RIKUGUN YUSOSEN
(RYOKAI MARU, prewar)
IJN/IJA RYOKAI MARU: Tabular Record of Movement
© 2014-2017 Bob Hackett
E 1910:
Laid down at Northumberland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Howdon as Yard Number 186, a 4220-ton cargo ship.
25 August 1911:
Launched and named ORISTANO.
October 1911:
Completed and sold to Gulf Line Ltd (Furness, Withy & Co., Ltd), West Hartlepool.
19 March 1917:
Arrives at Ellis Island from Cardiff, Wales.
22 May 1917:
Arrives at Ellis Island from Cardiff.
27 July 1917:
Arrives at Ellis Island from Cardiff.
6 October 1917:
Arrives at Ellis Island from Cardiff via Queenstown.
3 March 1919:
Arrives at Ellis Island from Hull, England.
6 April 1919:
Arrives at Ellis Island from Cardiff.
21 December 1919:
Arrives at Ellis Island from Fayal, Azores.
19 December 1920:
Arrives at Ellis Island from Le Havre, France and Havreo, Portugal.
10 May 1921:
Arrives at Ellis Island from the United States.
15 November 1921:
Arrives at Ellis Island from Hull, England.
1922:
Sold to T Yamamoto, Dairen, Manchuria. Renamed RYOKAI MARU.
1922:
Mindoro, Philippines. RYOKAI MARU is stranded on Panagatan Reef. Later, salvaged by the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Co. of Manila.
1924:
Sold to Yamamoto Kisen K.K. of Dairen, and Kobe, Japan.
25 February 1924:
RYOKAI MARU departs Singapore under charter to Osaka Shosen Kaisha K. K for Osaka and Kobe.
6 June 1933:
Singapore. Dry-docked at Keppel Harbor.
1935:
Sold to Nippon Godo Kisen K. K, Kobe.
1937:
Sold to Kyodo Gyogyo K. K, Kobe.
1938:
Sold to Nippon Suisan K. K, Kobe. Converted to a crab factory ship.
1937: Second Sino – Japanese War:
Chartered to the Imperial Army (IJA).
2 March 1938:
RYOKAI MARU departs Osaka in a convoy also consisting of AIDA, ASO, CHICAGO, JILIN, KOSOKU and MAYA MARUs and an unidentified ship. RYOKAI MARU is carrying part of the 14th Division's 1st battalion, 59th Infantry Regiment, 1/2 of the Infantry Gun Unit, 1/3 of the Mountain Gun Unit, 2nd Infantry Regiment and part of 20th Field Artillery Regiment and 14th Engineer
Battalion.
6 March 1938:
Arrives at Wusung and departs.
8 March 1938:
Arrives at Shanghai.
18 March 1938:
RYOKAI MARU departs Wusung carrying the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 24th Mixed Brigade.
23 March 1938:
Arrives at Moji.
20 August 1939:
Requisitioned by the Imperial Navy (IJN) as a (B-AK) Ippan Choyosen.
21 May 1941:
Released back to her owners.
23 May 1941:
Singapore. The British Consulate lists a number of Japanese ships and tankers on Britain's shipping “Black List”, including RYOKAI MARU, suspected of provisioning andrefueling Nazi surface commerce raiders.
E 1941:
Requisitioned by the Imperial Army (IJA) as a troop transport. Allotted IJA No. 578
8 December 1941:
The Pacific War begins.
2 December 1942: RYOKAI MARU departs Wada-Misaki, Kobe in convoy No. 32 also consisting of HIKOSAN, KOJUN, TSUKIKAWA, YAMAFUKU and ZUISHO MARUs and auxiliary transport HAKUTETSU MARU No. 7 escorted by destroyer OKIKAZE.
4 December 1942:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
5 May 1943:
Released back to her owners.
15 August 1943:
Lookouts on Cdr Dudley W. Morton’s (USNA ’30) USS WAHOO (SS-238) pick up three freighters in column making 7 knots at 43-24N, 140-26E. At 0035, WAHOO fires one unreliable Mark 14-3A steam torpedo at the trailing ship, but there is no detonation.
22 August 1943:
RYOKAI MARU departs Suttu, Hokaido for Niigata carrying a cargo of salted fish.
Sea of Japan. At 1433, LtCdr (later Rear Admiral) Raymond H. Bass' (USNA '31) USS PLUNGER (SS-179) fires three torpedoes at RYOKAI MARU and gets three hits starboard side. One of the Mark 14-3A torpedoes is a dud, but the other two explode and within three minutes RYOKAI MARU sinks at 43-24N, 140-26E. Casualties are unknown.
Authors Notes:
Thanks go to Erich Muehlthaler of Germany.
- Bob Hackett
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