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The Kiyosumi Maru was launched on 30 June 1934 and entered service on 5 October 1934. The ship was 137 metres long and 18.6 metres wide and displaced 6,983 tons. The ship was powered by a seven cylinder 8,375hp Mitsubishi-Sulzar diesel engine and was capable of 18.73 knots.
The Balao at 2345 hours on 1 January 1944 fired a salvo of six torpedoes. Three hit home but although the Kiyosumi did not sink, she was disabled and the forward hold flooded. The cruiser Oyodo towed her into Chuuk where she was still being repaired when the US attacked the Lagoon on 17 and 18 February 1944. At 0900 on 17 February 1944 she was attached by Douglas SBD 5 Dauntlessdive bombers from USS Yorktown CV10 and suffered a direct hit in hold two and again at 1330 by Dauntless from USS Enterprise on both sides of the bridge. It is reported that 43 people were killed and 9 seriously injured. As a result of the torpedo damage and the bomb hits, the Kiyosumi Maru sank shortly after. Wreck DescriptionToday the Kiyosumi Maru sits on her port side at a maximum depth of 31 metres with the starboard hull at 12 metres. This wreck has some interesting artefacts to see, including a mask and an old bike. However, the most interesting are the lanterns which can be found in the boatswains locker. This is a dangerous area to get into, and there is only room for 1 person. The entry is made through a hatchway no taller than 1 metre and about 10 metres long. The hatchway is heavily coated in silt that stirs up easily and totally obscures vision. The Aggressor lost a guest on this wreck when late in the afternoon he swam into the boatswains locker alone, because the Aggressor doesn't provide guides on their dives. When this diver went into the hatchway he stirred up the silt and so couldn't find his way out again. He run out of air and died. Crew from the Thorfinn assisted in finding him the next day. The picture right is the same picture this diver died for.
This page was last updated on 20-Apr-2008. |
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The Kiyosumi Maru was a fairly modern design for her days. Although primarily a freighter, she also carried up to 12 passengers and the smoking saloon was said to be designed in Jacobean style. The ship was officially taken over by the Japanese Navy on 1 November 1941, over four weeks before Pearl Harbour, and converted to an armed auxiliary cruiser with eight guns, anti-aircraft guns and two torpedo launchers. 
