KYURYOSEN!
(BANSHU MARU, sistership of BANSHU MARU No. 2, prewar – Peter Cundall Collection)
IJN BANSHU MARU No. 2:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2017 Gilbert Casse, Berend van der Wal and Peter Cundall
26 August 1940:
Osaka. Laid down by Fujinagata Zosensho K.K. shipyard for Hayashikane Shoten K.K. as a 998-tons refrigerated cargo ship.
17 April 1941:
Launched and named BANSHU MARU No. 2.
20 August 1941:
Completed and registered at Shimonoseki.
22 August 1941:
Requisitioned by the IJN.
5 September 1941:
Registered as an auxiliary stores ship attached to the Maizuru Naval District under instruction No. 1025.
October 1941:
Innoshima. Conversion for military duty at Urabe Shipbuilding Iron Works G.K. is completed.
1941:
Attached directly to the Combined Fleet as an auxiliary stores ship (Otsu) category. [1]
12 October 1941:
Departs Yokosuka for the Japanese mandated South Seas Islands.
29 November 1941:
Arrives at Kure.
17 January 1942:
Departs Kure for Tarakan, Borneo, Netherlands East Indies.
21 January 1942:
Provisions auxiliary gunboat KAMITSU MARU with food.
E January 1942:
Departs Tarakan.
24 February 1942:
Arrives at Takao, Formosa (now Kaoshiung, Taiwan).
3 March 1942:
Departs Takao.
E 5 March 1942:
Arrives at Macassar, Celebes (now Sulawesi), Netherlands East Indies.
15 March 1942:
Attached to Southern Army Airforce Commander District Office.
16 March 1942:
Provisions auxiliary gunboat OKUYO MARU with fresh food.
E March 1942:
Departs Macassar for Kupang, Timor, Netherlands East Indies.
1 April 1942:
Assigned to Southern troops air force supply units.
3 April 1942:
Departs Kupang.
6 April 1943:
Arrives at Macassar.
10 April 1942:
Released from Southern troops air force supply units.
6 May 1942:
At Kupang. Provisions auxiliary gunboat MANYO MARU with grain food.
9 May 1942:
At Kupang. Provisions auxiliary gunboat OKUYO MARU with fresh food.
E May 1942:
Departs Kupang.
4 June 1942:
Arrives at Shimonoseki.
E June ~ July 1942:
Under repairs at Sasebo.
15 July 1942:
Departs Sasebo.
16 September 1942:
Assigned to torpedo equipment transport mission under secret instruction No. 11672.
13 December 1942:
At Surabaya, Java, Netherlands East Indies. Loads fresh beef and pork from auxiliary stores ship HAKUREI MARU.
24 December 1942:
Sighted and subsequently tracked by Lt.Cdr (later Rear Admiral) W.B. Sieglaff’s (USNA ’31) USS TAUTOG (SS-199) in the Ombai Strait, Netherlands East Indies.
25 December 1942:
15 nautical miles N of Dili, Portuguese Timor. At 0306, Sieglaff makes a submerged attack and fires a spread of three torpedoes. Two hit are scored and BANSHU MARU No. 2 rapidly sinks at 08-40S, 124-30E, about 16 nautical miles NW of Atapapu, Timor with the loss of one crewman.
1 February 1943:
Removed from the Navy’s list under internal instruction No. 108.
Authors' Notes:
[1] 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.
- Gilbert Casse, Berend van der Wal and Peter Cundall.
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