Aerial view of disarmed Kumano Maru, 1945
| |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Operators | Imperial Japanese Army |
Preceded by | Japanese aircraft carrier Akitsu Maru |
Succeeded by | None |
Built | 1944–1947 |
In commission | 1945 |
Planned | 2 |
Completed | 1 |
Scrapped | 2 |
History | |
Empire of Japan | |
Name | Kumano Maru |
Builder | Hitachi Shipbuilding, Innoshima |
Laid down | 15 August 1944 |
Launched | 28 January 1945 |
Completed | 30 March 1945 |
In service | 1945–1947 |
Captured | 15 August 1945 |
Fate | Scrapped, 4 November 1947 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Kumano Maru-class aircraft carrier |
Type | Aircraft carrier/Landing craft carrier |
Displacement | 6,314 t (6,214 long tons) (standard) |
Length | 152 m (498 ft 8 in) (o/a) |
Beam | 19.58 m (64 ft 3 in) |
Draught | 6.95 m (23 ft) (deep load) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines |
Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
Range | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
Complement | 1,664 (including troops) |
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | 8 |
Aviation facilities | Arresting gear |
Kumano Maru (熊野丸) was a landing craft carrier with a small flight deck built for the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. Completed in early 1945, fuel shortages meant that the ship never left port during the war.
Background and description
In March 1944 the IJA and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) held a conference to decide how to better protect their merchant shipping from the heavy losses suffered at the hands of the Americans. The IJN's escort carriers had, at best, limited success in doing so thus far and the participants focused on improving the numbers available. The IJA proposed converting oil tankers into escort carriers and agreed to forgo any further construction of Akitsu Maru-type landing craft carriers with limited aviation facilities. The Imperial Japanese Navy Technical Department agreed to design the conversions while the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff required that the Army's auxiliary escort carriers would be dedicated to protecting the merchant ships. The services agreed that the IJA would convert two standard Type M (military) 9,502 gross register tons (GRT) cargo ships into landing-craft carriers with full aviation facilities.[1]
Kumano Maru had a flush-decked configuration that displaced 8,128 tonnes (8,000 long tons) at standard load.[2][3][4][Note 1]
The ship had an overall length of 152 meters (498 ft 8 in),[6] a beam of 19.58 meters (64 ft 3 in)[2][3] and a draft of 6.95 meters (22 ft 10 in). The flight deck was 110 meters (360 ft 11 in) long, 21.5 meters (70 ft 6 in) wide, and was fitted with a four-wire Kayba arresting gear system. She had a single hangar that was served by one elevator. Kumano Maru's intended air group was to consist of eight depth-charge equipped Kokusai Ki-76 liaison aircraft. If serving as an aircraft transport, the ship could fit 18 Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate fighters on the flight deck and 17 more in the hangar.[1]
The carrier had two Kampon geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by four Kampon water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of 10,000 shaft horsepower (7,500 kW) for a speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)[2][4][3] or 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[7] Kumano Maru had a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).[7] The ship's funnel was positioned on the starboard side and vented horizontally outward to keep the flight deck clear.[4] Including embarked troops, the ship's complement numbered 1,664 men.[7]
Kumano Maru was designated a Type C landing ship. She could carry up to a dozen 17.1-metre (56 ft) Toku Daihatsu-class landing craft and thirteen 14-metre (46 ft) Daihatsu-class landing craft in its hold. They were launched on rails through two large doors in the stern.[4]
Construction and career
was laid down at the Hitachi Shipbuilding yard at Innoshima as a standard wartime cargo ship. The ship
Kumano Maru was launched 28 January 1945 and completed on 31 March. She survived the war, and was used until 1947 to repatriate Japanese forces abroad. The ship was sold to Kawasaki Kisen K. K. Line in 1947 and converted to a conventional merchant ship. Afterward, she was scrapped in 1948.
Notes
Footnotes
Bibliography
- Chesneau, Roger (1995). Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (New, revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-902-2.
- Fukui, Shizuo (1991). Japanese Naval Vessels at the End of World War II. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-125-8.
- Hackett, Bob & Cundall, Peter (May 2016). "IJA Landing Craft Depot Ship Kumano Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". CombinedFleet.com. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter & Mickel, Peter (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
- Lengerer, Hans (2023). The Aircraft Carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army: Technical and Operational History. Vol. II. Katowice, Poland: Model Hobby. ISBN 978-83-60041-71-0.
- Polmar, Norman & Genda, Minoru (2006). Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events. Vol. 1, 1909–1945. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books. ISBN 1-57488-663-0.
- Sturton, Ian (1980). "Japan". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 167–217. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.