 Aerial view of disarmedKumano Maru, 1945 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | M Type C Special Purpose Ship |
| Operators |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Preceded by | Type C Special Purpose Ship |
| Succeeded by | None |
| Built | 1944–1945 |
| Planned | 2 |
| Completed | 1 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| History | |
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Kumano Maru |
| Builder | Hitachi Shipbuilding,Innoshima |
| Laid down | 15 August 1944 |
| Launched | 28 January 1945 |
| Completed | 31 March 1945 |
| In service | 1945–1947 |
| Captured | 15 August 1945 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 4 November 1947 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | M Type C Special Purpose Ship |
| Type | Landing craft carrier/escort carrier |
| Displacement | 8,128 t (8,000long tons) (standard) |
| Length | 152 m (498 ft 8 in) (o/a) |
| Beam | 19.58 m (64 ft 3 in) |
| Draught | 6.95 m (23 ft) (deep load) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 gearedsteam turbines |
| Speed | 19 or 20knots (35 or 37 km/h; 22 or 23 mph) |
| Range | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 8 |
| Aviation facilities | Arresting gear |
Kumano Maru (熊野丸) was a "M Type C"landing craft carrier with a full-lengthflight deck built for theImperial Japanese Army (IJA) duringWorld War II. Completed in early 1945, fuel shortages meant that the ship never became operational during the war. She was turned over to theAllies atKure whenJapan surrendered later that year. Before beginning torepatriate Japanese troops home,Kumano Maru was disarmed and modified to facilitate that mission. The ship continued to do so until she was sold forscrap in 1947.
In March 1944, the IJA and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) held a conference to decide how to better protect their merchant shipping from the heavy losses suffered at the hands of Americansubmarines. The IJN'sescort carriers had, at best, limited success in doing so thus far and the participants focused on improving the number of carriers available. The IJA proposed convertingoil tankers into escort carriers (theSpecial TL Types) and agreed to forgo any further construction of theAkitsu Marulanding craft carrier with limited aviation facilities. TheImperial Japanese Navy Technical Department agreed to design the conversions while theImperial Japanese Navy General Staff required that the Army's auxiliary escort carriers would be dedicated to protecting the merchant ships. The services agreed that the IJA would convert two standardType M (military) 9,502-gross register ton (GRT)cargo ships into landing-craft carriers with full aviation facilities, beginning withKumano Maru.[1]
The "M Type C" ships had aflush-decked configuration thatdisplaced 8,128tonnes (8,000long tons) atstandard load,[2][3][4] although naval historian Hans Lengerer states that they had a standard displacement of 6,314 t (6,214 long tons).[5] The ships had anoverall length of 152 metres (498 ft 8 in),[6] abeam of 19.58 metres (64 ft 3 in)[2][3] and adraft of 6.95 metres (22 ft 10 in). Theflight deck was 110 metres (360 ft 11 in) long, 21.5 metres (70 ft 6 in) wide, and was fitted with a four-wireKayabaarresting gear system. They had a singlehangar that was served by alift at the rear of the flight deck. A largecrane was fitted on the rearport side of the ship. The intended air group of theKumano Marus was to consist of eightdepth-charge equippedKokusai Ki-76liaison aircraft. If serving as an aircraft transport, the ships could fit 18Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate fighters on the flight deck and 17 more in the hangar.[1]
The ships had twoKampon gearedsteam turbines, each driving onepropeller shaft using steam provided by three Kamponwater-tube boilers.[7] The fourth boiler cited in many sources[2][4][3] was acylindricaldonkey boiler for the ship's steam-powered machinery.[8] The turbines were rated at a total of 10,000shaft horsepower (7,500 kW) for a speed of 19knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)[2][4][3] or 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). TheKumano Marus had a range of 6,000nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).[7] Theirfunnels were positioned on thestarboard side and vented horizontally outward to keep the flight deck clear.[4] Theirbridges were located under the forward edge of the flight deck. Their crew consisted of 107 men; including embarked troops, the ships' complement numbered 1,664.[1]
TheKumano Maru was classified as aM Type C landing ship by the IJA.[5] They could carry up to a dozen 17.1-metre (56 ft)Toku Daihatsu-class landing craft and thirteen 14-metre (46 ft)Daihatsu-class landing craft in theirholds that were launched on rails through two large doors in thestern.[4]
Air defence for the carriers consisted of eight75 mm (3 in) Type 88anti-aircraft (AA) guns on single mounts below the flight deck; three on the starboard side and five on the port side.[9] These fired 6.5 kg (14 lb) projectiles at amuzzle velocity of 720 m/s (2,400 ft/s).[10] These were supplemented by sixautocannon on single mounts; two on platforms in front of the flight deck and the remainder on a platform aft of the flight deck. Sources disagree whether they were Army20 mm (0.8 in) Type 98 guns[7] or Navy25 mm (1 in) Type 96 guns.[2][4][3] The Type 98 gun fired its 136 g (4.8 oz) shells at a practical rate of 100rounds per minute,[11] while the Type 96 gun had arate of fire for its 250 g (8.8 oz) shells of about 110 rounds per minute.[12]
The ships were also equipped with two single150 mm (5.9 in)anti-submarine mortars on platforms at thebow and stern.[9] They fired 27-kilogram (60 lb) shells to a range of 4,500 metres (4,900 yd).[13]
Kumano Maru waslaid down at theHitachi Shipbuildingshipyard atInnoshima, nearKure, as a standard wartime cargo ship on 15 August 1944 and was converted into her carrier configuration while under construction. The ship waslaunched on 28 January 1945 and was attacked by 13Grumman F6F Hellcat and 14Vought F4U Corsair fighters on 19 March during the Americanair raid on the Kure area. Undamaged during the attack, she was completed on 31 March.[14]Fuel oil shortages caused the Japanese to consider removing her turbines and converting the ship's boilers to burn coal, but nothing was ultimately done.Kumano Maru never became operational during the war.[5]
The ship was turned over to the Allies on 15 August when Japan surrendered and was disarmed. To improve her suitability for the task of repatriating Japanese forces abroad, her horizontal funnel was replaced by a vertical one[14] and four largelifeboats was added ondavits that overhung the flight deck.Kumano Maru remained on repatriation duty until she was sold for scrap toKawasaki in 1947; demolition began at theirKobe facility on 4 November and lasted until 1 September 1948.[15]