Awa Maru

"Awa Maru" was an 11,249 ton Japanese passenger ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

In 1945 the "Awa Maru" (阿波丸 in Japanese) was employed as a Red Cross relief ship, carrying vital supplies to American and Allied POW's in Japanese custody. Under the "Relief for POW's" agreement, she was supposed to be given safe passage by Allied forces, and Allied commanders issued orders to that effect.

Having delivered her supplies, "Awa Maru" took on approximately 2,200 Japanese officials and civilians at Singapore. There have been stories that these civilians also carried approximately $5 billion in gold, platinum, and industrial diamonds looted from the country, though this story is almost certainly untrue or greatly exaggerated. What is now undisputed, however, is that in addition to its human cargo, the ship also carried strategic materials such as rubber and tin (as reported by Ienaga in "the Pacific War").

The ship departed Singapore on March 28, but on April 1 was intercepted late at night in the Taiwan Strait by the American submarine USS "Queenfish", which mistook her for a destroyer because of her high speed (17 knots), small radar return, and lack of zig-zagging (Zig-zagging was otherwise standard procedure for transport ships, though Awa Maru's captain may have forgone it due to the safe passage agreement).

"Queenfish" fired four torpedoes, all of which hit their target, and the ship rapidly sank. Of the 2,003 passengers and crew on board, only one, Shimoda Kantaro, a steward, survived. The commander of "Queenfish" was court-martialled for the sinking and was found guilty of negligence in obeying orders and sentenced him to receive a "Letter of Admonition" from the Secretary of the Navy.

Nevertheless, unlike the deliberate Japanese loading of strategic materials onto a relief ship (contrary to some reports, Awa Maru was not a hospital ship, but rather a standard Japanese Army transport ship), Queenfish's sinking of Awa Maru is generally seen as a tragic accident caused by the inherent difficulties of identifying ships at night in wartime conditions coupled with operational errors by the crew.

Sometime in the 1970s-early 1980s, Awa Maru was found about 10 miles off the coast of China at 24-40N, 119-45E. She was salvaged by the China Salvage Co who found bodies, personal effects, and the aforementioned strategic materials, but reportedly none of the reported missing billions of gold, platinum, or industrial diamonds.

Peking Man theory

A popular theory is that the remains of the famous Peking Man which disappeared during WWII were onboard the "Awa Maru" when it sank.

References

* [http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/maritime-1b.html#maritime_disasters_1945 Maritime Disasters of World War II] .
* [http://www.nsa.gov/public/pdf/sinkingawa_maru.pdf Sinking and salvage of the "Awa Maru"] - NSA declassified document.

ee also

List of battles and other violent events by death toll