KYURYOSEN!
(SURUGA MARU, prewar)
IJN SURUGA MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2018 Gilbert Casse, Berend van der Wal and Peter Cundall
13 January 1938:
Hikoshima. Laid down by Mitsubishi Jukogyo K.K. shipyard as a 991 tons refrigerating and freezing trawler for Nippon Suisan K.K.
28 July 1938:
Launched and named SURUGA MARU. [1]
12 October 1938:
Completed and registered at Tokyo. Her net registered tonnage (NRT) is 494-tons. [2]
22 October 1938:
Nippon Suisan K.K. receives a steamer trawl fishing permit, with license No. 136, for 10 years starting 22 Oct ‘38. Operating area is the ocean NW Australia from Cape York to Cape Naturelist with Tobata and Kobe as harvesting ports.
1940:
Her NRT is changed to 496-tons. [2]
31 August 1941:
Requisitioned by the IJN.
5 September 1941:
Osaka. Conversion for military duty starts at Urabe Zosen Tekkosho G.K. shipyard.
20 September 1941:
Registered as an auxiliary store ship attached to the Kure Naval District under instruction No. 1093.
8 October 1941:
Conversion is completed.
10 October 1941:
Departs Kure and arrives at Yokosuka later that day.
15 October 1941:
Attached directly to Combined Fleet as an auxiliary store ship, Otsu category. [3]
22 October 1941:
Departs Yokosuka.
30 October 1941:
Arrives at Truk, Central Carolines.
3 November 1941:
Departs Truk.
5 November 1941:
Arrives at Ponape, Eastern Carolines.
7 November 1941:
Departs Ponape.
15 November 1941:
Arrives at Yokosuka. Attached that same day to Vice Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo’s (37) Southern Expeditionary Fleet.
28 November 1941:
Departs Yokosuka for Kirun, Formosa (now Keelung, Taiwan).
5 December 1941:
Departs Kirun.
9 December 1941:
Arrives at Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina (now Vinh Cam Ranh, Vietnam).
12 December 1941:
Provisions destroyer SHINONOME.
14 December 1941:
Departs Cam Ranh Bay.
20 December 1941:
Arrives at Mako, Pescadores.
23 December 1941:
Arrives at Takao, Formosa (now Kaoshiung, Taiwan).
24 December 1941:
Departs Takao.
28 December 1941:
Arrives at Cam Ranh Bay.
6 January 1942:
Departs Cam Ranh Bay.
7 January 1942:
Arrives at Saigon, French Indochina (now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam).
11 January 1942:
Departs Saigon.
19 January 1942:
Arrives at Takao.
23 January 1942:
Departs Takao.
27 Janauary 1942:
Arrives at Cam Ranh Bay.
28 January 1942:
Attached to Southern Expeditionary Army, Malaya Invasion Follow-up Force.
9 February 1942:
Departs Cam Ranh Bay.
14 February 1942:
Arrives at Takao.
19 February 1942:
Departs Takao.
23 February 1942:
Arrives at St. Jacques, French Indochina (now Vung Tau, Vietnam).
24 February 1942:
Departs St. Jacques.
26 February 1942:
Arrives at Anambas, Anambas Islands.
1 March 1942:
Departs Anambas.
2 March 1942:
Arrives at Singapore.
9 March 1942:
Departs Singapore.
12 March 1942:
Arrives at Saigon.
15 March 1942:
Departs Saigon.
18 March 1942:
Arrives at Singapore.
19 March 1942:
Departs Singapore.
21 March 1942:
Arrives at Penang (renamed Tojo-To by Japanese), Straits Settlements (now Malaysia).
22 March 1942:
Departs Penang.
24 March 1942:
Arrives at Mergui, Burma (now Myeik, Myanmar).
25 March 1942:
Patrol boat PB-35 comes alongside and is provisioned with fresh food.
27 March 1942:
At 1700, departs Mergui with auxiliary tanker NICHIEI MARU escorted by patrol boat PB-35.
31 March 1942:
Arrives at Port Blair, Andaman Islands.
4 April 1942:
At 0930, departs Port Blair with auxiliary tanker NICHIEI MARU escorted by destroyer SHIOKAZE.
6 April 1942:
Arrives at Penang.
7 April 1942:
Departs Penang.
9 April 1942:
Arrives at Singapore.
16 April 1942:
Departs Singapore.
19 April 1942:
Arrives at Saigon.
23 April 1942:
Departs Saigon.
25 April 1942:
Arrives at Singapore.
15 May 1942:
Departs Singapore.
18 May 1942:
Arrives at Saigon.
22 April 1942:
Departs Saigon probably in convoy No. 404 also consisting of five unidentified merchant ships escorted by destroyer MINAZUKI.
27 May 1942:
Arrives at Takao.
28 May 1942:
Departs Takao.
2 June 1942:
Arrives at Kure. Departs later.
16 June 1942:
Departs Tobata.
12 July 1942:
Attached to Advance Forces under Combined Fleet wireless transmission No. 181.
14 July 1942:
Attached to Advance Forces, Supply Unit under Navy’s Instruction No. 1.
4 August 1942:
At Mergui. Provisions with food CruDiv 7's SUZUYA and KUMANO and Desdiv 2’s YUDACHI.
10 August 1942:
Attached to Advance Forces, Supply Unit under Navy’s Instruction No. 18.
24 August 1942:
Arrives at Takao.
29 August 1942:
Departs Takao.
17 October 1942:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
25 October 1942:
Departs Yokosuka.
1 November 1942:
Sails with auxiliary oiler KENYO MARU. Auxiliary cruiser UKISHIMA MARU departs Truk and meets up with them. Later that day, they join a convoy coming from Saipan consisting of auxiliary water tanker NIPPO MARU and auxiliary oiler SHOYO MARU.
2 November 1942:
Arrives at Truk.
13 November 1942:
Departs Truk escorted by auxiliary gunboat CHOUN MARU.
14 November 1942:
At 08-40N, 152-30E CHOUN MARU detaches.
22 November 1942:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
2 December 1942:
Departs Yokosuka.
31 December 1942:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
10 January 1943:
Departs Yokosuka for Truk escorted by subchaser CH-37.
21 January 1943:
Truk: provisions auxiliary seaplane tender SANYO MARU with fresh food.
15 February 1943:
About 35 nautical miles NE Buin, Bougainville, Solomons (now Papua New Guinea) torpedoed and sunk at 2100, by LtCdr Robert J. Foley's (USNA '27) USS GATO (SS-212) at 06-25S, 156-05E. 2 crewmen are KIA.
1 April 1943:
Removed from the Navy’s list under instruction No. 587.
Authors' Notes:
[1] Not to be confused with Army transport (525 GRT, ’43).
[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] There were two categories of Kyuryosen. (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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