Sōya (ship)
 The soya in the museum harbor of the Museum of Maritime Science, Tokyo (2008)
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The Sōya ( Japanese 宗 谷 ) is a Japanese icebreaker with an eventful history. She currently serves as a museum ship and can be viewed at the Museum of Maritime Science ( 船 の 科学館 , Fune no Kagakukan ) in Shinagawa , Tokyo . The ship was named after the sub-prefecture of Soya .
history
Construction and commissioning
Originally under the name Volotschajewez ( Russian Волочаевец ), the ship was ordered by the Soviet Union in 1936. Together with the two icebreakers, the Bolsheviks and the Komsomolets , the construction of the ships by a Japanese shipyard was to serve as part of the payment for the Soviet Union's purchase of the northern section of the South Manchurian Railway . The construction contract went to the Matsuo shipyard in Nagasaki . After diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Japan deteriorated, construction of the ships began, but they were not handed over to the Soviet Union. After the launching of soya on 16 February 1938, she was named Chiryo Maru from the Tatsunan Kisen Co. taken as a cargo ship in operation.
Second World War
The increasing demand for cargo and transport ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy led to the confiscation of the ship in November 1939. In February 1940 it was finally renamed from Chiryo Maru to Sōya and underwent some renovations. The ship was equipped with an 80-mm cannon on the bow and several 25-mm anti-aircraft guns in order to do justice to its new role as an ammunition transporter and survey ship. The first in command was the future admiral Yuji Yamada.
The Sōya survived the Second World War relatively unscathed, but often only narrowly escaped sinking. The ship was torpedoed by the USS Greenling on January 18, 1943 off Guadalcanal . The torpedoes exploded too early or turned out to be duds and so the Sōya was able to escape undamaged.
In February 1944, the Soya was moored with many other ships in the Japanese base on Truk . This was the target of US air strikes during Operation Hailstone . While 41 Japanese ships and 200 aircraft were destroyed, the Sōya was again able to escape successfully. During the escape, however, she ran aground and ten crew members were killed. In the further course of the war, there were further aircraft and submarine attacks, but all of them failed.
Use after the war
Immediately after the Second World War, the Sōya was deleted from the list of ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was now assigned to the Allied Repatriation Service and made several trips to the former Japanese ruled areas to bring soldiers and civilians back to Japan. For this purpose, the ship was completely disarmed and cabins and social rooms for passengers were created in the cargo holds. Mainly because of its ability as an icebreaker, it was used in the Sakhalin area to bring the Japanese population there out of what is now Soviet territory.
In 1949, the ship was taken over by the Maritime Safety Agency, the predecessor of the Japanese Coast Guard . From now on it served mainly as a supply ship for lighthouses and stations of the coast guard.
Conversion to a research icebreaker
With Japan's interest in Antarctic research , the Soya was finally converted into a research ship in 1950 . The machinery was modernized, the bow reinforced and a helicopter landing platform installed. The ship undertook the most famous of her trips in 1958. During this trip, the ship rescued research personnel from the Shōwa station , which threatened to be trapped in the Antarctic winter. 15 sled dogs were left behind, of which only two could be rescued the following spring. These were baptized Jiro and Taro and are still winged words for happiness in Japan today. The story was filmed in the two films Taro and Jiro in Antarctica and Antarctica - Trapped in the Ice .
Museum ship
In 1978, after a farewell trip, the ship was finally transferred to the Museum of Maritime Science in Tokyo as a museum ship. It can still be viewed there today.
The ship was hardly changed for the purpose of being a museum ship. Only the ship's propellers have been dismantled and can be viewed on the deck of the ship.
Web links
- Homepage of the Museum of Maritime Science (Japanese)
swell
- ↑ a b c Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall: IJN SOYA: Tabular Record of Movement , accessed on November 3, 2016.
- ↑ Donald A. Bertke: World War II Sea War, Vol 8: Guadalcanal Secured (English), Bertke Publications, 2015, ISBN 978-1937470135 .
- ↑ a b leaflet on the Sōya ( memento from April 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (English; PDF , 3.02 MB), at www.funenokagakukan.or.jp, accessed on November 3, 2016.
- ↑ Information on the website of the Museum of Maritime Science ( Memento of November 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on November 3, 2016.
Coordinates: 35 ° 37 ′ 11.1 ″ N , 139 ° 46 ′ 23.8 ″ E