View source for Kamikawa Maru-class seaplane tender

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= [[Image:KamikawaMaru.JPG|300px|''Kamikawa Maru'']]
|Ship caption=''Kamikawa Maru''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name= ''Kamikawa Maru''-class Cargo ship
|Builders= [[Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation]]
|Operators=*[[K Line|Kawasaki Line]]
*[[Image:Naval Ensign of Japan.svg|20px|border]] [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]
*[[Image:War flag of the Imperial Japanese Army.svg|20px|border]] [[Imperial Japanese Army]]
*[[K Line|Kōbe Line]]
|Class before= 
|Class after=
|Subclasses=
|Cost= 
|Built range= 1936&ndash;1940
|In service range=
|In commission range= 1937&ndash;1969
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=5
|Total ships completed=5
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=4
|Total ships retired=1 (''Kiyokawa Maru'')
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type= [[Cargo ship]]/[[Seaplane tender]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|6853|to|6872|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} gross
|Ship length=*{{convert|145.0|m|ftin|abbr=on}} Lpp
*{{convert|146.15|m|ftin|abbr=on}} waterline
|Ship beam= {{convert|19.0|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught= {{convert|8.23|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks=
|Ship propulsion=*'''''Kamikawa Maru'''''
*1 × [[MAN SE|MAN]]-Kawasaki D7Z-70/120T diesel
*single shaft, 9,137 bhp
*'''''Kiyokawa Maru'''''
*1 × MAN-Kawasaki D7Z-70/120T diesel
*single shaft, 8,810 bhp
*'''''Kimikawa Maru'''''
*1 × MAN-Kawasaki D7Z-70/120T diesel
*single shaft, 8,867 bhp
*'''''Kunikawa Maru'''''
*1 × MAN-Kawasaki D7Z-70/120T diesel
*single shaft, 8,880 bhp
*'''''Hirokawa Maru'''''
*1 × MAN-Kawasaki D8Z-70/120T diesel, single shaft, 9,980 bhp
|Ship speed=*'''''Kamikawa Maru''''' and '''''Kiyokawa Maru'''''
*{{convert|19.5|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}
*'''''Kimikawa Maru''''' and '''''Kunikawa Maru'''''
*{{convert|19.4|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}
*'''''Hirokawa Maru'''''
*{{convert|19.2|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship capacity= {{convert|650,000|ft3|abbr=on}} freight as cargo ship
|Ship crew= 65 as cargo ship
|Ship armament=*'''''Kamikawa Maru'', 1937'''
*2 × [[12 cm/45 10th Year Type naval gun|{{convert|4.7|in|mm|abbr=on}}/45]] AA guns
*2 × 7.7 mm machine guns
*'''''Kiyokawa Maru'', ''Kimikawa Maru'' and ''Kunikawa Maru'', 1941'''
*2 × [[QF_6-inch_naval_gun#Japanese_naval_service|{{convert|150|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] L/40 naval guns
*2 × [[8_cm/40_3rd_Year_Type_naval_gun#Variants|{{convert|76.2|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] L/23.5 AA guns
*4 × [[Type 96 25 mm AT/AA Gun|Type 96 25 mm AA gun]]s
*2 × 7.7 mm machine guns
*'''''Hirokawa Maru'', 1941'''
*6 × [[Type 88 75 mm AA Gun|Type 88 75 mm AA gun]]s
*4 × [[Type 98 20 mm AA Machine Cannon|Type 98 20 mm AA gun]]s
|Ship aircraft=*'''''Kamikawa Maru'', ''Kiyokawa Maru'', ''Kimikawa Maru'' and ''Kunikawa Maru'''''
*up to 12 float plane
|Ship aircraft facilities=*'''''Kamikawa Maru'', ''Kiyokawa Maru'', ''Kimikawa Maru'' and ''Kunikawa Maru'''''
*[[Aircraft catapult#Interwar and World War II|catapult]] and deck
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The {{nihongo|'''''Kamikawa Maru''-class cargo ship'''|神川丸型貨物船|''Kamikawa Maru''-gata Kamotsusen}} was a type of [[cargo ship]] of [[Japan]], serving during the 1930s and [[World War II]]. Four of the five ships of the class were converted to [[seaplane tender]]s during the war.

==History==
In 1930, the Ōsaka Mercantile Steamship Co.Ltd. (O.S.K. Lines) put into service the [[Kinai Maru class cargo ship|''Kinai Maru''-class cargo ship]]<ref>8300 tons, 18.5 kt. {{nihongo|''Kinai Maru''|畿内丸}}, {{nihongo|''Hokuriku Maru''|北陸丸}}, {{nihongo|''Tōkai Maru''|東海丸}}, {{nihongo|[[Japanese seaplane tender San'yō Maru|''San'yō Maru'']]|山陽丸}}, {{nihongo|''Nankai Maru''|南海丸}}, {{nihongo|''[[Japanese transport ship Hokkai Maru|Hokkai Maru]]''|北海丸}}, {{nihongo|''Kantō Maru''|関東丸}}, and {{nihongo|''Kansai Maru''|関西丸}}.</ref> on the Japan-[[New York City|New York]] route.  Competing Japanese steamship companies produced and placed their own cargo ships on the North America route. 

In 1936, the Kawasaki Line built four ''Kamikawa Maru''-class ships. They had much higher cruising speeds and capacity than their competitors. However, they were commandeered in sequence and did not survive to the end of the war.

==Ships in class==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Kanji
! scope="col" | Builder
! scope="col" | Laid down
! scope="col" | Launched
! scope="col" | Completed
! scope="col" | Owner
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|Japanese seaplane tender|Kamikawa Maru||2}}
| style="white-space: nowrap;" | {{lang|ja|神川丸}}
| rowspan=5 | Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard
| 5 August 1936
| 13 December 1936
| 15 March 1937
| Kawasaki Line
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|Japanese seaplane tender|Kiyokawa Maru||2}}
| {{lang|ja|聖川丸}}
| 21 October 1936
| 16 February 1937
| 15 May 1937
| Kawasaki Line; Kōbe Line (and after 15 August 1963)
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|Japanese seaplane tender|Kimikawa Maru||2}}
| {{lang|ja|君川丸}}
| 2 November 1936
| 11 March 1937
| 15 July 1937
| Kawasaki Line
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|Japanese seaplane tender|Kunikawa Maru||2}}
| {{lang|ja|國川丸}}
| 11 March 1937
| 12 June 1937
| 1 November 1937
| Kawasaki Line
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship|Japanese cargo ship|Hirokawa Maru||2}}
| {{lang|ja|宏川丸}}
| 6 April 1939
| 10 May 1940
| 12 October 1940
| Kawasaki Line
|}

==Service==

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+''Kamikawa Maru''
|-
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Event
|-
| 18 September 1937
| Enlisted by the Navy
|-
| 19 September 1937
| classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender
|-
| 1 October 1937
| Assigned to the [[3rd Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|3rd Fleet]]
|-
| 1 December 1937
| Assigned to the [[Third Carrier Division|3rd Carrier Division]], 3rd Fleet
|-
| 1 February 1938
| 3rd Carrier Division was transferred to the [[5th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|5th Fleet]]
|-
| 1 July 1938
| Assigned to the 3rd Fleet
|-
| 15 December 1938
| Classified to Auxiliary aircraft transport
|-
| 15 November 1939
| Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender, assigned to the [[China Area Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|China Area Fleet]]
|-
| 1 April 1940
| Assigned to the 2nd China Expeditionary Fleet
|-
| 15 November 1940
| Assigned to the [[6th Carrier Division (Imperial Japanese Navy)|6th Carrier Division]], [[Combined Fleet]]
|-
| 10 April 1941
| Assigned to the [[12th Carrier Division (Imperial Japanese Navy)|12th Carrier Division]], 3rd Fleet
|-
| 7 December 1941
| Sortie for the [[Battle of Malaya]]
|-
| 10 March 1942
| Assigned to the [[4th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|4th Fleet]]
|-
| 18 April 1942
| Sortie for  [[Battle of the Coral Sea|Operation MO]]
|-
| 20 May 1942
| Assigned to the [[11th Carrier Division (Imperial Japanese Navy)|11th Carrier Division]], [[Southeast Area Fleet]]
|-
| 28 May 1942
| Sortie for  [[Battle of Midway|Operation MI]]
|-
| 15 June 1942
| Sortie for  [[Aleutian Islands Campaign|Operation AL]]
|-
| 14 July 1942
| 11th Carrier Division was moved to the [[2nd Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|2nd Fleet]]
|-
| 23 August 1942
| Sortie for the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]]
|-
| 1 April 1943
| 11th Carrier Division was moved to the Southeast Area Fleet
|-
| 15 April 1943
| 11th Carrier Division was disbanded
|-
| 29 May 1943
| Sunk by [[USS Scamp (SS-277)|USS ''Scamp'']] at northwest of [[Kavieng]] {{coord|01|36|S|150|24|E|region:XP_type:event|name=Kamikawa Maru sunk by USS Scamp, 28 May 1943}}
|-
| 15 July 1943
| Removed from naval ship list and discharged
|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+''Kayokawa Maru''
|-
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Event
|-
| style="white-space: nowrap;" | 28 September 1941
| Enlisted by the Navy
|-
| 5 October 1941
| Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender
|-
| 10 November 1941
| Assigned to the [[4th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|4th Fleet]]
|-
| 6 December 1941
| Sortie for the [[Battle of Guam (1941)|Battle of Guam]]
|-
| 23 December 1941
| Sortie for the [[Battle of Wake Island]]
|-
| 6 January 1942
| Sortie for the [[Battle of Rabaul (1942)|Battle of Rabaul]]
|-
| 1 December 1942
| Classified to Auxiliary transport, and assigned to the [[Yokosuka Naval District]]
|-
| 1 April 1943
| Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender, and assigned to the [[Southern Expeditionary Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)#2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet|2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet]], [[Southwest Area Fleet]]
|-
| 1 July 1943
| Assigned to the Southwest Area Fleet
|-
| 1 October 1943
| Classified to Auxiliary transport
|-
| 1 June 1944
| Assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District
|-
| 14 July 1944
| Entry to the [[Hi convoys|Hi]]-68 Convoy
|-
| 20 August 1944
| Entry to the TaMo-26 Convoy
|-
| 14 November 1944
| Entry to the [[Convoy Hi-81]]
|-
| 8 December 1944
| Entry to the MaMo-25 Convoy
|-
| 29 January 1945
| Entry to the Hi-93 Convoy
|-
| 11 February 1945
| Entry to the Hi-88C Convoy
|-
| 25 February 1945
| Entry to the TaMo-44 Convoy
|-
| 16 March 1945
| Entry to the MoTa-43 Convoy
|-
| 1 April 1945
| Entry to the TaMo-53 Convoy
|-
| 20 July 1945
| Sunk by air raid at [[Kaminoseki, Yamaguchi|Kaminoseki]]
|-
| 30 November 1945
| Discharged
|-
| 9 December 1947
| Refloated
|-
| 20 October 1949
| Repairs were completed
|-
| 15 August 1963
| Sold to Kōbe Line
|-
| 14 December 1969
| Scrapped
|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+''Kimikawa Maru''
|-
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Event
|-
| 6 July 1941
| Enlisted by the Navy
|-
| 25 July 1941
| Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender
|-
| 1 September 1941
| Assigned to the 5th Fleet
|-
| 10 December 1941
| Assigned to the [[21st Division (Imperial Japanese Navy)|21st Division]], 5th Fleet
|-
| 1 September 1941
| Removed from 21st Division
|-
| 8 June 1942
| Sortie for the Operation AL
|-
| 1 October 1943
| Classified to Auxiliary transport and assigned to the [[Northeast Area Fleet]]
|-
| 20 November 1943
| Assigned to the Combined Fleet
|-
| 13 July 1944
| Entry to the Hi-69 Convoy
|-
| 2 October 1944
| Entry to the Hi-76 Convoy
|-
| 21 October 1944
| Entry to the Mata-30 Convoy
|-
| 23 October 1944
| Sunk by submarine [[USS Sawfish (SS-276)|USS ''Sawfish'']] at WNW of Cape Bojeador {{coord|18|58|S|118|40|E|region:XP_type:event|name=Kimikawa Maru sunk by USS Sawfish, 23 October 1944}}
|-
| 10 December 1944
| Removed from naval ship list and discharged
|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+''Kunikawa Maru''
|-
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Event
|-
| 31 October 1941
| Enlisted by the Navy
|-
| 10 November 1941
| Classified to Auxiliary transport
|-
| 10 December 1941
| Assigned to the Combined Fleet
|-
| 14 July 1942
| Classified to Auxiliary seaplane tender, and assigned to the 4th Fleet
|-
| 24 August 1942
| Sortie for the [[Solomon Islands campaign]]
|-
| 1 April 1943
| Assigned to the 11th Carrier Division, Southeast Area Fleet
|-
| 15 April 1943
| Removed from 11th Carrier Division
|-
| 3 May 1943
| Entry to the No. 2023 Convoy
|-
| 8 May 1943
| Entry to the No. 4508 Convoy
|-
| 1 June 1943
| Entry to the No. 3601A Convoy
|-
| 5 August 1943
| Entry to the No. 4805 Convoy
|-
| 15 September 1943
| Entry to the No. 3914 Convoy
|-
| 28 September 1943
| Entry to the No. 1292 Convoy
|-
| 1 October 1943
| Classified to Auxiliary transport, and assigned to the [[Kure Naval District]]
|-
| 16 October 1943
| Entry to the O-602B Convoy
|-
| 1 November 1943
| Entry to the No. 7101 Convoy
|-
| 21 December 1943
| Entry to the Hi-27 Convoy
|-
| 20 March 1944
| Entry to the H-22 Convoy
|-
| 29 March 1944
| Struck a naval mine at [[Balikpapan]]
|-
| 8 May 1944
| Temporary repairs were completed, however struck a naval mine once again; Later sank in shallow water
|-
| 26 September 1944
| Refloated and temporary repairs were completed
|-
| 21 May 1945
| Sunk by air raid
|-
| 30 November 1945
| Discharged
|-
| 3 May 1947
| Removed from naval ship list
|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+''Hirokawa Maru''
|-
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Event
|-
| 8 February 1941
| Enlisted by the Army; Classified to Nucleus Anti-Aircraft vessel
|-
| style="white-space: nowrap;" | 8 December 1941
| Sortie for the [[Battle of Malaya]]; Landed the Andō Detachment, [[5th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|5th Infantry Division]] at [[Amphoe Mueang Pattani|Pattani]]
|-
| 20 February 1942
| Sortie for the [[Dutch East Indies campaign]]; Landed the [[Sixteenth Army (Japan)|16th Army]] at [[Palembang]]
|-
| 23 March 1942
| Sortie for the [[Invasion and occupation of the Andaman Islands during World War II|Invasion of the Andaman Islands]]; Landed the one battalion of the [[18th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|18th Division]] at [[Ross Island (Andaman)|Ross Island]]
|-
| 14 October 1942
| Sortie for the Guadalcanal Campaign
|-
| 15 October 1942
| Landed the one battalion of the [[38th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|38th Division]] at [[Guadalcanal]]; Damaged by U.S. aircraft and artillery, sunk by destroyer [[USS Meade (DD-602)|USS ''Meade'']] at [[Tassafaronga Point]]
|}

==Photos==
<gallery>
Image:KiyokawaMaru.JPG|Kawasaki Line ''Kiyokawa Maru''
Image:KimikawaMaru.JPG|Kawasaki Line ''Kimikawa Maru''
Image:KunikawaMaru.JPG|Kawasaki Line ''Kunikawa Maru''
Image:HirokawaMaru.JPG|Kawasaki Line ''Hirokawa Maru''
</gallery>
<gallery>
Image:Kamikawa-maru 1939.jpg|IJN ''Kamikawa Maru'' circa 1939 at [[Xiamen]]
Image:KamikawaMaru-1942.jpg|IJN ''Kamikawa Maru'' in June 1942 at [[Kiska]]
Image:KimikawaMaru-1942.jpg|IJN ''Kimikawa Maru'' in Autumn 1942 at [[Ōminato Guard District|Ōminato Naval Base]]
Image:KimikawaMaru-1943.jpg|IJN ''Kimikawa Maru'' in April 1943 at Ōminato Naval Base
</gallery>
<gallery>
Image:KamikawaMaru-1943.jpg|IJN ''Kamikawa Maru''-class in 1943
Image:KimikawaMaru-1943a.jpg|IJN ''Kimikawa Maru'' in Summer 1943
Image:Kiyokawa_Maru_and_Mochizuki_at_Lae_1942.jpg|IJN ''Kiyokawa Maru'' (above) on 10 March 1942
</gallery>

==Footnotes==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
*Tashirō Iwashige, ''The visual guide of Japanese wartime merchant marine'', {{cite web|url=http://www.kaiga.co.jp/emp-bin/pro1.cgi/kaiga/NN/f_tobira.htm |title=Dainippon Kaiga |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20021207170200/http://www.kaiga.co.jp/emp-bin/pro1.cgi/kaiga/NN/f_tobira.htm |archivedate=2002-12-07 }} (Japan), May 2009
*Shinshichirō Komamiya, ''The Wartime Convoy Histories'', {{cite web |url=http://www.ships-net.co.jp/backs/kyodo/navalhistoryj.html |title=Shuppan Kyōdōsha |access-date=2010-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722095335/http://www.ships-net.co.jp/backs/kyodo/navalhistoryj.html |archive-date=2011-07-22 |url-status=dead }} (Japan), October 1987
*Monthly Ships of the World, {{cite web |url=http://www.ships-net.co.jp/ |title=Kaijinsha}} (Japan)
**No. 481, Special issue Vol. 40, ''History of Japanese aircraft carriers'', May 1994
**No. 525, June 1997
**No. 600, September 2002
*Science of the Ships No. 403, [[Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan)|Ministry of Transport]], May 1982
*The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No. 25, ''Japanese seaplane tenders w/ auxiliary seaplane tenders'', {{cite web |url=http://www.kojinsha.co.jp/ |title=Ushio Shobō}} (Japan), March 1979

{{Kamikawa Maru class seaplane tender}}
{{WWII Japanese auxiliary ships}}

[[Category:World War II naval ships of Japan]]
[[Category:Kamikawa Maru-class seaplane tenders| ]]
[[Category:Cargo ships of Japan]]
[[Category:Auxiliary depot ship classes]]