ZATSUYOSEN!

(HINO MARU No. 3 prewar)

IJN HINO MARU No. 3:
Tabular Record of Movement

© 2012-2014 Gilbert Casse, Bob Hackett and Peter Cundallt

Revision 1


6 July 1937:
Kobe. Laid down by Mitsubishi Jukogyo K.K. shipyard for Hinomaru Kisen K.K., as a 4,391-ton cargo ship.

4 November 1937:
Launched and named HINO MARU No. 3.

25 March 1938:
Completed and registered in Kobe. Her Net Registered Tonnage (NRT) is 2,621-tons. [1]

March 1938:
Chartered to Nihon Shokuen Kaiso K.K and assigned to salt brine transport.

1940:
Her NRT is changed to 2,618-tons. [1]

25 April 1941:
Requisitioned by the IJN as a General requisitioned Transport (Ippan Choyosen).

15 October 1941:
Registered in the IJN as an auxiliary transport, (Otsu) category and attached to the Yokosuka Naval District with Yokosuka as homeport under internal order No. 1256. [2]

23 February 1942:
Departs off Macassar in a convoy also consisting of OKITSU, TAITO, RAKUTO and TOYOSAKA MARUs escorted by DesDiv2.

24 February 1942:
About 120 nms NE Bali. LtCdr Kenneth C. Hurd’s (USNA ’25) USS SEAL (SS-183) sights the convoy. At 0500, Hurd torpedoes and scores one hit on OKITSU MARU at 06-45S, 117-24E. However, the unreliable Mark 14 torpedo is a dud and OKITSU MARU resumes her course, arriving off Bali later that same day.

25 February 1942:
At 0800 arrives at Bali.

12 July 1942:
Departs Yokohama.

15 July 1942:
Arrives at Miike, Fukuoka Prefecture.

16 July 1942:
Departs Miike.

18 July 1942:
Arrives at Tsukumi, Oita Prefecture.

24 July 1942:
Departs Tsukumi and sails alone.

31 July 1942:
Arrives at Palau, Western Carolines.

11 August 1942:
Departs Palau.

15 August 1942:
Arrives at Truk, Central Carolines.

22 August 1942:
At 1130 departs Truk escorted by submarine chaser CH-31.

23 August 1942:
At 1130 CH-31 is detached and returns to Truk.

26 August 1942:
Arrives at Fais, Eastern Carolines.

31 August 1942:
Departs Fais.

6 September 1942:
Arrives at Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.

10 September 1942:
Departs Nagoya.

14 September 1942:
Arrives at Chinnampo (now North Korea).

18 September 1942:
Departs Chinnampo.

21 September 1942:
Arrives at Kobe.

22 September 1942:
Departs Kobe.

24 September 1942:
Arrives at Yokosuka.

3 October 1942:
Departs Yokosuka.

6 October 1942:
Arrives at Muroran, Hokkaido.

8 October 1942:
Departs Muroran.

21 October 1942:
Arrives at Jaluit, Marshalls.

7 November 1942:
Departs Jaluit.

8 November 1942:
Arrives at Kwajalein, Marshalls.

18 November 1942:
Departs Kwajalein.

27 November 1942:
Arrives at Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture.

1 December 1942:
Departs Yokkaichi.

2 December 1942:
Arrives at Tokyo. Loads 16,000 cans of aviation gasoline and 1,000 bales of rice and departs, arriving later that same day at Yokosuka. Departs later in the day for Truk without escort.

5 December 1942:
Entering South China Sea, LtCdr (later Vice Admiral) Vernon L. Lowrance’s (USNA ’30) USS KINGFISH (SS-234) sights on the horizon a transport heading South. Lowrance decides to shadow the merchant ship to place his submarine in a good firing position.

7 December 1942:
About 135 nms WSW Minami-Iwojima, Ogasawara Gunto (Bonins), evening. At 2030, Lowrance fires torpedoes and obtains two hits on HINO MARU No. 3 in No. 3 and No. 4 holds, setting the transport afire. At 2120, she breaks in two and sinks at 23-30N, 138-20E taking down 13 crewmen and six gunners.

11 December 1942:
26 survivors in a lifeboat are rescued by auxiliary hospital ship TAKASAGO MARU.

1 February 1943:
Removed from the Navy’s list under internal order No. 108.


Authors notes :
[1] NRT is a ship's cargo volume capacity expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of 100 cubic feet (2.83 m3). It is calculated by subtracting non-revenue-earning spaces i.e. spaces not available for carrying cargo, for example engine rooms, fuel tanks and crew quarters, from the ship's gross register tonnage (GRT). Net register tonnage (NRT) is not a measure of the weight of the ship or its cargo, and should not be confused with terms such as deadweight tonnage or displacement.

[2] There were two categories of Zatsuyosen. (Ko) category with an IJN Captain as supervisor aboard and (Otsu) category without.

Thanks go to Gengoro S. Toda of Japan.

Gilbert Casse, Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall


Back to IJN Transports Page