KOSEKI UMPANSEN
(A Type 1K ore carrier underway)
HINAGA MARU:
Tabular Record of Movement
© 2011 Bob Hackett
1943:
Tsurumi, Yokohama Laid down at Nippon Kokan K.K as a 5,396-ton Type 1K
Standard Merchant cargo ship (ore carrier) for Nippon Yusen K. K., Tokyo
1943:
Launched and named HINAGA MARU. [1]
20 November 1943:
Completed.
3 June 1944:
HINAGA MARU departs Imari Bay for Miri, Borneo as in
convoy MI-05 consisting of fleet oiler NOTORO and tankers TACHIBANA, NITTETSU,
TOA, CERAM, YAMASACHI, AYAKIRI, AYANAMI, OEI, MARIFU, TOKUWA, and MARIFU MARUs
and YAMAMIZU MARU No. 2 and KENEI, NIPPO, FUYUKAWA, SURAKARUTA, TATSUJU and
SHOEI MARUs and probably TAKETSU (BUTSU MARU escorted by kaibokan CD-18, torpedo
boat SAGI, patrol boat PB-38, minesweeper W-17 and four unidentified escorts.
11 June 1944:
Tankers JINEI and SAN DIEGO MARU and KYOEI MARU No. 8
depart Takao, Formosa with cargo ships/transports ARIMASAN, MANILA, MIIKESAN and
USSURI MARUs and join convoy MI-05 bound for Miri, Borneo.
Convoy MI-05 now consists of HINAGA, KENEI, NIPPO, FUYUKAWA, SURAKARUTA
and TATSUJU MARU, fleet oiler NOTORO and tankers TACHIBANA, NITTETSU, CERAM,
SANKO (YAMAKO), AYAKIRI, AYANAMI, OEI, MARIFU, TOKUWA, TAKETSU (BUTSU), MARIFU
and YAMAMIZU MARU No. 2 and thirteen unidentified ships escorted by kaibokan
CD-18, torpedo boat SAGI, patrol boat PB-38, minelayer MAESHIMA, minesweeper
W-17, auxiliary subchaser CHa-95 and four unidentified escorts.
13 June 1944:
LtCdr John D. Crowley's (USNA ‘31) USS FLIER (SS-250)
torpedoes and damages MARIFU MARU at 15-57N, 119-42E. She is taken in tow by
MIIKESAN MARU.
15 June 1944:
The convoy arrives Manila. Damaged MARIFU MARU arrives
later and is detached.
18 June 1944:
HINAGA MARU departs Manila in convoy MI-05 now
consisting of cargo/transports ARIMASAN, HIDA, NIPPO (ex-Chinese NINGPO),
TATSUJU, URAKARUTA, TEIFU, ROKKO, DAIZEN, MIIKESAN, NICHIYO and SEIWA MARUs,
fleet oiler NOTORO and tankers TACHIBANA, JINEI, SAN DIEGO, BAIEI, KENZUI,
ATAGO, AYANAMI, CERAM, OEI and TOKUWA MARUs, YAMAMIZU MARU No. 2, and KYOEI MARU
No. 8 with the same escorts.
23 June 1944:
At 1257, arrives at Miri.
25 June 1944:
At 1915, HINAGA MARU departs Miri for Singapore in
convoy MISHI-03 consisting of cargo/transports TEIFU (ex-Vichy French
BOUGAINVILLE), SEIWA, NIPPO, DAIZEN, SURAKARTA, HIDA, MANILA, ARIMASAN, ROKKO,
TATSUTAMA (ex-American SS Admiral Y. S. WILLIAMS), TOA and KENZUI MARUs, fleet
oiler NOTORO and tankers SAN DIEGO, NICHIYO, JINEI, BAIEI, FUYUKAWA and AYANAMI
MARUs and KYOEI No. 8 escorted by kaibokan CD-18, torpedo boat SAGI, minesweeper
W-17, subchaser CH-21 and auxiliary minesweepers CHOUN MARU No. 6 and TOSHI MARU
No. 2.
28 June 1944:
South China Sea, off Singapore. At 2100, Cdr (later
Rear Admiral) Rueben T. Whitaker’s (USNA '34) USS FLASHER’s (SS-249) radar picks
up the convoy. Whitaker, operating in relatively shallow water (150 feet),
decides to wait until after the moon sets to make a surface attack on the
convoy’s two largest ships.
29 June 1944:
At 0111, Whitaker torpedoes freighter NIPPO MARU and
oiler NOTORO. At 0117, two or three torpedoes hit NIPPO MARU and two or three
torpedoes hit NOTORO. NIPPO MARU breaks in two and sinks by the bow. NOTORO
remains afloat, but goes dead in the water. The escorts begin blindly dropping
depth charges. Whitaker, still on the surface, leaves the area on four engines.
30 June 1944:
Arrives at Singapore.
19 July 1944:
HINAGA MARU departs Miri in convoy MI-10 consisting of
DAIZEN, HIDA, MAEJIMA and FUYUKAWA MARUs and tankers HAKUBASAN, SHUNTEN, TAKETSU
(BUTSU), CHIYODA and SHIMOTSU MARUs plus 19 unidentified ships escorted by
destroyer ASAKAZE, kaibokan YASHIRO and CD-3 and auxiliary gunboats PEKING and
KAZAN (HUASHAN) MARUs.
E 23 July 1944:
Arrives at Manila where convoy MI-10 is joined by
tankers OEI MARU and KYOEI MARU No. 6 and KAKOGAWA, TSUKUBASAN, ROKKO, RASHIN,
KUROGANE, FRANCE, MYOGI MARUs and UNYO MARU No. 7.
27 July 1944:
At 1100, reconstituted convoy MI-10 departs Manila.
28 July 1944:
At 1040, HAKUBASAN MARU is torpedoed by LtCdr Francis
D. Walker's (USNA ‘35) USS CREVALLE (SS-291) and sinks at 1305 at 16-28N,
119-38E.
2 August 1944:
Arrives at Takao.
3 November 1944:
HINAGA MARU departs Moji in convoy MI-25 consisting
of KACHAOSAN, NIKKO, DAIA, DAITO, AKAGISAN, NICHIYO, KENSEI, TATSUTAMA and SHOEI
MARUs and tankers ATAGO, DAIRETSU, RYUSHO, GYOSHIN, DAISHU, DAIEI and YAMAMURA
MARUs and YUZAN MARU No. 2 and four unidentified ships escorted by kaibokan
CD-23, CD-33, CD-51, CD-52 and CD-130.
8 November 1944:
KACHAOSAN and NIKKO MARUs and the four unidentified
ships are detached for Formosan ports. Another ship later is detached for Mako.
Thirteen ships remain in the convoy.
15 November 1944:
18 km SE of Cap Padaran, Indochina. At 0100, LtCdr
Albert S. Fuhrman's (USNA '37) USS JACK (SS-259) torpedoes HINAGA MARU and YUZAN
MARU No. 2 at 11-16N 108-54E.
HINAGA MARU sinks immediately. 34 troops and one crewman are KIA. YUZAN
MARU No. 2 is run aground and later becomes a total loss.
Author’s Note:
Photo credit and thanks go to Gilbert Casse of France.
-Bob Hackett
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