The Kokai Maru was a 3,871 gross ton passenger cargo ship built by Hakodate Dock Company, Hakodate, Hokkaidō

Hakodate, Hokkaido

is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan...

 for Simatani Kisen Kabushiki Kaisha in 1939. She was requisitioned in 1941 by the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. On 10 March 1942, during the invasion of Lae-Salamaua‎, Kokai Maru was damaged by SBD’s from the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 aircraft carriers and off Lae, New Guinea.

Fate

On 21 February 1944, as part of a convoy off New Hanover Island

New Hanover Island

New Hanover Island, , also called Lavongai, is a large volcanic island in New Ireland Province, part of the Bismarck Archipelago of the New Guinea Islands region of Papua New Guinea, at...

, Kokai Maru ws hit by bombs from United States Army Air Force B-25 Mitchell aircraft, and sunk at 2-30S, 150-15E.

External links

• Chronological List of Japanese Merchant Vessel Losses