Shinkoku Maru
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The Shinkoku Maru ( Japanese 神 国 丸 , dt. "Divine Land; Land of the Gods") was a Japanese oil tanker that was sunk during Operation Hailstone in World War II .
history
The tanker was built in Kobe in 1940 . It served to supply the Japanese fleet under Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku . The ship survived two submarine attacks in the Battle of Midway without major damage. A few days before the American ships in the lagoon of Truk attacked, ran the Shinkoku Maru in there. She anchored northwest of the island of Fefan. On February 17, when Operation Hailstone began, the ship was not yet hit, but on February 18, it was sunk by a torpedo that struck it from the port side, level with the engine room.
The ship sank about 1.6 kilometers offshore to a depth of about 38 meters. Because it stood upright on the seabed, the masts towered high, occasionally pierced the surface of the water and endangered shipping. So they were eventually capped. By 1971, the wreck was forgotten, although it can even be seen from the surface of the water if the water is clear enough. It has now become a popular destination for divers, resulting in significant looting. The forward cabins are now almost empty; There are still ampoules, syringes and records in the infirmary, and live ammunition is stacked next to the base of the front cannon.
literature
- Alberto Vanzo, Shinkoku Maru , in: Egidio Trainito (ed.), Adventure wreck diving. In the footsteps of sunken worlds , White Star Verlag, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-86726-120-3 , pp. 202-205
- Jack Jackson, Top Wreck Dives of the World , New Holland Publishers 2007, ISBN 978-1845374662 , p. 125
Footnotes
- ↑ According to Alberto Vanzo, other sources give the length as 165 meters.
Coordinates: 7 ° 24 ′ 50.4 " N , 151 ° 46 ′ 44.4" E