KYUTANSEN!
(SANSEI MARU, prewar)
IJN SANSEI MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2017 Gilbert Casse, Berend van der Wal and Peter Cundall
24 July 1936:
Laid down by Uraga Senkyo K.K. Uraga shipyard for Yamashita Kisen K.K. as a 2,386-tons cargo ship.
10 October 1936:
Launched and named SANSEI MARU.
30 November 1936:
Completed and registered at Kobe.
11 December 1941:
Arrives at Yokosuka. Requisitioned as a general requisitioned transport (Ippan Chosen) attached to the Yokosuka Naval District.
December 1941:
Assigned to ammunition transport mission under instruction No. 826.
27 December 1941:
Departs Yokosuka.
30 December 1941:
Arrives at Otaru.
1 January 1942:
Departs Otaru.
2 January 1942:
Arrives at Niigata.
4 January 1942:
Departs Niigata.
8 January 1941:
Arrives at Kobe.
11 January 1942:
Departs Kobe.
12 January 1942:
Arrives at Tokuyama.
14 January 1942:
Departs Tokuyama.
22 January 1942:
Arrives at Davao, Mindanao, Philippines.
14 February 1942:
Departs Davao.
18 February 1942:
Arrives at Balikpapan, Borneo, Netherlands East Indies (NEI).
2 March 1942:
Departs Balikpapan.
3 March 1942:
Arrives at Sanga-Sanga, Mahakam river estuary, Borneo.
8 March 1942:
Departs Sanga-Sanga and arrives at Samarinda, Borneo, later that day.
11 March 1942:
Departs Samarinda and arrives at Sanga-Sanga later that day.
17 March 1942:
Receives a message that the ship will be derequisitioned at Yokosuka after completion of current mission.
9 April 1942:
Anchors at Sanga-Sanga.
10 April 1942:
Registered as an auxiliary collier attached to Kure Naval District under Navy’s instruction No. 663.
10 ~ 17 April 1942:
Attached to Vice Admiral Sugiyama Rokuzo’s (38) Third Southern Expeditionary Fleet.
17 April 1942:
Departs Sanga-Sanga and arrives at Loa Buhit (along the river Mahakam, upstream Samarinda). Departs there later that day.
18 April 1942:
Arrives at Sanga-Sanga.
20 April 1942:
Departs Sanga-Sanga.
27 April 1942:
Arrives at Takao, Formosa (Now Kaoshiung, Taiwan).
29 April 1942:
Departs Takao. Calls at Mako, Osaka, Moji, Chemulpo, Chosen (now Incheon, South Korea) and Kenjiho, Chosen, (now North Korea).
15 May 1942:
Attached to Kure Naval District as an auxiliary collier (Otsu) category. Scheduled that same day to be fitted with one Type 92 7.7mm mod. A MG and 5 type 38 Arisaka rifles under Navy’s secret instruction No. 5990. [2]
29 May 1942:
Departs Kenjiho.
2 June 1942:
Arrives at Osaka.
3 June 1942:
Departs Osaka. Calls at Yawata (now Kitakyushu), Sasebo, Kenjiho and Yokosuka.
June 1942:
Assigned to ammunition transport mission under confidential instruction No. 898.
28 June 1942:
Departs Yokosuka and arrives at Yawata later that day.
1 July 1942:
Departs Yawata and arrives at Sasebo. Departs there and calls at Kure, Tokyo and Yokosuka.
28 July 1942:
At 1030, departs from off Futtsu, Tokyo Bay in a convoy also consisting of SEIKO and PALAU MARUs escorted by auxiliary gunboat HIYOSHI MARU No. 2 GO. The ships sail at 10 knots.
31 July 1942:
Arrives at Yawata.
1 August 1942:
Departs Yawata. Calls at Osaka, Moji, Yokohama and Tokyo.
22 August 1942:
Departs Tokyo for Kure. Later that day at Yokosuka joins a westbound convoy consisting of tankers SAN LUIS MARU and KYOEI MARU No. 5 escorted by auxiliary gunboat DELHI MARU. The convoy sails at 9 knots.
23 August 1942:
At 1030, the convoy departs from off Futtsu and calls at Kure.
31 August 1942:
Arrives at Yawata.
1 September 1942:
Departs Yawata. Calls at Nagoya and Yokosuka.
E 9 September 1942:
Loads 37-tons of building materials.
10 September 1942:
Departs Yokosuka. At 0830, departs from off Futtsu in a convoy also consisting of KASUGASAN and KURETAKE MARUs and tanker ZUIYO MARU (that drops out) escorted by auxiliary netlayer MATSU MARU. The ships sail at 9 knots. Calls at Kobe, Sasebo, Yawata and Nagoya.
30 September 1942:
Arrives at Moji.
1 October 1942:
Departs Moji. Calls at Kagoshima, Shanghai, Osaka and Yawata.
31 October 1942:
Arrives at Nagoya.
1 November 1942:
Departs Nagoya. Calls at Osaka, Moji and Kagoshima.
17 November 1942:
At 1700, departs Kagoshima.
19 November 1942:
At 0800, arrives at Naha, Okinawa.
21 November 1942:
Departs Naha, Okinawa.
24 November 1942:
Arrives at Shanghai, China.
27 November 1942:
Departs Shanghai.
29 November 1942:
Arrives at Seito (Tsingtao, now Qingdao), China.
2 December 1942:
Departs Seito.
13 January 1943:
Departs Osaka.
14 January 1943:
Arrives at Yawata.
18 January 1943:
Departs Yawata.
19 January 1943:
Off Kobe joins an eastbound convoy (number not stated but probably 8119) also consisting of RYUA, MATSUURA and HOKUSUI MARUs escorted by torpedo boat MANAZURU.
21 January 1943:
Arrives at Tokyo.
25 January 1943:
Departs Yokohama and at 1230, departs Yokosuka in convoy No. 7125A also consisting of KOAN, TONEGAWA, WAKATAKE MARUs and HOKKA GO escorted by minesweeper W-18.
26 January 1943:
At 2230, the convoy arrives off Yura.
27 January 1943:
Arrives at Kure.
29 January 1943:
Departs Kure.
31 January 1943:
Arrives at Nagasaki.
2 February 1943:
Departs Nagasaki and arrives at Sasebo later that day.
4 February 1943:
Departs Sasebo.
5 February 1943:
Arrives at Yawata.
7 February 1943:
Departs Yawata.
8 February 1943:
Arrives at Kure.
10 February 1943:
Departs Kure.
14 February 1943:
Arrives at Wakamatsu.
16 February 1943:
Departs Wakamatsu.
17 February 1943:
Arrives at Osaka.
20 February 1943:
Departs Osaka.
24 February 1943:
Arrives at Yokosuka. Transfers later to Yokohama.
1 March 1943:
Departs Yokohama.
4 March 1943:
Arrives at Sasebo.
6 March 1943:
Departs Sasebo and arrives at Nagasaki later that day.
8 March 1943:
Departs Nagasaki. At 2100, reported off Koshiki Jima.
9 March 1943:
Arrives at Yawata.
12 March 1943:
Departs Yawata.
13 March 1943:
Arrives at Nagasaki.
15 March 1943:
Departs Nagasaki. At 2300, reported off Aino Shima.
18 March 1943:
Arrives at Sasebo.
23 March 1943:
Departs Sasebo.
25 March 1943:
Arrives at Kenjiho.
28 March 1943:
Departs Kenjiho.
2 April 1943:
Arrives at Kure.
5 April 1943:
Departs Kure.
6 April 1943:
Arrives at Yawata.
8 April 1943:
Departs Yawata.
9 April 1943:
Arrives at Nagasaki. At 0400, reported off Mushima.
11 April 1943:
Departs Nagasaki.
15 April 1943:
Arrives at Nagoya.
18 April 1943:
Departs Nagoya.
24 April 1943:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
26 April 1943:
Departs Yokosuka.
3 May 1943:
Arrives at Kure.
10 May 1943:
Departs Kure for Yawata.
28 May 1943:
Departs Yokohama in convoy No. 7528A consisting of auxiliary transport AMAGISAN MARU escorted by patrol boat PB-101 (ex-HMS THRACIAN), bound for Kobe. At 1523, AMAGISAN MARU is detached and arrives at Nagoya later that day. At 1557, patrol boat PB-101 is bombed.
29 May 1943:
At 0800, escort ends off Hinomisaki. At 0845, arrives at Yura. Departs there at 1054 and arrives at Kobe at 1445.
E 1 June 1943:
Departs Kobe. Arrives at Yawata later that day.
2 June 1943:
Departs Yawata and arrives at Osaka later that day. Calls at Hirohata, Sasebo, Kobe, Shimizu, Tokyo, Yokosuka, Nagoya, Kure, Shimotsu, Moji and Maizuru.
25 June 1943:
At 0600, reports sighting an enemy submarine in position 31-50N, 122-00E near Bell Buoy, Yangtse estuary.
11 September 1943:
Minelayer YURIJIMA, auxiliary gunboat CHOUN MARU and auxiliary patrol boat NITTO MARU No. 12 conduct an overnight sweep in preparation of the arrival of convoy FU-206 consisting of auxiliary collier SANSEI MARU and IJA transports YOSHIDA MARU No. 3, YASUSHIMA, EHIME, YUBAE and SHINRYU MARUs escorted by minesweeper W-18 and auxiliary minesweepers TAKUNAN MARU No. 8 and TAMA MARU No. 7.
19 October 1943:
At 1630, arrives at Paramushiro, Kuriles.
30 November 1943:
Arrives at Yawata.
2 December 1943:
Departs Yawata. Calls at Kobe, Yawata, Tokuyama, and Maizuru.
6 March 1944:
Unloads a Motor Boat and other sundries totalling 329-tons.
E 6 March 1944:
Departs Maizuru. Calls at Yokohama and Yokkaichi.
31 March 1944:
Arrives at Sasebo.
3 April 1944:
Departs Sasebo. Calls at Yawata, Kure, Kobe, Nagoya, Yokosuka, Ominato, Muroran, Tokyo, Tokuyama and Wakamatsu.
24 May 1944:
Arrives at Sasebo.
2 June 1944:
Departs Sasebo.
10 June 1944:
Arrives at Takao.
16 June 1944:
Departs Takao for Hong Kong.
25 June 1944:
Arrives at Shanghai. Departs later that day for the Moji port center with a load of tin, copper, peanut oil, mines and a car.
28 June 1944;
Tsushima Strait. About 0752, LtCdr (later Vice Admiral) Eli T. Reich's (USNA '35) USS SEALION (SS-315) running submerged, fires a spread of three Mark XVIII Type 1 torpedoes and scores one hit on SANSEI MARU starboard amidships. The auxiliary collier rapidly lists and sinks by the bow at 33-53N, 128-59E, 10 nautical miles off Tsutsu Misaki SSW coast with the loss of four passengers and 22 crewmen.
10 August 1944:
Removed from the Naval list under instruction No. 949.
Authors' Notes:
[[1] Not to be confused with the auxiliary transport (3,234 GRT, 31’).
[2] There were two categories of Kyutansen. (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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