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Tonnage | 10,438 tons standard displacement |
Dimensions | 492' by 66'6" by 27'11" 151.2m by 20.27m by 8.51m |
Aircraft |
2 seaplanes |
Maximum speed | 21 knots |
Armament | 8 5.5"/50
guns 2 3"/40 AA guns 4 25mm machine guns 2x2 13mm/76 machine guns 2x2 21" torpedo tubes |
Machinery |
2-shaft Mitsui B&W diesels (13,000 shp) |
The Aikoku Marus
were merchant ships of the
Osaka Shosen line converted to a
commerce raiding role just before war broke out. They had some modest
success in this role in the far reaches of the Indian Ocean, and they
also served as supply ships for
replenishment of Japanese submarines
operating off the coast of Africa.
The survivors
were
rerated as transports in 1943.
None survived the war. Aikoku Maru
was wrecked in Truk Lagoon when its
cargo of explosives was hit by American
carrier aircraft, and it has
become a popular destination for scuba divers.
Northeast of Tuamotu Archipelago |
Sunk by aircraft 1944-2-18 at Truk | |
Northeast of Tuamotu Archipelago |
Sunk by gunfire 1942-11-11 in the Indian Ocean | |
Completed 1942-9-25 (Kure) |
Torpedoed 1944-11-10 by Barb near 129.3E 33.5N |
References:
Jentschura, Jung, and Mickel (1977)
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