Edogawa Maru
Edogawa Maru (Kanji:江戸川丸) was a 6,968-ton Japanese Type 2A Wartime Standard cargo ship that was sunk by USS Sunfish on 18 November 1944 with 2,114 lives lost.
| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan | |
| Launched | 1944 |
| Completed | 20 May 1944 |
| Fate | Sunk by USS Sunfish, 18 November 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Troop transport |
| Tonnage | 6,968 tons |
| Length | 128 m (419 ft 11 in) |
| Beam | 18.2 m (59 ft 9 in) |
| Draft | 11.1 m (36 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion | Steam turbine |
Edogawa Maru sailed as part of convoy MI-27 with seven other ships from Moji to Miri, Borneo, on 15 November 1944. Escorted by a converted minesweeper (W-101) and three smaller escorts (Type D escort ship CD-134 and two No.1-class auxiliary submarine chasers, Cha-156 and CHa-157), the convoy hugged the coast of the Korean peninsula to try to avoid American submarines.[1] Nevertheless, a group of three submarines—Peto, Spadefish, and Sunfish—found and attacked the convoy on the night of 17/18 November. At 22:00 a torpedo from Sunfish struck and crippled Edogawa Maru. In the early hours of 18 November a second torpedo from Sunfish finished off Edogawa Maru. The ship had not been evacuated in the meantime and 1,998 soldiers and 116 crewmen died when the ship sunk.[2]
The ships Seisho Maru, Osakasan Maru, and Chinaki Maru were also sunk that night.
References
- Hackett, Bob; Peter Cundall (2007). "JN Minesweeper W-101: Tabular Record of Movement". Retrieved 2016-10-11.
- "Edogawa Maru (+1944)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
- David L Williams (2012). In the Shadow of the Titanic: Merchant Ships Lost With Greater Fatalities The History Press
