View source for Nankai Maru

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
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|Ship name=''Nankai Maru''
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|Ship launched=5 July 1932
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|Ship identification=*Official number: 38116
*Code Letters JKME
*{{ICS|Juliet}}{{ICS|Kilo}}{{ICS|Mike}}{{ICS|Echo}}
|Ship fate=Sunk, 12 September 1944
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|Ship tonnage=* {{GRT|8416}} 
*{{NRT|5105}}
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|Ship length={{convert|446.8|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|60.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship depth={{convert|40.7|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=1,678 NHP, built by Mitsubishi Zosen Kaisha
|Ship propulsion=Oil engines, twin screw
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'''MV ''Nankai Maru''''' was an {{GRT|8416|disp=adj}} [[cargo ship]] built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd, [[Nagasaki]], Japan, in 1933 for [[Osaka Shosen Kaisha]].<ref>{{cite web|title =Osaka Shosen Kaisha|publisher =The Ships List|url =http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/osk.htm|accessdate =1 March 2010|url-status =dead|archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20100529033105/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/osk.htm|archivedate =29 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/41/41b0609.pdf |title=Llyods Register 1941-42 |publisher=Plimsoll Ship Data |accessdate=20 August 2012}}</ref>

She was requisitioned by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] for use as a [[Troopship|transport]] in late 1941. She was part of the invasion fleet for the [[Battle of Midway|Midway operation]] in June 1942 and the [[Battle of Milne Bay]] in August–September 1942, where she was damaged by a [[Aerial bomb|bomb]]. She also took part in the [[Guadalcanal campaign]] of August 1942–February 1943, in which she was also damaged by a bomb. She was struck by a dud [[torpedo]] from the [[United States Navy]] [[submarine]] {{USS|Kingfish|SS-234|6}} on 8 December 1942 in the [[Philippine Sea]] near [[Okinotorishima]]. On 25 December 1942, she was damaged by a torpedo from the submarine {{USS|Seadragon|SS-194|6}} in [[St. George's Channel (Papua New Guinea)|St. George's Channel]] near [[Cape St. George]], [[New Ireland (island)|New Ireland]], and then collided with the Japanese [[destroyer]] {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Uzuki|1925|2}} while ''Uzuki'' was maneuvering to counterattack ''Seadragon''. ''Nankai Maru'' was sunk during a voyage from [[Singapore]] by a torpedo from the submarine {{USS|Sealion|SS-315|6}} on 12 September 1944 in the [[South China Sea]] east of [[Hainan Island]] at {{coord|18|42|N|114|30|E}}.

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?138708 Nankai Maru]

{{December 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{September 1944 shipwrecks}}

[[Category:1932 ships]]
[[Category:Cargo ships of Japan]]
[[Category:Auxiliary ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by American submarines]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in December 1942]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in September 1944]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the South China Sea]]


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