Nitta Maru
| 300px Nitta Maru | |
| Career (Japan) | ![Civil naval ensign ([Hinmaru])](/File:Flag_of_Japan.svg){kind=small} |
|---|---|
| Name: | Nitta Maru |
| Operator: | Nippon Yusen (NYK) |
| Builder: | Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Nagasaki, Japan |
| Yard number: | 750 |
| Laid down: | 9 May 1938 |
| Launched: | 20 May 1939 |
| Completed: | 23 March 1940 |
| In service: | 1940 |
| Out of service: | 1943 |
| Fate: | lost in war |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 17,163 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 170 m (560 ft) |
| Beam: | 22.5 m (74 ft) |
| Speed: | 19 knots |
| Notes: | Steel construction |
The Nitta Maru (新田丸) was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1938-1940 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan. The vessel's pre-war design anticipated passenger service; but when work was completed, the onset of war had created somewhat different priorities.
The vessel was created as a sister ship of the Yawata Maru, and the Kasuga Maru. None of the three survived the Second World War. Each in succession was re-fitted as a troopship; and each was later converted to an aircraft carrier. In 1941, Kasuga Maru was re-commissioned as the Japanese aircraft carrier Taiyō and in 1942, the Yawata Maru was recommissioned as the Japanese aircraft carrier Unyō.[1]
In November 1942, the Nitta Maru was recommissioned as the Japanese aircraft carrier Chūyō.[1]
When first launched, this ship was named after an important Shinto shrine.[2]
Contents
History
The ship was built by Mitsubishi at Nagasaki on the southern island of Kyushu. The Nitta Maru was launched on May 20, 1939. She left port on March 23, 1940 on her maiden voyage.[3]
The 17,163-ton vessel had a length of 560 feet (170 m), and her beam was 74 feet (22.5 m). The ship had an average speed of 19-knots.[3]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 CombinedFleet: Taiyō class, Imperial Japanese Navy.
- ↑ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1935). The Nomeclature of the N.Y.K. Fleet, p. 50.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Haworth, R.B. Miramar Ship Index: ID #4046813.
References
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1935). The Nomeclature of the N.Y.K. Fleet. Tokyo : Nippon Yusen Kaisha. OCLC 27933596
- Tate, E. Mowbray. (1986). Transpacific steam: the story of steam navigation from the Pacific Coast of North America to the Far East and the Antipodes, 1867-1941. New York: Cornwall Books. 10-ISBN 0-8453-4792-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-8453-4792-8; OCLC 12370774
