Ayatosan Maru

The Ayatosan Maru (綾戸山丸 貨物船) was a 9,788 gross ton (10,930DWT) freighter that was built by Tama Shipbuilding Co., Tamano for Mitsui & Co. Ltd. launched in 1939.[2] She had been intended to run the New York passenger and freight run, however she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and fitted out as a high-speed transport, which was completed in May 1941.

History
Name: Ayatosan Maru
Owner:
Builder: Tama Shipbuilding Co.
Acquired: 1939
Fate: Sunk by Allied aircraft
Status: Shipwreck
General characteristics
Displacement: 9,788 gross ton (10,930DWT)
Length: 476 feet (145 m)[1]
Beam: 64 feet (20 m)
Draught: 40 feet (12 m)

During the invasion of Malaya she was damaged by Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed Hudson light bombers and a blaze broke out which was later extinguished.[3] She was also damaged by a torpedo from the Dutch submarine HNLMS O-16.

While unloading troops and supplies at Gona on 21 July 1942, she was bombed by United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force bombers and was sunk at 8°50′S 148°50′E, with the loss of forty lives and three vehicles. Two other transports that had completed unloading escaped with their escort. She became known as "The Gona Wreck" with allied patrols investigating and confirming the ship's identity.[4] The wreck was later used to range artillery and as a bombing target by Allied forces.

Citations
  1. "Ayatosan Maru" (PDF). plimsollshipdata. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  2. "Mitsui Bussan Kaisha Mitsui Steamship Co. Ltd". The Ships List. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  3. "Subchaser CH-9". The Combined Fleet. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  4. Milner, Samuel (1957). Victory in Paupa. United States Army In World War II. Washington, DC: Center Of Military History, United States Army. p. 62. LCCN 56060004.
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