Ayatosan Maru

History
Name:	Ayatosan Maru
Owner:	Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (1939) Imperial Japanese Navy (1939–1942)
Builder:	Tama Shipbuilding Co.
Acquired:	1939
Fate:	Sunk by Allied aircraft
Status:	Shipwreck
General characteristics
Displacement:	9,788 gross ton (10,930DWT)
Length:	476 feet (145 m)[1]
Beam:	64 feet (20 m)
Draught:	40 feet (12 m)

The Ayatosan Maru (綾戸山丸 貨物船) was a 9,788 gross ton (10,930DWT) freighter that was built by Tama Shipbuilding Co., Tamano for Mitsui & Co. Ltd. launched in 1939.^[2] She had been intended to run the New York passenger and freight run, however she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and fitted out as a high-speed transport, which was completed in May 1941.

During the invasion of Malaya she was damaged by Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed Hudson light bombers and a blaze broke out which was later extinguished.^[3] She was also damaged by a torpedo from the Dutch submarine HNLMS O-16.

After unloading troops and supplies at Gona on 21 July 1942, she was bombed by United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force bombers and was sunk at 8-50S, 148-50E, with the loss of three lives. She became known as "The Gona Wreck". The wreck was later used to range artillery and as a bombing target by Allied forces.

Citations

1. "Ayatosan Maru" (PDF). plimsollshipdata. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
2. "Mitsui Bussan Kaisha Mitsui Steamship Co. Ltd". The Ships List. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
3. "Subchaser CH-9". The Combined Fleet. Retrieved 20 April 2010.