RIKUGUN YUSOSEN
(S.S. MATARAM, later KOWA MARU, prewar)
KOWA MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2014-2016 Bob Hackett
E 1908:
Port Glasgow, Scotland. Laid down at Clyde Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. as Yard No. 286, a 3,217 ton passenger/cargo ship for Burns, Philp & Co Ltd,
Sydney NSW, Australia.
1909:
Launched and named MATARAM.
September 1909:
Completed.
Sold to Fan Shien Ho, Tsingtao, China. Renamed KWAN HO.
1937:
Sold to V. K. Song, Tsingtao.
1938:
Sold to Kowa Kisen K K. (Nippon Kogyo Kisen K.K.), Tokyo.
Renamed KOWA MARU
E 1942:
Chartered by the Imperial Army (IJA) as a troop transport/cargo ship.
1 July 1942:
KOWA MARU departs Yokohama in a convoy also consisting of IJA transports ASAKA, NICHINAN, SETSUYO, SHOJU and TAGONOURA MARUs and two unidentified merchant ships escorted by destroyer OKIKAZE.
3 July 1942:
Arrives at Hakodate, Hokkaido.
5 July 1942:
Departs Hakodate.
6 July 1942:
Arrives at Otaru, Hokkaido.
8 July 1942:
Departs Otaru.
11 July 1942:
Arrives at Yokohama.
14 July 1942:
KOWA MARU departs Yokohama in a convoy also consisting of IJA transports HITORA (ex-Panamanian RAMONA), SHINRYU and TAGONOURA MARUs escorted by destroyer SAWAKAZE.
17 July 1942:
Arrives at Otaru.
18 July 1942:
Departs Otaru.
21 July 1942:
Arrives at Asase, Karafuto (now Sakhalin).
24 July 1942:
Departs Asase.
30 July 1942:
Arrives at Osaka.
1 August 1942:
Departs Osaka.
3 August 1942:
Arrives at Miike, Fukuoka Prefecture.
5 August 1942:
Departs Miike.
9 August 1942:
Arrives at Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture.
10 August 1942:
Departs Gamagori and arrives at Handa, Aichi Prefecture later that day.
13 August 1942:
Departs Handa.
15 August 1942:
Arrives at Moji.
E 1943:
Requisitioned by the Imperial Army (IJA) as a troop transport/cargo ship. Allotted Army No. 482.
16 March 1943:
KOWA MARU departs Wakamatsu for N China.
19 March 1943:
S of Darien, Manchuria. At about 0908, LtCdr Dudley S, Morton’s (USNA ’30) USS WAHOO (SS-238) fires four unreliable Mark-14 3A torpedoes, but gets two hits that sink KOWA MARU at 38-34N, 122-13E. 16 crewmen are KIA.
Author's Note:
[1] Not to be confused with IJN transport KOWA MARU (1,102 GRT, ’40) or civilian tanker KOWA MARU (884 GRT, ’45).
Thanks go to Erich Muehlthaler of Germany.
Bob Hackett
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