“Akitsu-maru” ( あ き つ 丸 ) is a Japanese landing ship of the Second World War , later converted into an escort aircraft carrier . Sunk by American submarine USS Queenfish (SS-393) November 15, 1944. The death toll amounted to 2046 people.
| Akitsu Maru | |
|---|---|
| あ き つ 丸 | |
 Akitsu Maru in 1944 | |
| Service | |
 Japan | |
| Class and type of vessel | landing ship , escort aircraft carrier |
| Manufacturer | IHI Corporation , Harima |
| Launched | September 24, 1941 |
| Commissioned | January 30, 1942 [1] |
| Withdrawn from the fleet | November 15, 1944 |
| Status | sunk |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | 11800 t [2] |
| Length | 144 m |
| Width | 20 m |
| Draft | 7.85 m |
| Engines | 4 boilers, 2 steam turbines |
| Power | 7500 l. with. |
| Speed | 20 knots |
| Armament | |
| Artillery | 10 × 1 Type 38 75 mm |
| Flak | 2 × 1 Type 88 75 mm 6 × 1 Type 96 25 mm |
| Aviation group | 8 aircraft (aircraft carrier) 30 aircraft (ferry) |
Content
Building History
The Akitsu Maru was laid down as a passenger airliner , but before the end of construction it was requisitioned for the needs of the Navy and converted into a landing ship, which could carry 27 Daichatsu landing ships . In January 1942, the flight deck was completed on the ship. Due to the insufficient deck length, only light Kokusai Ki-76 aircraft and the Kayaba Ka-1 gyroplane could land on the Akitsu-maru.
The tasks of “Akitsu-maru” included providing air cover for landing operations, but in practice it was used as a ferry for transporting aircraft [3] .
Drowning
The Akitsu Maru was sunk by the Queenfish American submarine on November 15, 1944 [1] off the coast of Kyushu Island. Killed 2046 people - the crew and personnel of the 64th Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Army .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Sandler, 2003 , p. 54.
- ↑ Gardiner, Chesnau, 1980 , p. 213.
- ↑ Worth, 2002 , p. 176.
Literature
- Peter W. Brooks. Cierva Autogiros: The Development of Rotary-Wing Flight. - Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988 .-- ISBN 0-87474-268-4 .
- Robert Cressman. The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II. - Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2000. - ISBN 1-55750-149-1 .
- Robert Gardiner, Roger Chesnau. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946. - Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1980. - ISBN 0-87021-913-8 .
- Theodore Roscoe, R. G. Voge. United States Submarine Operations in World War II. - Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1949. - ISBN 0-87021-731-3 .
- Richard Worth. Fleets of World War II. - Da Capo Press, 2002 .-- 376 p. - ISBN 978-0306811166 .
- Stanley Sandler World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia . - Routledge, 2003 .-- 694 p. - (Military History of the United States). - ISBN 9781135581992 .