Toa Maru
Toa Maru No 2 is a World War II Japanese transport ship sunk by the American submarine USS Searaven (SS-196)[1] off Gizo, Solomon Islands on 25 November 1943.
History | |
---|---|
Japan | |
Builder | Kawasaki Dockyard, Kobe |
Launched | 1934 |
Fate | Sunk 25 November 1943 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Transport ship |
Tonnage | 10,052 tons |
Length | 502.3 ft (153.1 m) |
Beam | 64.9 ft (19.8 m) |
Draft | 37.1 ft (11.3 m) |
Installed power | Kawasaki (MAN-type) diesel engine, 8,611 hp (6,421 kW) |
Speed | 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) |
Capacity | 93,000 bbl (14,800 m3) |
Armament | 1 × 4.7 in (120 mm) LA gun |
Diving destination
The hull of the wreck is intact and lying on its starboard side. The ships masts are still attached to the hull; however, recently the superstructure has fallen into the sand. The deepest point of the wreck is by the stern, which rests in 130 feet (40 m) of water; however, the top of the wreck can be reached at a depth of 40 feet (12 m). The contents of the ship's six cargo holds include sake bottles, ammunition magazines, two Type 95 tanks, motor-cycle sidecar combinations, and a fuel tanker. However, since the sinking, the ship has been salvaged removing some of the cargo and the ship's propeller.[2]
In its 2010 travel guide, Diver magazine named the wreck as one of the top 20 wreck dives in the world.[3]
External links
- "War Wrecks of the Coral Seas". PBS. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
Footnotes
- Hackett, Bob; Cundall, Peter (2013). "IJN Toa Maru". Combined Fleet.
- "Toa Maru No 2". Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site.
- "Top 20 wreck dives". Diver. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012.