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KITA MARU - Class Auxiliary Transport


(HrMs GEMMA later KITA MARU, prewar)

KITA MARU was laid down as GEMMA. She was completed in 1918. She served in Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN) in the Dutch East Indies (DEI) as a patrol vessel. In Mar ‘42, she was scuttled by her crew in Surabaya, Java. Salvaged by the Japanese in Oct ‘42, she was renamed KITA MARU and was registered in the IJN in Aug ’43 as an auxiliary transport. She survived the war and was subsequently handed over to Allied Forces.

Builder and Year Completed: Schiedam near Rotterdam, Netherlands. Wilton-Fijenoord shipyard.
1918
Gross tonnage: 845-tons
Dimensions: 175.2' (Lpp) x 29.5' x 10.5'
Propulsion: One triple expansion steam engine, one shaft, power unknown.
Speed: unknown.
Armament: As a RNN patrol vessel: one 7.5cm deck gun. As an IJN auxiliary transport: Unknown.