KYUSETSUMOKAN!
HOKAKUMOTEI!
PICTURE WANTED
IJN SHOFUKU MARU :
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2024 Gilbert Casse, Berend van der Wal and Peter Cundall
29 May 1939:
Osaka. Laid down by Urabe Zosen Tekkosho G.K. as an 891-tons cargo ship for Towa Kisen K.K.
10 April 1940:
Launched and named SHOFUKU MARU.[1]
20 July 1940:
Completed and registered at Kobe. Her gross registered (GRT) tonnage and net registered tonnage (NRT) respectively are 891-tons and 482-tons. Her call sign is JJSO. [2][3]
7 July 1940:
Deemed as operational.
21 August 1941:
Requisitioned by the IJN.
1 September 1941:
Tokyo. Conversion to military duty begins at the Ishikawajima K.K. shipyard.
12 September 1941:
Registered as an auxiliary netlayer attached to the Yokosuka Naval District under order No. 1049. Resv Lt Sakuma Tomonosuke is appointed CO.
15 October 1941:
Conversion for military duty is completed. Attached to Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Inoue Shigeyoshi’s (37) Fourth Fleet in Rear Admiral Kasuga Atsushi’s (37) Fifth Base Force, 59th Subchaser Division based at Saipan, Marianas under order No. 1251.
6 November 1941:
Departs Yokosuka for Hahajima.
20 November 1941:
Attached to the ‘GA’ (Guam) invasion force under secret South Seas Force Wireless Order No. 1.
21 November 1941:
Rated as the Second Patrol Unit under secret ‘GA’ Invasion Force Wireless Order No. 1.
4 December 1941:
Departs Hahajima.
9 December 1941:
Arrives at Guam.
13 December 1941:
The ‘GA’ invasion force is dissolved under South Seas Force wireless order No. 18.
25 December 1941:
Rated as auxiliary netlayer No. 591 (first ship in 59th Subchaser Division).
2 January 1942:
Departs Guam.
3 January 1942:
Arrives at Omiyajima (Guam).
14 January 1942:
Departs Omiyajima.
15 January 1942:
Arrives at Saipan, Marianas and departs there later this day.
16 January 1942:
Arrives at Omiyajima.
9 February 1942:
Departs Saipan for Kwajalein, Marshalls.
20 February 1942:
Attached to Wotje Sea Surface Defense Force under Marshall area Defense Force Wireless Order No. 74.
23 April 1942:
Attached to Marshall Area Defense Forces under South Seas Forces Wireless Order No. 13.
4 May 1942:
Alongside auxiliary subchaser HIGASHINIPPON MARU and supplies her with 10-tons of fresh water.
12 June 1942:
Alongside auxiliary subchaser ASHITAKA MARU No. 5 and supplies her with 5-tons of fuel.
6 July 1942:
Arrives at Wotje, Marshalls.
9 July 1942:
Auxiliary subchaser NICHIEI MARU I GO comes alongside and supplies her with fresh water.
14 July 1942:
Rated as auxiliary netlayer No. 591 (first ship in 59th Subchaser Division) under Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Inoue Shigeyoshi’s (37) Fourth Fleet confidential order No. 323.
17 July 1942:
Alongside auxiliary subchaser HIGASHINIPPON MARU and supplies her with 1-ton of fresh water.
1 August 1942:
CO Sakuma Tomonosuke is promoted to Captain.
7 August 1942:
At 0730, breaks into two halves and sinks by 0931 after being hit by one torpedo fired by LtCdr. John W. Murphy Jr’s (USNA ’26) USS submarine USS TAMBOR (SS-198) at 09-22N, 170-12E, about 32 nautical miles NE Ene Cherutakku, Wotje Atoll. Auxiliary subchaser NICHIEI MARU I GO patrolling nearby arrives to rescue survivors. Casualties are unknown.
8 August 1942:
Auxiliary subchaser NICHIEI MARU I GO continues looking for survivors and conducts anti-submarine sweeps.
9 August 1942:
Auxiliary subchaser NICHIEI MARU I GO continues anti-submarine sweeping. After finishing anti-submarine sweeping continues her patrol.
25 August 1942:
Removed from the Navy’s list under internal instruction No. 1581.
Authors' Notes:
[1] Not to be confused with General requisitioned ship (B-APK) (1,772 GRT, ’18).
[2] NRT is a ship's cargo volume capacity expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of 100 cubic feet (2.83 m3). It is calculated by subtracting non-revenue-earning spaces i.e. spaces not available for carrying cargo, for example engine rooms, fuel tanks and crew quarters, from the ship's gross register tonnage (GRT). Net register tonnage (NRT) is not a measure of the weight of the ship or its cargo, and should not be confused with terms such as deadweight tonnage or displacement.
[3] The ship is sometimes known as SHOFUKU MARU No. 1
Thanks go to Gengoro S. Toda of Japan.
- Gilbert Casse, Berend van der Wal and Peter Cundall.
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