YUSOSEN!

(A Type 1TM Standard Tanker underway)

NICHINAN MARU No. 2:
Tabular Record of Movement

© 2010-2012 Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall.

Revision 1

24 July 1943:
Nagasaki. Laid down at Mitsubishi Jukogyo's shipyard as a 5, 227-ton Type 1TM Standard Tanker for Iino Kaiun K K.

29 October 1943:
Launched and named NICHINAN MARU No. 2.

18 December 1943:
Completed.

26 January 1944:
At 1300 departs Moji in convoy HI-39 also consisting of tankers NICHIRIN, NANEI, and ICHIYO MARUs and two unidentified merchant ships escorted by the kaibokan SHIMUSHU.

9 February 1944:
At 1100 arrives Singapore.

26 February 1944:
Departs Palemmbang.

4 March 1944:
Arrives at Palembang.

9 March 1944:
At 2010 arrives at Palembang.

18 March 1944:
Departs Palembang for Singapore.

30 March 1944:
At 1300 departs Singapore.

31 March 1944:
At 2300 arrives Palembang.

8 April 1944:
Departs Singapore in convoy HI-56 also consisting of SARAWAK, ASANAGI, OTORISAN, TOKUSHIMA MARUs and one unidentified ship escorted by torpedo boat HATO and kaibokan MATSUWA.

11 April 1944:
Arrives at St Jacques and merges with convoy HI-54 consisting of NANKAI, ARIMASAN, KYOKUHO and MIRI MARUs escorted by kaibokan AWAJI and possibly Sub Chaser CH 7.

14 April 1944:
At 0800 departs St Jacques.

19 April 1944:
Arrives Takao. The old destroyer KURETAKE apparently joins the escort.

22 April 1944:
At 1400 NICHINAN MARU NO.2 arrives at Shanghai after detaching from convoy.

29 April 1944:
At 0902 departs Shanghai in convoy MO-902 also consisting of passenger/cargo ship KITSURIN MARU with unknown escort. The convoy sails at 14 knots for Moji.

29 May 1944:
Departs Manila in convoy MASHI-01 also consisting of MEDAN, MATSUMOTO, KONSAN, SIBERIA, RIKKO, IKUTA MARUs, and one unidentified merchant ship escorted by kaibokan ETOROFU and CD 17.

6 June 1944:
Arrives at Singapore.

20 June 1944:
At 1930, NICHINAN MARU No. 2 departs Moji for Singapore convoy HI-67 also consisting of tankers MIRI, OTORISAN, SARAWAK and SHINEI MARUs and transports GOKOKU, MANJU, NANKAI, KINUGASA, ASAKA, ASAHISAN and HAKOZAKI MARUs escorted by destroyer KURETAKE, minelayer SHIRATAKA, kaibokan HIRADO, KURAHASHI, CD-5 and CD-13 and subchaser CH-61.

E 26 June 1944:
CD-2 and destroyer ASAGAO join convoy HI-67.

29 June 1944:
Near dawn, LtCdr (later Captain) Anton W. Gallaher's (USNA ’33) USS BANG (SS-385) picks up convoy HI-67. Gallaher makes a long "end-around" in daylight. At about 1500, he fires all ten torpedoes in his bow and stern tubes at three ships. He damages MIRI and SARAWAK MARUs. Both oilers are hit in the bow, but each manages to proceed to Manila.

30 June 1944:
The convoy arrives at Manila. GOKOKU, SARAWAK and MIRI MARUs are detached.

3 July 1944:
At 0600, HI-67 departs Manila.

9 July 1944:
Arrives at Singapore at 1640.

14 July 1944:
At 0730, NICHINAN MARU No. 2 departs Singapore in convoy HI-68 also consisting of tankers TOA, TOHO, SHIMPO and OTORISAN MARUs, and transports MANILA and KIYOKAWA MARUs escorted by kaibokan HIRADO, KURAHASHI, CD-13, CD-20 and CD-28 and minelayer SHIRATAKA.

E 19 July 1944:
SHIRATAKA is detached from the convoy.

24 July 1944:
At 0600, convoy HI-68 departs Manila for Moji. The convoy sails in three columns consisting of NICHINAN MARU No. 2, oilers OTORISAN MARU, landing craft depot ship MAYASAN MARU and escort carrier TAIYO in column No. 1; landing craft depot ship KOZU MARU (a.k.a. TAKATSU MARU) and transports TOSAN, KASHII, NISSHO and AKI MARUs in column No. 2 and ex-seaplane tender KIYOKAWA MARU and oilers ITSUKUSHIMA, TOA, TOHO and SHIMPO MARUs in column No. 3. The convoy is escorted by kaibokan HIRADO (F), KUSAGAKI, KURAHASHI, MIKURA, CD-11, CD-20 and torpedo boat HIYODORI.

A three-submarine wolf pack of Cdr (later Rear Admiral) Reuben T. Whitaker’s (USNA ’34) FLASHER, LtCdr Franklin Hess’s (USNA ’35) ANGLER (SS-240) and LtCdr (later Captain) Francis D. Walker’s (USNA ’35) CREVALLE (SS-291) tracks the convoy.

25 July 1944:
Off NW Luzon. At 1540, transports AKI and TOSAN MARUs succesfully evade an attack by CREVALLE.

26 July 1944:
Off Luzon. At 0311, in a night surface radar attack, FLASHER damages TOSAN MARU and sinks AKI MARU with three crewmen, 26 gunners and 24 troops and passengers KIA. OTORISAN MARU is also sunk by FLASHER with 46 crew and 13 gunners KIA. Hess’s ANGLER torpedoes and blows the bow off KIYOKAWA MARU. At 0655, the ship leaves the convoy and heads for Takao, Formosa. At 1137, LtCdr Walker’s CREVALLE torpedoes and again damages TOSAN MARU. Later, she catches fire.

27 July 1944:
At 0430, the fires ignite 1,000 stored shells and by 1045 TOSAN MARU sinks with nine crewmen, eight gunners and 18 passengers KIA. The remainder of the convoy arrives at Takao.

3 August 1944:
At 1600, arrives at Moji.

24 October 1944:
Departs Miri in Nichinan Maru No. 2 Convoy consisting only of NICHINAN MARU No. 2 escorted by minesweepers W-17, W-18 and W-30.

28 October 1944:
Arrives at Manila.

7 November 1944:
At 2000, convoy MASHI-03 departs Manila for Singapore consisting of tankers NICHINAN MARU No. 2 and SHIMOTSU MARU escorted by subchasers CH-7 and CH-8.

8 November 1944:
At 2257, after the convoy avoids one torpedo attack, LtCdr (later Cdr) Marshall H. Austin's (USNA ’35) USS REDFIN (SS-272) torpedoes and sinks NICHINAN MARU No. 2 at 14-10N 116-37E with one crewman, five gunners and 18 troops KIA. The forepart of the wreck sinks at 1030 the following day.

Authors' Note:
NICHINAN MARU No. 2 was civilian operated for the Army on specific voyages. Army Number was 5101.

Thanks go to Gilbert Casse of France.

- Bob Hackett and Peter Cundall.

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