7081 SHINSHU MARU 1942 – LANDING CRAFT CARRIER

The Shinshu Maru was a Japanese Amphibious Assault Ship, the keel of which was laid in 1933, launched in March 1934, and commissioned in November of the same year. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 144 m, breadth 22 m, and full displacement - 7,100 tons. The maximum speed reached 20-20.5 knots. The ship was armed with 4 75mm Type 88 AA guns and 4 AA cannons. cal. 20 mm. Shinshu Maru was developed not for the Imperial Japanese Navy, but for the Japanese Army, and its main purpose was to support amphibious operations. At the time of launching, the vessel was in fact the only ship of this type in the world and contained many valuable innovations. Shinshu Maru was able to carry out amphibious operations with up to 29 Daihatsu Landing Craft, 25 Shohatsu barges and 4 Soukoutei (or: AB-tei). The unit was also adapted to carry out air operations with the use of seaplanes, but these possibilities were never used. One might risk saying that Shinshu Maru was - conceptually! - the ancestor of such large landing ships as modern Mistral, Tarawa or America class units. Shinshu Maru came to rest on the ocean floor as a result of damage sustained in an Allied air attack on January 3, 1945 and a slightly later torpedo attack by the USS Aspro (SS-309).