Japanese escort ship Hakuhō Maru

Fishing inspection ship Hakuhō Maru
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Hakuhō Maru
Builder	Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.
Laid down	October 15, 1921
Launched	29 March 1922
Sponsored by	Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (農林省)
Completed	February 16, 1922
Acquired	requisitioned by Imperial Japanese Navy, 2 November 1941
Identification	28868
Fate	Sunk by aircraft, 14 July 1945
Notes	Call sign: JCXA
General characteristics
Class and type	Naval trawler
Tonnage	332 gross register tons[1][2]
Length	39.6 m (129 ft 11 in) o/a[1]
Beam	7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)[1]
Draught	4.1 m (13 ft 5 in)[1]
Installed power	480 bhp (358 kW)[1]

Hakuhō Maru (Japanese: 白鳳丸) was a Japanese deep sea trawler and survey/inspection ship that was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and served in varying roles as a patrol boat, transport ship, cargo ship, minesweeper, and escort ship.^[3][4]

History

Hakuhō Maru was commissioned by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (農林省).^[3] She was laid down on October 15, 1921 at the Hikoshima Shipyard of Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (三菱造船株式會社彦島造), completed on February 16, 1922 and launched on 29 March 1922.^[3] She worked primarily as a fishery enforcement, inspection, and survey ship in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kurile Islands, the Bering Sea, and the North Pacific.^[3] On 2 November 1941, she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and assigned to the Fifth Fleet (Northern Area Force)^[3] as part of the 13th Minesweeper Division under Captain Toshio Mitsuka (along with Kaihō Maru and Shunkotsu Maru).^[5][6] The unit was part of the Kiska invasion force under Captain Takeji Ono during the Aleutian Islands campaign.^[7][5] On 14 July 1945, while sailing on patrol from Kushiro to Hakodate, she was engaged by ten aircraft and received 6 direct hits.^[3] Heavily damaged, she was grounded and abandoned.^[3]

References

1. Toda, Gengoro S. (21 September 2019). "白鳳丸 (Hakuho Maru - Stats)". Imperial Japanese Navy - Tokusetsukansen (in Japanese).
2. ONI 208-J (Supplement no. 2) Far Eastern Small Craft. Division of Naval Intelligence. March 1945.
3. Toda, Gengoro S. (21 September 2019). "白鳳丸の船歴 (Hakuho Maru - Ship History)". Imperial Japanese Navy - Tokusetsukansen (in Japanese).
4. Toda, Gengoro S. (21 September 2019). "Other Naval Vessels > Kishokansokusen/Sokuryosen (Requisitioned Weather Observation Ships/Survey Ships) > Ippan Choyosen（Kishokansokusen/Sokuryosen)". Imperial Japanese Navy - Tokusetsukansen (in Japanese).
5. United States Strategic Bombing Survey (1946). The Campaigns of the Pacific War. U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific) Naval Analysis Division, 1946. p. 99. shunkotsu.
6. Niehorster, Leo; Alsleben, Al; Yoda, Tadashi. "Aleutian Operations". Imperial Japanese Armed Forces.
7. Spennemann, Dirk HR (June 2009). "The Cultural Landscape of the World War II Battlefield of Kiska, Aleutian Islands" (PDF). National Park Service. —It is an interesting quirk that during the war the Hakuhō Maru was requisitioned by the IJN and served as a minesweeper. It formed part of the Kiska Invasions force: Minesweeper Division 13 under the command of Capt. Mitsuka Toshio (see Appendix I). — Today the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology operates an oceanographic research vessel of the same name.