UYO MARU was completed as a cargo ship in 1933
and renamed SHINANOGAWA MARU in '40. Requisitioned by the Imperial Army, she
served as an attack transport in the invasions of Java and Guadalcanal. In '42,
she was sunk in the Solomon Islands by USAAF and USN aircraft.
SHINANOGAWA MARU's sisters were NICHIYO (later renamed KUMAGAWA),
GETSUYO (later renamed MOGAMIGAWA) and TENYO MARUs.
KUMAGAWA MARU
served as an Imperial Navy transport in the invasions of Dutch Borneo and Attu
and Kiska in the Kuriles. In '43, she was converted to a fleet tanker. In
Jan '45, KUMAGAWA MARU was sunk off Indochina by Task Force 38 aircraft.
MOGAMIGAWA MARU was converted to a large IJN minelayer until '42 and later
as an IJN aircraft transport until she was sunk by an American submarine in
Jul '43. TENYO MARU was also converted to a large IJN minelayer and troop
transport until she was sunk off Lae, New Guinea by USN carrier aircraft in
Mar '43.
