Shinshū Maru (神州丸 or 神洲丸) was a ship of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. She was the world's first landing craft carrier ship to be designed as such, and a pioneer of modern-day amphibious assault ships.[1] During some of her operations, she was known to have used at least four cover names, R1, GL, MT, and Ryujo Maru.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Shinshū Maru |
| Builder | Harima Shipbuilding |
| Laid down | 8 April 1933 |
| Launched | 14 March 1934 |
| Commissioned | 15 November 1934 |
| Fate | Sunk 3 January 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Amphibious assault ship |
| Displacement | 7,100 tons standard, 8,108 tons full |
| Length | 144 m (472 ft 5 in) |
| Beam | 22 m (72 ft 2 in) |
| Draft | 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) |
| Speed | 20.4 kn (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph) |
| Complement | 2,000 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 26 × aircraft (planned) |
| Aviation facilities | Hangar and catapult; no flight deck (planned) |
Shinshū Maru was one of the ships sunk by friendly torpedo fire at the Battle of Sunda Strait, but later salvaged and returned to service.
Design features
editShinshū Maru was a significant advance in amphibious warfare, having incorporated numerous innovative features, and as such she was shrouded in a veil of secrecy throughout her existence. She could carry 29 Daihatsu-class landing craft, 25 Shohatsu-class landing craft and four AB-Tei-class armoured gunboats, to be launched from a floodable well deck.
In addition, it was planned that Shinshū Maru should carry aircraft in a hangar within her voluminous superstructure. The aircraft would have been launched by two catapults to support amphibious assaults, but the catapults were removed before completion and the ship never carried any operational planes.
These concepts pioneered by Shinshū Maru persist to the current day, in the U.S. Navy's LHA and LHD amphibious assault ships.[2]
Fate
editOn 3 January 1945, while returning to Takao after a supply mission to Leyte Island, Shinshū Maru was heavily damaged by a US air attack by Task Force 38; after the ship was abandoned she was sunk by the submarine USS Aspro in the Formosa Straits off Takao.[3]
Photos
edit-
Shinshū Maru in 1934. -
Shinshū Maru on 12 October 1938 at Bias Bay. -
Shinshū Maru -
The crew preparing to launch some landing crafts.
See also
edit- Dock landing ship
- Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces - Part of the Land Forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy
References
edit- ^ Military innovation in the interwar period. Murray, Williamson., Millet, Alan R. (1st paperback ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1998. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-107-26688-9. OCLC 852896224.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Military innovation in the interwar period. Murray, Williamson., Millet, Alan R. (1st paperback ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1998. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-107-26688-9. OCLC 852896224.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Hackett, Bob; Cundall, Peter (2012). "Tetsusei Dai Hatsudotei: IJA Landing Craft Depot Ship Shinshu Maru". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
Sources
edit- Murray, Williamson and Millett, Alan R. Military Innovation in the Interwar Period. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-521-55241-9.