KOSEKI UMPANSEN
(AKIKAWA MARU)
AKIKAWA MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2011 Bob Hackett
1943:
Innoshima. Laid down at Hitachi Zosen K. K. as a 5, 244-ton Type 1K
Standard Merchant ore carrier for Kawasaki Kisen K. K., Kobe.
1943:
Launched and named AKIKAWA MARU. [1]
December 1943:
Completed.
1 April 1944:
At 1100, AKIKAWA MARU departs Tokyo as part of convoy
“Higashi-Matsu” No. 4. The ships and their destinations are:
Truk: KINESAKI and SHOZUI, KEMBU (TATEBE), SHIMA, SHINYO and HAVRE MARUs.
Saipan: AKIKAWA,
SHOUN, TOKO, TAKASAN, KOKO, SHIRAMINE, TAIKAI, KAKOGAWA and MACASSAR MARUs.
Guam: MIMASAKA, TOAN, AZUCHISAN and NISSHU MARUs and UNYO MARU No. 8.
Palau: Fleet supply ships MAMIYA, TENRYUGAWA, TAIAN and TOSEI MARUs and
SHINSEI MARU No. 5.
Yap: SHINSEI MARU.
The convoy commander is Rear Admiral Kiyota Takahiko (former CO of NACHI)
in destroyer SAMIDARE. The other escorts are destroyer ASANAGI, kaibokan
AMAKUSA, FUKUE, OKI, MIKURA, CD-2 and CD-3, torpedo-boat HIYODORI, and subchaser
CH-50.
3 April 1944: 5 miles S of Tori-Shima. At about 1457, LtCdr (later Rear Admiral-Ret) Bafford E. Lewellen's (USNA ‘31) USS POLLACK torpedoes and sinks TOSEI MARU at 30-14N, 139-45E. Only one passenger is KIA. The escorts counter-attack POLLACK and drop 55 depth-charges, but without effect.
8 April 1944: N of Saipan. At 0228 (JST), LtCdr (later Vice Admiral)
Frederick J. Harlfinger's (USNA ‘37) USS TRIGGER (SS-237) fires four torpedoes
at the convoy, but fails to get any hits. OKI and SAMIDARE counter-attack
unsuccessfully.
9 April 1944: 62 miles WNW of Saipan. At 1625, LtCdr (later Captain) Slade D. Cutter's (USNA ‘35) USS SEAHORSE (SS-304) torpedoes and hits MIMASAKA MARU at 15-30N, 145-00E. MIMASAKA MARU is taken in tow by TOAN MARU. The escorts counter-attack SEAHORSE unsuccessfully.
10 April 1944: At about 0100 (JST), MIMASAKA MARU founders. She is carrying over 1,000 Naval personnel, most of whom are rescued, but 11 crewmen and seven troops are KIA.
The convoy arrives at Saipan, then splits into separate groups that continue to their respective destinations.
27 April 1944, 150 miles west of Saipan. At about 0100, Cutter’s SEAHORSE
attacks a convoy consisting of AKIKAWA MARU and three unidentified freighters
escorted by a “destroyer” and three smaller warships enroute from Saipan to Yap
Island.
Cutter fires his four stern torpedoes from radar depth and gets three
hits that sink AKIKAWA MARU at 14-46N, 143-22E. She carries down a cargo of
coal, fuel trucks and freight cars. Two IJA soldiers and an unknown number of
passengers and crew are KIA. SEAHORSE evades the escorts’ depth-charges.
Author’s Note:
[1] Also known as AKIGAWA MARU.
Photo credit and thanks go to Gilbert Casse of France.
-Bob Hackett
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