| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Nigitsu Maru |
| Builder | Harima, Harima |
| Completed | March 1943 |
| Fate | Sunk 12 January 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Landing craft depot ship |
| Displacement | 11,800 tons (standard) |
| Length | 471 ft 7 in (5,659 in) (pp) |
| Beam | 64 ft (20 m) |
| Draft | 25 ft 9 in (7.85 m) (maximum) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Armament | |
Nigitsu Maru (にぎつ丸) was a Japanese "Type C" landing craft depot ship operated by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The vessel did not have a flight deck like Akitsu Maru of the same type.
Design features
Nigitsu Maru was a passenger liner taken over before completion and refitted by the Imperial Japanese Army.
On 9 January 1944 Nigitsu Maru left Palau for Ujina in convoy FU-901 as the sole merchant ship escorted by the destroyer Amagiri. She carried about 2,000 troops, mainly soldiers of the 12th Independent Engineer Regiment. Three days later off the Okino-Daito Island, southeast of Okinawa, Nigitsu Maru was attacked by the US submarine Hake which fired four torpedoes from the surface. Two hit Nigitsu Maru which sank in eight minutes at 23°15′N 132°51′E / 23.250°N 132.850°E / 23.250; 132.850. 456 soldiers, 83 gunners and 35 crewmen were killed. Amagiri picked up the survivors and landed them in Japan.
Notes
- ^ Gardiner; Chesneau. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. p. 213.
- ^ "IJA Landing Craft Depot Ship Nigitsu Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
References
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-913-8.