo.
1943:
Launched and named KOKUEI MARU. [1]
March 1943:
Completed and requisitioned by the Japanese Government's Senpaku Uneikai civilian wartime shipping authority. Chartered to the Imperial Army with a civilian crew.
6 September 1943:
At 0900, KOKUEI MARU departs Mako in convoy No. 321 consisting of AWA, ANYO, CEYLON, SAN PEDRO, SYDNEY, YAMAZURU (YAMATSURU) MARU and tanker KOSHIN MARU and HINO MARU with an unknown escort.
13 September 1943:
Arrives at Saigon, Vichy French Indochina (now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam).
1 February 1944:
KOKUEI MARU and tankers HOKUAN and SAN LUIS MARU depart Manila, probably for Balikpapan and Surabaya, in convoy No. 3105 consisting of SHUNSEN, KANKO and BENGAL MARUs with an unknown escort. SAN LUIS MARU is
detached for Miri at some point.
13 February 1944:
At 1600, KOKUEI MARU departs Singapore for Moji in convoy HI-40 also consisting of tankers NANEI, ICHIYO, NICHIRIN, NAMPO and ASAMA MARUs escorted by kaibokan SHIMUSHU.
19 February 1944:
South China Sea, 300 miles W of Luzon. At about 0550, Captain (later Rear Admiral-Ret) Thomas M. Dykers’ USS JACK (SS-259) attacks HI-40 and sinks KOKUEI and NANEI MARUs at 14-34N, 114-11E, NICHIRIN MARU at 15-40N, 115-48E and ICHIYO MARU at 15-46N, 115-57E.
Six of KOKUEI MARU’s crewmen are KIA.
Author's Note:
Thanks go to Gilbert Casse of France.
-Bob Hackett
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