IJN SEAPLANE SAGARAMARU

The Sagara Maru was a Japanese cargo and passenger ship, and later an air tender from the interwar period and World War II. The unit was launched in 1939 and commissioned in 1940. The displacement of the ship at the time of launching was about 7200 tons, and the maximum speed was up to 18 knots. The armament of the unit, after its incorporation into the navy, consisted of two 150 mm cannons and two 13 mm machine guns. The Sagara Maru was an Akito Maru class civil cargo liner that was built at a Yokohama shipyard for the shipping company Nippon Yusen. Shortly before the outbreak of the war in the Pacific in December 1941, the unit was commandeered by the Navy and shortly after - after rearmament and conversion - commissioned as an air tender. The unit took part in operations in the Indian Ocean basin in the first half of 1942, and shortly afterwards it was reclassified as a transport unit. At the end of June 1943, the unit was severely damaged by the USS Harder submarine, and on 4 July the same USS Pompano damaged the Sagara Maru to such an extent that it was abandoned a few days later.