Japanese Hell Ships - POW Deaths

A tribute to the 21,039 POW's who were killed predominantly by Allied submarines while being transported on Japanese ships.

Ahoy - Mac's Web Log - Death at Sea in World War 2

This site was created as a resource for educational use and the promotion of historical awareness.

THE NAVAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA, INC and Mackenzie J. Gregory


Death at Sea in World War 2.

Introduction.
In the Pacific Ocean in WW2, thousands of lives were lost when both Allied POW's and Javanese native conscripts died at sea as a result of Allied Submarine torpedoes. In his book, "Death on the Hell Ships," author Gregory F. Micheno covers this subject.

Cover of the book Death on the Hell Ships, by Gregory F. Micheno,
and published by Pen and Sword. Ltd.
Movement of Allied POW's and Javanese native labourers.
Over the period 1942-1945, thousands of Allied POW's and Javanese natives were transported by sea in these well named HELL SHIPS. Sometimes it was moving them from one island to another island for work related purposes, on other occasions, POW's were on their way from Japanese occupied territory to the Japanese homeland.
Allied Submarines take their toll.
Micheno reports that 126,064 Allied POW's were moved aboard these Hell Ships in the 1942-1945 time span, and that the dreadful total of 21,039 died as a result of Allied attacks, mostly by submarines on these transport ships.
Montevideo Maru.
I have already covered this tragedy on AHOY, but will briefly revisit this sinking. On the 1st. of July 1942, this 7,266 ton ship en route from Rabaul to Hainan, was loaded with 1,050 men, including Lark Force, 2/22 Battalion who had been involved in defending Rabaul against the Japanese onslought there. About 200 civilians, many of them administration personnel were also onboard.
USS Sturgeon struck Montevideo Maru with 2 torpedoes at 0225 ( 2.25 AM ) and she was gone in only 11 minutes, taking 1,053 with her. The attack was off Leyte in the Philippines, and the ship sank in very deep water, there is talk at the moment, of a dive on Monevideo Maru having recently taken place, or of one planned in the near future, but, if this is fact, it is shrouded in secrecy, and I have not been able to extract even the slightest whisper about such events.
Tango Maru.
In February of 1943, the 6,200 ton cargo vessel, Tango Maru, crammed with 3,500 Javanese labourers and some hundreds of Allied POW's, was plying between Java and Ambon. US Submarine Rasher, using 3 torpedoes sunk this ship, and only about 500 native people survived.

USS Paddle sank the Shinyo Maru in September of 1944. Only 83 American POW's from 750 survived.
Shinyo Maru.
On the 7th. of September 1944, the US Submarine Paddle, lined up this 5,065 ton transport Shinyo Maru, slipped torpedoes into her, and down she quickly went. From 750 American POW's on board but 83 lived to come home again.

Memorial Plaque dedicated to the 83 American survivors
from the sinking of Shinyo Maru by USS Paddle.
Rakuyo Maru.
The US Submarine Sealion11, with 2 torpedoes soon disposed of the 9,418 ton Rakyo Maru, she was on her way to Japan from Singapore, carrying 1,318 British and Australian POW's, they were being moved to slave in the coal mines of Japan. 1,023 died, some of them chopped up by the propellors of the Japanese warship escorts as they sought to find the submarine responsible for sinking this transport.
Junyo Maru.
The 5,065 ton Japanese freighter Junyo Maru, loaded to her plimsol line with 5,620 Javanese conscripts was nailed by the British Submarine Tradewind on the 17th. of September 1944. Only 900 came out of this sinking alive. This tragedy was the largest single loss of life of any of the Hell Ship sinkings. Both HM Submarine Tradewind, and her Captain survived WW2, the submarine continued to serve in the Royal Navy until going into the Reserve Fleet at Portsmouth in 1953, she was scrapped two years later.

HM Submarine Tradewind.
Conclusion.
This has only scraped the surface of the Hell Ships story, and blame could hardly be laid at the door of Allied Submarine Captains, who were not to know the cargo carried in these ships. It was rather that the Japanese authorities were culpable in not marking their ships with the safety of a Red Cross to indicate that POW's were on board.
Thousands perished, when lives may well have been spared if appropriate markings were placed on these dreadful ships, although the German U-Boats did not spare many British Hospital ships so marked in wartime.

 

Very interesting but tradgic story. If the Japanese had marked ships with red crosses, there is a fair chance that they would have used those ships to transport war materials as well, which is as bad if not worse a crime than not marking the ships.

The accidental killing of prisoners of war was not confined to the PTO. It may not have been on the same scale, but many trains transporting POWs across europe were attacked by allied aircraft with the inevitable results. Factories bombed by the allies were occupied by slave labour, both civilian and russian prisoners of war, again with the inevitable results.

It is a fact of war that although the capturing power is supposed to remove it's prisoners away from the front line area as soon as possible, that doesn't actually make them 'safe', just a bit safer. :mellow:

 

Does anyone have any details on whether these ships were carrying nothing but prisoners or workers, or if the PAX were added to fill the ships that were already carrying other cargo? Mixing the cargo and topping up are viable loading policies within reason but not all that legal according to LoAC.

The most sensible thing would be for ships to carry war materials/troops from Japan and return to Japan filled with prisoners/wounded rather than empty. I am however too long in the tooth to just take the sensible option as 'read'. So anyone have the definitive answer?

 

Is there any substance to the story that the Japanese put prisoners below decks knowing that they were going to be sunk by their own side. I have heard one instance of a ship being sailed out deliberately into an area patrolled by Allied warships and engaging them so as to have them sink the ship.

 

I didn't mention that the prisoners concerned by tied up so therefore had no chance to escape the ship after it had been hit and sinking. By

 

Hi,
You might find this site of help?:http://www.roll-of-honour.org.uk/Hell_Ships/

Regards
Arthur

 

Hi,
You might find this site of help?:http://www.roll-of-honour.org.uk/Hell_Ships/

Regards
Arthur

Thanks for posting that Arthur. This new section on POW's is receiving a lot of interest.

 

Hi,
If it will help anyone, I do have the P.O.W. British Army 1939-45 & Naval & Air Forces of Gt. Britain and the Empire 1939-45 Registers should anyone need a look up!

Regards
Arthur

 

As spidge points out a large number of allied POWs did die on such ships....unfortunately in many cases when a ship was sunk it was often taken as an oppurtunity to cover up the previous murder of POWs on land. Apparently there was a phenomenal amount of POWs on the Montevideo Maru. Similar to the old story about witnesses to a crime...all five hundred of them....being in the toilet when the crime was committed.

Rgds

Tim D

 

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So, 60 years on, with the sinking of Montevideo Maru, by a friendly Submarine ( of course, Lieutenant Commander Wright in Sturgeon, had no way of knowing the ship he lined up in his periscope carried Australian Prisoners of War, enroute to slave labour in Japan ) about 610 Australian soldiers and 130 civilians perished. It was Australia's worst Maritime Loss, almost twice as many died that night on that 1st. of July 1942, as did in ten years of war in Viet Nam.

 

Hi,
If it will help anyone, I do have the P.O.W. British Army 1939-45 & Naval & Air Forces of Gt. Britain and the Empire 1939-45 Registers should anyone need a look up!

Regards
Arthur

Do you have any information on Lt. Stanley Rhodes Armitage, 7th Coastal Regt., R.A.? He died in Singapore (see below) on 14th September, 1943 (and therefore as a prisoner, not in action) and is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial.

I am puzzled as to why he has no grave. The CWGC leaflet on the Singapore cemeteries and memorials suggests that, if he died in captivity, there should be a grave. The date of death does not fit with one of the "death ships" being sunk.

Belville

P.S. I have now found that he died in a camp near Kanburi (Kanchanaburi). Some of the burial grounds along the line could not be identified after the war, which must be why he has no known grave. Belville

 

First hand account of the rescue of some Australian and British prisoners on 15th Sept 1944 after Rakuyo Maru was sunk:

Link


And details of USS Pampanito 3rd War Patrol:

USS Pampanito - The Third War Patrol


Cryptanalysis, the "double edged sword":

USS Pampanito - ECM Mark II

 

gunner 1123013 john wiliam gardner 118 field regt royal artillery was being transported to japan when he was killed in the sinking of the rakuyo maru on12th sept 1944 he is commemorated on the singapore memorial would he be on any data bases so that ican confirm this?

 

gunner 1123013 john wiliam gardner 118 field regt royal artillery was being transported to japan when he was killed in the sinking of the rakuyo maru on12th sept 1944 he is commemorated on the singapore memorial would he be on any data bases so that ican confirm this?

On CWGC database:

CWGC :: Casualty Details

 

With all due respect to modern day Japan and its people, what were the Nips thinking back then??!!

Bushido is about honor and discipline, not wholesale slaughter and war crimes all over the place, both against POWs and civilians.

 

geoff thanks for your reply but i was thinking more of a p.o.w list of people on the ship

 

geoff thanks for your reply but i was thinking more of a p.o.w list of people on the ship
post #7 would seem to answer your question.

 

geoff sorry about the delay in getting back to you i could'nt find him at first butthen i was looking under the wrong ship thanks again

 

Hi,
If it will help anyone, I do have the P.O.W. British Army 1939-45 & Naval & Air Forces of Gt. Britain and the Empire 1939-45 Registers should anyone need a look up!
Regards
Arthur

hi Arthur
what do the registers show? my uncle Trevor Roberts Private in the 27 Coy RAMC was taken Pow 25/12/1941 Hong Kong would the registers show when he came home??

he later died in 1948

Robbo