Japanese transport Suzuya Maru

History
Empire of Japan
Name	Suzuya Maru
Namesake	Suzuya River
Builder	Mitsui Tamano Engineering & Shipbuilding, Tamano
Yard number	77
Laid down	30 May 1922
Launched	2 September 1922
Sponsored by	Kita Nippon Kisen K.K.
Completed	30 September 1922
Acquired	Requisitioned by Imperial Japanese Navy, 1925
Homeport	Otaru
Identification	22520
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk by USS Guardfish off New Ireland, 13 June 1943
Notes	Call sign: NVBJ ; ;
General characteristics
Type	Passenger/cargo ship
Tonnage	864 GRT
Length	56.39 m (185 ft 0 in) o/a
Beam	9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	5.94 m (19 ft 6 in)
Installed power	600 bhp
Propulsion	1 triple expansion engine, single shaft, 1 screw
Speed	11 knots

Suzuya Maru (Japanese: 鈴谷丸) was an auxiliary transport and hell ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

History

She was laid down on 30 May 1922 by Mitsui Tamano Engineering & Shipbuilding at their Tamano shipyard at the behest of Kita Nippon Kisen K.K./Kitanihon Kisen.^[1]^[2] She was launched on 2 September 1922, completed on 30 September 1922, and registered in Otaru as Hokkai Maru No. 1 but had her name changed in 1924 to Suzuya Maru (after the Suzuya River in Karafuto Prefecture on Sakhalin Island, then part of Japan).^[3] Her sister ship was Hokkai Maru No. 2 (renamed Hayataka Maru).^[3] In 1925, she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy.^[2] Little is known of her service and she seemed to have lost her original name generally being referred to as No. 107 or Otaru Maru, Otari Maru, or Otaro Maru.^[3] On 15 August 1942, she took 179 prisoners of wars (POWs) at the port of Takao who had arrived aboard Nagara Maru.^[3]^[4] The POWs were all American senior civilian and military authorities of the Philippines^[5] and included Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright, Commander of Allied forces in the Philippines, and Major General Edward P. King^[3] who lead the defense of the Bataan Peninsula in the Battle of Bataan. She delivered the prisoners to the Karenko POW camp^[3] on the west coast of Formosa.

On 13 June 1943, Suzuya Maru was torpedoed and sunk by the US submarine USS Guardfish off the southwest coast of New Ireland (03°08′S 151°24′E / 3.133°S 151.400°E / -3.133; 151.400).^[3]^[6]^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Nagasawa, Fumio (1998). "第一北海丸 HOKKAI MARU No.1 (1922)". Nostalgic Japanese Steamships (in Japanese).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Lettens, Jan (8 June 2011). "Suzuya Maru (+1943)". wrecksite.eu.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Erickson, James W. (2009). "Suzuya Maru 鈴谷丸". POWs of the Japanese. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021.
^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2012). "Zatsuyosen: IJN Nagara Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
^ Beekhuis, Henk (4 February 2018). "Otaro Maru". Japanse krijgsgevangenkampen (in Dutch).
^ Rohwer, Jürgen; Gerhard Hümmelchen. "Seekrieg 1943, June". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German).
^ "Guardfish (SS-217)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 31 December 2011.