This class consists of SHOWA, SHOKA, KOSHO MARUs, DAIGEN MARU No. 8 and KOSHIN and SHOHO MARUs built by Namura Zosen for different owners between 1939-42. These ships were a scaled down version of the 1D Peacetime standard but were smaller and exclusively built by the one builder, with several eventually allocated to Namura Kisen K K a company associated with the builder. Most served as cargo ships but KOSHO MARU was requisitioned by the IJN as an auxiliary gunboat on 10 December 1941 and remained under Naval requisition until sunk by HMS SEA ROVER on 2 May 1944. The ship was based in the Indian Ocean sphere of operations supporting garrisons in the Andamans and Nicobar Islands and supporting convoys from the Malacca Straits to Burma and northern Sumatra. DAIGEN MARU No. 8 was requisitioned by the IJA in December 1941 and SHOHO MARU was requisitioned by an IJN in August 1944, both as transports. These and the rest of the class were sunk between 1942-44 mostly by US submarines.
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