SS Yoshida Maru
Japanese cargo ship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yoshida Maru (吉田丸) was a Japanese cargo ship owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1941 by Hakodate Dock at Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaidō.
Nippon Yusen (NYK) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Yoshida Maru [1] |
| Operator | Nippon Yusen (NYK) |
| Builder | Hakodate Dock at Hakodate, Hokkaidō |
| Laid down | 1940 |
| Launched | 9 May 1941 |
| Completed | 30 August 1941 |
| In service | 1941 - 1944 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk, 18 February 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Hirota Maru-class cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 2,921 GRT |
| Length | 93 m (305 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 13.8 m (45 ft 3 in) |
| Propulsion | 1 turbine, single screw |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h) |
History
Yoshida Maru was built at Hakodate; and she left port in August 1941 on her maiden voyage.[2]
The 2,921-ton vessel had a length of 310 feet (94 m), and her beam was 45 feet (14 m). The single turbine, single screw propulsion produced an average speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph).[2]
Yoshida Maru was requisitioned as an auxiliary gunboat/minelayer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was armed with three guns of 12 cm and machine guns. On 1 October 1943 she was reregistered as an auxiliary transport.[3] On 18 January 1944, she was sunk by the submarine USS Flasher 140 miles (230 km) west-southwest of Minami-Tori-shima at 23°50′N 151°28′E with the loss of 76 passengers, eight crewmen and 15 gunners.[4]