History
Name
  • Empire Dragon (1941)
  • Gyōkū Maru (1942–44)
Owner
  • Ministry of War Transport (1941)
  • Japanese Government (1942–44)
Port of registryJapan Japan
BuilderHong Kong & Whampoa Dock Company
Laid down6 December, 1941
LaunchedAugust 1943
Completed1943
Out of service18 September 1944
FateTorpedoed and sunk by USS Thresher, 18 September 1944
General characteristics
TypeCargo ship
Tonnage6,854 GRT
Length430 ft (130 m)
Beam57 ft (17 m)
PropulsionTriple expansion steam engine
SS Gyōkū Maru is located in China
SS Gyōkū Maru
Location where Gyōkū Maru was torpedoed and sunk off China.

Gyōkū Maru (暁空丸) was a 6,854 GRT cargo ship that was laid down 6 December, 1941 as Empire Dragon by Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co Ltd, Hong Kong for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was seized by the Japanese on 26 December, 1941 with the fall of Hong Kong and completed as Gyōkū Maru in August, 1943, serving until September 1944 when she was torpedoed and sunk by USS Thresher in the Yellow Sea.[1]

Description

The ship was laid down in 1941 by Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co Ltd, Hong Kong.[2][3]

The ship was 430 feet (130 m) long, with a beam of 57 feet (17 m).[4] She was assessed at 6,854 GRT.[2]

The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine.[2]

History

Empire Dragon was laid down on 6 December 1941.[2] On 26 December, 1941,[4] she was seized by the Japanese in an incomplete state and completed as Gyōkū Maru in August, 1943.[2] and placed in IJA service.[5]

On 22 August 1944, she was part of Convoy Namo 103 carrying evacuating civilians from Okinawa and attacked by USS Bowfin. The fellow ship Tsushima Maru was sunk, but Gyōkū Maru escaped.[6]

On 18 September 1944, Gyōkū Maru was torpedoed and sunk by USS Thresher in the Yellow Sea (35°02′N 124°24′E / 35.033°N 124.400°E / 35.033; 124.400).[4][7] 1,546 civilian refugees were drowned.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Captured Vessels in Japanese Service as Auxiliary Transports". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Mitchell, W.H.; Sawyer, L.A. (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN 1-85044-275-4.
  3. ↑ "Captured Vessels in Japanese Service as Auxiliary Transports". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "EMPIRE – D – E". Mariners. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "Captured Vessels in Japanese Service as Auxiliary Transports". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "Tsushima Maru Sinking". USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park. Archived from the original on 15 March 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  7. ↑ 船舶輸送間における遭難部隊資料（陸軍） [Data on disaster units during ship transport (Army)] (in Japanese). Demobilization Agency Second Demobilization Department (復員庁第二復員局). 1946. p. 17/50 of scanned image. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  8. ↑ British Newspaper Archive
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