YUSOSEN!
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(Wartime Standard Merchant Tanker 1TL)
IJN KYUEI MARU: Tabular Record of Movement
© 2007-2022 Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall.
Revision 5
20 November 1942:
Kobe. Laid down by Kawasaki Jukogyo K.K. as a 10,171-ton 1TL Standard Tanker for Nitto Kisen K. K., Higata.
3 June 1943:
Launched and named KYUEI MARU.
6 September 1943:
Completed and registered in Tokyo. Her Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) and Net Registered Tonnage (NRT) respectively are 10,171-tons and 7,827-tons. Merchant Marine Capt. Umehara Keisei is appointed Commanding Officer. Her call sign is JDBS. [1]
25 September 1943:
At 1200, KYUEI MARU departs Moji for Singapore in convoy HI-11 also consisting of tanker ITSUKUSHIMA MARU, transport (ex-seaplane tender) KAGU MARU and transports AKI, AWA and MANKO MARUs escorted by kaibokan ETOROFU. [2]
29 September 1943:
At 0800, arrives at Takao, Formosa (now Kaohsiung, Taiwan) and departs that day at 1835.
4 October 1943:
At 1835, arrives at Singapore. Loads 11,733-tons of crude oil and embarks 63 passengers.
12 October 1943:
KYUEI MARU departs Singapore in convoy No. 627 also consisting of two unidentified merchant ships escorted by subchaser CH-19.
14 October 1943:
LtCdr Earl C. Hawk's (USNA ’28) Fremantle-based USS POMPON (SS-267) fires four Mark 14-3A torpedoes at KYUEI MARU at 06-00N, 104-10E. Two torpedoes hit on her port side, but fail to explode.
15 October 1943:
Requistioned by the IJN and registered as a specially installed transport ship (oil supply) in the Kure Naval District, under internal order No. 2169.
Assigned to the Yokusuka Naval District as an Otsu category special transport. [3]
20 October 1943:
Arrives at St Jacques, French Indochina (now Vung Tau, Vietnam).
25 October 1943:
Assigned to the Naval Department belonging to the Yokosuka Naval District.
28 October 1943
Departs St Jacques in convoy No. 437 also consisting of ICHIYO, MANSHU, KYOKUZAN MARUs, HINO MARU No. 1 and eight unidentified merchant ships escorted by kaibokan WAKAMIYA.
29 October 1943:
Arrives at Camranh Bay, Indochina.
3 November 1943:
Departs Camranh in convoy No. 437 also consisting of twelve unidentified merchant ships escorted by kaibokan WAKAMIYA.
8 November 1943:
Arrives at Takao.
11 November 1943:
Departs Takao in convoy No. 218 also consisting of MANSHU MARU, HINO MARU No.1 and two unidentified merchant ships escorted by destroyer ASAKAZE.
17 November 1943:
Arrives at Moji. Later, sails to Tokuyama to discharge.
24 November 1943:
Merchant Marine Captain Shibata Chokichi is appointed Supervisor. Departs Tokuyama.
25 November 1943:
Arrives at Kobe.
26 November 1943:
Enters Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kobe Zosensho for repairs.
5 December 1943
Departs Kobe and later that day arrives Innoshima.
13 December 1943:
Departs Innoshima.
14 December 1943:
Arrives at Kure.
17 December 1943:
Departs Kure and later that day arrives at Moji.
21 December 1943:
Departs Moji in convoy HI-27 consisting of oilers KYUEI and OTORISAN MARUs transport KUNIKAWA MARU, cargo-passenger liners MIIKE and TSUKUSHI MARUs, cargo liner NOTO MARU and IJA landing craft depot ship MAYASAN MARU escorted by destroyer ASAKAZE. NOTO MARU carries the 72nd Field AA Battalion, 14th Shipping Eng Regiment and she and the convoy also carry the 1st echelon of the 53rd Division consisting of Div Hq, 53rd Div, 128th Infantry Regiment and div troops (including comms, transportation, veterinary, supply, maintenance etc.), 234th Naval Construction Unit, 43rd Independent Field AAA Company, 46th Field Ops Machine Cannon Company, 47th Field Ops Machine Cannon Company and 12th Independent Searchlight Company.
2 December 1943:
Arrives at Takao, Formosa.
26 December 1943:
HI-27 departs Takao for Singapore with a replacement escort, kaibokan MATSUWA. The convoy now consists of KYUEI, OTORISAN, KUNIKAWA and TSUKUSHI MARUs. The others remain at Takao.
27 December 1943:
162 miles WSW of Takao. At about 1100, in the second of two submerged attacks, LtCdr (later Captain) Robert D. Risser's (USNA ’34) FLYING FISH (SS-229) torpedoes and sinks KYUEI MARU at 21-25N, 118-05E. The other ships continue their voyage.
At 0214 Risser fires 4 torpedoes at a large tanker (KYUEI MARU) of which two hit her.
At 0222 Rissers sees that the tanker has stopped and an escort (presumably MATSUWA) is standing by. The other ships continue their voyage. Matsuwa rescues 8 victims.
At 0304 the escort departs. The tanker gets underway at a low speed and heads towards Takao.
At 0406 it is concluded she circles and tries to rejoin the convoy. Her speed is 11 knots.
At 0439 Sigger fires 4 torpedoes at the the tanker of which 2 hit. She stops and is set on fire. The fire apparently is extinguished almost immediately.
At 0630 the tanker is seen still afloat on an even keel and waves are breaking over her stern. The tanker drifts with a speed of 2 knots.
At 1053 Risser fires a torpedo at the tanker. It hits and pushes her stern around. About 30 people are seen on deck just aft of the center island.
At 1103 Risser fires another topedo at the tanker. Some sort of flat bottomed boat is lowered on the tanker and all hands abandon her.
At 1104 the torpedo hits and sets her on fire again. 45 seconds later KYUEI MARU sinks at 21-25N, 118-05E, about 260 km west-southwest of Takao. 54 crewmen are KIA.
At 1300 a lifeboat with a small sail forward is sighted. It disappears in a rain squall shortly thereafter. It looked as though about 12 people were on board.
5 February 1944:
Removed from the Navy List under internal order No. 305.
Authors' Note:
[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] KYUEI MARU either made this voyage under civilian control or possibly under charter to the IJN.
[3] There were two categories of Yusosen. The Ko category with an IJN Captain as supervisor aboard and the Otsu category without.
Thanks to Gilbert Casse of France, Berend van der Wal of Netherlands and Matthew Jones of Mississippi, USA. Thanks also go to Gengoro S. Toda of Japan.
- Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall.
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