SS Yoshida Maru

Not to be confused with SS Yoshida Maru No. 1.

The Yoshida Maru (吉田丸) was a Japanese cargo ship owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1941 by Hakodate Dock at Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaidō.

History
Japan
Name	Yoshida Maru [1]
Operator	Nippon Yusen (NYK)
Builder	Hakodate Dock at Hakodate, Hokkaidō
Laid down	1940
Launched	9 May 1941
Completed	30 August 1941
In service	1941 - 1944
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Flasher, 18 February 1944
General characteristics
Class & type	Hirota Maru
Tonnage	2,921 gross register tons (GRT)
Length	93 m (305 ft)
Beam	13.8 m (45 ft)
Propulsion	1 turbine, single screw
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h)
Notes	Steel construction

History

The Yoshida Maru was built at Hakodate; and she left port in August 1941 on her maiden voyage.^[2]

The 2,921-ton vessel had a length of 310 feet (93 m), and her beam was 45 feet (13.8 m). The single turbine, single screw propulsion produced an average speed of 11 knots (20 km/h).^[2]

World War II

Yoshida Maru was requisitioned as an auxiliary gunboat/minelayer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was armed with 3 guns of 12 cm and machineguns. On 1 October, 1943 she was reregistered as an auxiliary transport.^[3] On 18 January 1944, she was sunk by the submarine USS Flasher at 140 miles west-southwest of Minami-Tori-shima, 23°50′N 151°28′E with the loss of 76 passengers, eight crewmen and 15 gunners.^[4]

See also

• List of Japanese hell ships
• Foreign commerce and shipping of Empire of Japan