RIKUGUN YUSOSEN
(S.S. AUSTRALRANGE, later SHOKYU MARU, prewar)
SHOKYU MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2014-2016 Bob Hackett
E 1906:
Port Glasgow, Scotland. Laid down by Robert Duncan & Co., Ltd, as
a 4409-ton cargo ship for Strathdee S.S.Co Ltd (Burrell & Son), Glasgow.
E 1907:
Launched and named STRATHDEE.
1907:
Completed.
1916:
Sold to the Commonwealth Line, Sydney. Australia. Renamed
AUSTRALRANGE.
1923
Sold to Sato Shokai, K.K. of Tokyo. Renamed ISHIKARI MARU
1931:
Sold to Shoyei Kisen, K. K. Renamed SHOKYU MARU.
1933:
Sold to Towa Kisen, K. K. of Tarumi.
1937: Second Sino – Japanese War.
Chartered by the Imperial Army
(IJA).
30 October 1937:
SHOKYU MARU departs Osaka for the Goto Islands in an
invasion convoy also consisting of 39 other transports escorted by five
destroyers carrying LtGen Suematsu Shigeharu’s 114th Division.
3 November 1937:
SHOKYU MARU departs the Goto Islands with the
invasion convoy for Hangzhou Bay, (S of Shanghai), China.
10 November 1937: The Invasion of Hangzhou Bay:
East China Sea. The
1st Squad of the invasion convoy led by destroyer YUZUKI consists of transports
SHOKYU, ALASKA, BUZEN, ENGLAND, GYOKO, HAKODATE, INDUS, KAISHO, KOSHIN, MINAMOTO,
SANDAI. SHINTAN, SHUNSEI, SUEZ, TOKUSHIMA and ZENOAH MARUs.
The 2nd Squad is led by destroyer MIKAZUKI consists of transports
BEIJING, FUSHIMI, HORAI, JUYO, KARAFUTO, KURETAKE, MEIKO, SHINYO, SHIN YUBARI,
SHINSEI, TAIAN and YAMATO MARUs.
The 3rd Squad led by destroyer MOCHIZUKI consists of transports DAIMON,
ETO, FUKUSHO HAKUSHIKA, KANKO, MALACCA, NAVEL, OIRDONO, SHINAI, SHUKI and
TASMANIA MARUs and YOSHIDA MARU No. 1.
5 November 1937:
Arrives at Hangzhou Bay and lands troops.
E 1938:
Released by the IJA back to her owners.
11 October 1941:
Requisitioned by the IJA as a troop transport. Allotted Army No. 103.
21 February 1942:
60 miles S of Saishu To (former Quelpart Island, now Cheju-do, Korea). At about 0752, lookouts aboard LtCdr William A. Lent's (USNA '25) USS TRITON (SS-201) sight the smoke of
similar two cargo ships heading NE at 10 knots. Lent coomnces tracking. At 0918, he fires two torpedoes that hit and sink SHOKYU MARU at 32-10N, 126-28E. 12 men are KIA.
Lent fires torpedoes at the second ship, but misses. At the appearance of a large straight winged four-engine patrol plane, (probably a Kawanishi H6K
"Mavis"), he breaks off the attack and evades.
22 February 1942:
Armed merchant cruiser UKISHIMA MARU arrives at SHOKYU MARU's sinking location to rescue survivors.
26 February 1942:
At 0758, UKISHIMA MARU returns to Sasebo and lands an unknown number of survivors.
Author's Note:
Thanks go to Erich Muehlthaler of Germany.
Bob Hackett
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