TOKUSETSU JUNYOKAN!
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(Ukishima Maru by Ueda Kihachiro)
IJN UKISHIMA MARU: Tabular Record of Movement
© 2008-2010 Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall
Revision 1
7 August 1936:
Tama. Laid down at Mitsui Bussan K. K. Zosembu Kojo (Shipyard) as a 4,731-ton passenger-cargo ship for Osaka Shosen Kabushiki Kaisha (O.S.K).
26 December 1936:
Launched and named UKISHIMA MARU.[1]
15 March 1937:
Completed.
24 March 1937:
In service on OSK Lines’s Osaka-Kobe-Naze-Naha route.
1938:
Renamed UKISIMA MARU.
28 January 1940:
Arrives at Kobe.
3 September 1941:
Requisitioned by the IJN. Arrives at Sasebo for
conversion.
20 September 1941:
Attached to Sasebo Naval District as an auxiliary cruiser. Captain Tsuchida Tadashi is the CO.
14 October 1941:
Completes conversion.
11 November 1941:
Assigned to the Sasebo Naval District’s patrol
squadron.
8 December 1941:
Departs for an area SW of Goto Retto archipelago.
12 December 1941:
Arrives at Sasebo.
22 December 1941:
Departs Sasebo.
25 December 1941:
Returns to Sasebo.
15 January 1942:
Attached to the Sasebo Guard Unit.
16 February 1942:
Departs Sasebo.
26 February 1942:
Returns to Sasebo.
13 March 1942:
Escorts an unidentified convoy to Moji.
19 March 1942:
Arrives at Mako.
28 March 1942:
Arrives at Nagasaki.
6 April 1942:
Returns to Sasebo.
10 April 1942:
Designated as the temporary flagship of Vice Admiral Inoue Yasuo’s (38) 1st Surface Escort Unit.
21 April 1942:
Departs Mutsure, Kyushu.
22 April 1942:
Arrives at Sasebo.
24 April 1942:
Departs Sasebo.
27 April 1942:
Arrives at Mako, Pescadores, departs and arrives the same day at Takao, Formosa.
30 April 1942:
Departs Takao. June 1942:
Captain Iwahara Seiki (former CEO/CO of DD MOCHIZUKI) is appointed CO.
5 August 1942:
Reassigned to Vice Admiral Takeda Moriji’s (38) 2nd Maritime Escort Unit, 4th Fleet.
25 August 1942:
Reassigned to Marshalls Area Guard Unit.
15 October 1942:
Off Tarawa. Shelled by Task Unit 16.9.1's USS PORTLAND (CA-33) and later attacked by carrier aircraft.
29 October 1942:
Truk. Escorts auxiliary transport KAGU MARU.
30 October 1943:
Completes escorting KAGU MARU.
1 November 1942:
Temporarily assigned to SE Area Fleet. Participates in Operation RYE, operating off Truk, Tarawa and Emidji.
9 November 1942:
UKISIMA MARU and HITACHI MARU depart Truk via the
northern channel.
7 December 1942:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
19 December 1942: Operation C (HEI-GO) - The Reinforcement of New Guinea:
Orders for Operation C (HEI-GO) are issued. The objective of this transport operation is to rush the 20th and 41st Army Division to Wewak. The operation consists of three separate operations, two of them divided into sub echelons sailing at different dates: The first operation HEI-ICHI GO (HEI-GO 1) is to land the main strength of the 20th Army Division consisting of 9,443 men, 82 vehicles, arms and 12,267 bundles of provisions at Wewak.
20 December 1942:
Departs Yokosuka for Truk, Rabaul and Shortland.
1 January 1943:
UKISIMA MARU is assigned to transport 856 men of the IJA's 41st Infantry Division, four vehicles and 4,404-tons of military supplies.
10 January 1943:
Returns to Sasebo.
24 January 1943:
Departs Sasebo for Tsingtao, China, carrying soldiers of the IJA's 20th Infantry Division and general cargo.
26 January 1943:
Arrives at Tsingtao. [1]
28 January 1943:
At 1200, UKISIMA MARU departs Tsingtao with KIYOSUMI MARU.
2 February 1943:
Arrives at Cebu.
3 February 1943:
Departs Cebu.
14 February 1943:
At 0900, arrives at Palau. Refuels and replenishes. UKISIMA MARU is detached and organized into the 3rd transport echelon.
21 February 1943:
At 0700, departs Palau in a convoy consisting of KIYOKAWA and YASUKUNI MARUs escorted by destroyer ISONAMI.
24 February 1943:
At 1220, arrives at Wewak. Disembarks troops.
25 February 1943:
At 0430, departs Wewak.
26 February 1943:
The convoy separates. UKISIMA MARU sails for Truk, KIYOKAWA sails for Kure and YASUKUNI MARU sails for Palau.
14 March 1943:
Arrives at Sasebo.
15 March 1943:
Reassigned to Fifth Fleet's 22 Squadron, 1st Patrol Unit. Transferred to Yokosuka Naval District.
March 1943:
Captain Nakamura Yasuzo is appointed CO.
10 April 1943:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Yano Kenji (50) is appointed temporary CO
15 April 1943:
Rerated as gunboat and reassigned to Northern Area Fleet 1st Patrol Unit.
20 April 1943:
Departs Sasebo.
22 April 1943:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
6 May 1943:
Departs Yokosuka.
19 May 1943:
Arrives at Kushiro.
26 May 1943:
Departs Kushiro.
3 July 1943:
Arrives at Kushiro.
12 July 1943:
Departs Kushiro.
15 July 1943:
Arrives at Paramushiro, Kuriles.
24 July 1943:
Departs Paramushiro.
8 August 1943:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
28 August 1943:
Departs Yokosuka.
14 September 1943:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
4 October 1943:
Departs Yokosuka.
24 October 1943:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
11 November 1943:
Departs Yokosuka.
29 November 1943:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
1 December 1943:
Reassigned to 2nd Base Air Unit.
17 December 1943:
Departs Yokosuka to patrol in the area between 30° to 40° north latitudes.
5 January 1944:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
24 January 1944:
Departs Yokosuka.
9 February 1944:
Arrives at Yokosuka.
21 February 1944:
Reassigned to Northern Area Fleet 22 Squadron, 1st Patrol Unit.
28 February 1944:
Departs Yokosuka.
11 March 1944:
Arrives at Yokosuka and later departs and arrives at Yokohama that same day.
31 March 1944:
Departs Yokohama.
15 April 1944:
Arrives at Yokohama.
5 May 1944:
Departs Yokohama.
20 May 1944:
Arrives at Yokohama.
10 June 1944:
Departs Yokohama.
24 June 1944:
Arrives at Yokohama.
17 July 1944:
Arrives at Yokohama.
31 July 1944:
Arrives at Yokohama.
1 August 1944:
Reassigned to the 22nd (Auxiliary Cruiser) Squadron.
1 September 1944:
Reassigned to 7th Base Air Unit, 1st Patrol Squadron, 1st Patrol Unit.
25 September 1944:
Arrives at Yokohama.
12 October 1944:
Arrives at Yokohama.
31 October 1944:
Departs Yokohama.
15 November 1944:
Arrives at Yokohama.
6 December 1944:
Departs Yokohama.
18 December 1944:
Arrives at Yokohama.
10 January 1945:
Departs Yokohama.
14 January 1945:
Arrives at Yokohama.
20 February 1945:
Registered in the Yokosuka Naval District and rereated an auxiliary transport. Reserve Cdr Toriumi Kingo is appointed CO.
7 March 1945:
Shifts to a different anchorage in Yokohama harbor.
10-20 March 1945:
Yokohama. Splinter shields for 25-mm AA guns are installed.
16-25 March 1945:
The bridge structure is reinforced.
18 March 1945:
Yokohama. Enters dock at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard.
19-31 March 1945:
Four 15 centimeter guns, a type 93 13-mm heavy machine gun and type 92 7.7-mm light machine guns are fitted. Type 14 4.5-m rangefinders are installed.
20 March 1945:
Four depth charge racks and three active sonars are installed.
29 March 1945:
Two 96 type 25-mm machine guns are fitted.
30 March 1945:
Loads provisions.
2 April 1945:
Undocked.
4 April 1945:
Undergoes an air attack in Yokohama harbor. Later transfers to No. 3 buoy.
5 April 1945:
Reassigned to the Ominato Patrol District's training and replacement unit.
7 April 1945:
Air action.
8 April 1945:
Departs Yokohama.
9 April 1945:
Off Sanriku coast, NE Honshu. UKISIMA MARU and minesweeper W-3 are attacked by USS PARCHE (SS-384). W-3 is sunk at 39-07N, 141-57E, UKISIMA MARU manages to avoid an incoming torpedo. She drops three depth charges and fires five shots from her main guns. Arrives at Yamada port.
14 April 1945:
Departs Yamada port.
15 April 1945:
Arrives at Ominato.
17 April 1945:
Ominato Naval Repair Unit conducts a repair of UKISIMA MARU’s sonar receiver.
23 April 1945:
Assigned to evacuate a naval unit from Northern Kurile Islands. Departs Ominato.
30 April 1945:
Arrives at Mori island, Kataoka Bay off Shimushu Island.
1 May 1945:
Departs Mori island and arrives at Suribachi Bay.
2 May 1945:
Departs Suribachi Bay and arrives at Kataoka Bay.
3 May 1945:
Departs Kataoka Bayfor Kakumabetsu Bay.
4 May 1945:
Kataoka.
5 May 1945:
Arrives at Suribachi Bay.
6 May 1945:
Departs Suribachi Bay and arrives at Kataoka. Air action.
9 May 1945:
Departs Suribachi Bay.
10 May 1945:
Kurile Islands. UKISIMA MARU arrives at Kataoka Bay. USAAF 11th Air Force and the USN's Fleet Air Wing Four execute the heaviest and most successful joint mission to date; 12 B-24 “Liberator” heavy bombers bomb shipping in the Kataoka naval base on Shimushu Island. 15 Attu-based B-25
"Mitchell" medium bombers hit shipping between Kashiwabara on Paramushiro Island and Kataoka; heavy AA fire claims a B-25; a B-24 and a B-25 force land in the USSR.
11 May 1945:
Departs Kataoka Bay for Ominato with convoy No. 101.
15 May 1945:
Arrives at Ominato.
19 May 1945:
Loads assorted goods and fresh provisions.
25 May 1945:
Departs Ominato with convoy RI.
30 May 1945:
Arrives at Kataoka bay.
1 June 1945:
Departs Kataoka bay.
3 June 1945:
Sea of Okhotsk. At 2054, UKISIMA MARU is attacked by a submarine at 46-42N,145-28E, but avoids the torpedo and counter-attacks with depth charges.
5 June 1945:
Arrives at Otaru, Hokkaido.
6 June 1945:
Departs Otaru.
7 June 1945:
Arrives at Ominato.
12 June 1945:
Undergoes repairs by the Ominato Naval Repair Unit.
15 June 1945:
Loads fresh provisions.
27 June 1945:
Departs Ominato. Arrives at Hakodate, Hokkaido.
9 August 1945:
Task Force 38 carrier-based aircraft conduct a large air raid on Ominato. UKISIMA MARU's hull is damaged.
15 August 1945:
Tokyo. Emperor Hirohito (Showa) announces the end of hostilities with the Allied Powers. UKISIMA MARU receives the message when navigating Tsugaru Straits.
17 August 1945:
Arrives at Ominato.
22 August 1945:
At 2200 departs Ominato via Maizuru for Pusan, Korea, carrying 3,725 Korean forced-laborers, former gunzoku personnel and their families.
24 August 1945:
Maizuru Bay, off Jajima Island. At 1720, UKISIMA MARU hits a magnetic mine, breaks in two and sinks. 524 Koreans and 25 Japanese sailors (of a total of 255) are killed.
3 May 1947:
Removed from the Navy List.
13 March 1950:
Iino Salvage Company commences work to refloat the stern section of UKISIMA MARU. The remains of 103 passengers are recovered.
November 1953:
During salvage works the remains of another 245 passengers are recovered.
7 January 1954:
The stern section is refloated and later scrapped.
Authors' Notes:
[1] Sources conflict about UKISIMA MARU's movements on this day. Some say she was torpedoed and damaged by USS WAHOO (SS-238) on this day; but UKISIMA MARU's subsequent activities do not seem to corroborate this.
Thanks go to Erich Muethaler of Germany for assistance with Operation C (HEI-GO).
- Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall.
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