The Search for the Grunion Blog

Posted on Wednesday 21 March 2007

Hello Everyone,

I introduce three cargo ships that now are buried in Kiska.
Borneo Maru, Nojima Maru and Urajio Maru.

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The ship wreck in the Gertrude Cove, Kiska is the BORNEO MARU, Osaka Shosen’s 5,863 Gross ton.
That Mr. born1945 is asking on
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12567713@N00/88094931/
and you can see in the Google Map image
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=dutch+harbor+alaska&layer=&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=16&ll=51.934721,177.456021&spn=0.01024,0.027122&t=k

Here is another photo of this wreck.
http://www.illywhacker.com/cruising_stories/russia_to_alaska.htm
http://www.illywhacker.com/images/used_images/0700_wreck_gertrude_cove_kiska.jpg
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Borneo Maru story

27/Sept. 1942 loaded with 2100 tons of cargo consisting of 9335 boxes provisions and fodder, 4546 straw sacks of refined rice, 1239 straw sacks of charcoal, 7397 jars of sake, 677 window frames, 1250 bags of cement, 1255 drums of various oils, 4382M2 of lumber, 21200 units of coal, 4 Shohatsu, 3 Daihatsu, 365 boxes ammunition and on deck 4 AA guns together with 3 Groups of machine gunners, 70 Shipping engineer troops, 23 radio operators and 180 AA gun crews.

05/Oct. 1942 at 2100 arrived at Otaru on way to Kiska Is.

13/Oct. 1942 at 0635 in position 53.40N 174.15E enemy aircraft made contact NE of Attu Island.
At 1110 3 B-24â€™s attacked ship but were driven off 5 minutes later. During this time many bombs were dropped and the ship was slightly damaged.

14/Oct. 1942 at 0450 still proceeding and at 1355 arrived Kiska and anchored at 1410 off the Western Beach. At once unloading operations began and these continued all night without rest. This meant a quicker discharge.

15/Oct. 1942 at 0900 as was expected a formation of 20 aircraft flew over and a violent fight erupted. The aircraft concentrated on Borneo Maru repeatedly and bombs fell near both sides of hold No.3 smashing the outer hull and cracking the ship open in two places. The ship weighed anchor at 1030 and requested 2 Daihatsuâ€™s tow the ship, which in a daring action was then run aground. During the air attack 2 of the troops and 5 crew had been killed.

On 16/Oct. 1942 the ship was abandoned.

On 21/Oct. 1942 enemy aircraft again attacked the ship and set the ship on fire with incendiary bombs. 2 Soldiers and 2 of the crew were killed in this attack. The wreck remained afloat until sometime postwar then sank. The underwater wreck was investigated in 2001 and found to be collapsing badly with much of the hull forward of the superstructure having disintegrated.

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Bruce taught me another photo of ship in Kiska Harbor. Thank you.
This is not KANO MARU but NOJIMA MARU, Nihon Yusen’s 7,190 Gross ton.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/twylightsoul/425569848/
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/425569848_fa9d2dd9cf.jpg

Grunion homepage has the photo of Nojima Maru wreck with AQUILA.
http://ussgrunion.com/blog/2006/08/19/status-report-aug-19/
http://ussgrunion.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/288.jpg
This is Nojima Maru wreck, I think, not Nizo Maru(It may be typographical error of Nozima Maru).
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Nojima Maru story

21/Aug. 1942 at 1315 departed Kataoka Bay, Shumushiro To.

25/Aug. 1942 at 0845 arrived at Kiska Island from when unloading was completed according to schedule, albeit slowly.

15/Sept. 1942 noontime unloading was completed and the ship prepared to depart on the evening of 16/Sept. 1942/
That day [16/Sept. ] at 0437 a large air attack was suddenly launched and after a time near misses holed the ship and flooded the engine room causing the ship to lose power. One minute later the ship was directly hit amidships by a dud bomb.
At 0442 the ship was machine-gunned and the Captain killed. Inside the ship pumping operations began and, together with patching, prevented the ship from sinking. At 0454 however another large air attack occurred opening a larger hole and the ship was run aground to prevent sinking. The ship would have required towing [back to Japan] to effect repairs.

13/Oct.1942 the ship was abandoned.

On 20/Apr. 1943 the ship was again bombed in an airraid and became a total loss. The bow section remains aground on a beach today almost straddling a small creek in Trout Lagoon. The stern section was refloated in 1956 by the US tug Salvage King and towed by Salvage King and Canadian tug Sudbury II to Japan for scrap but apparently sank en route

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And here is a photo of the third ship wreck in Kiska.
This is URAJIO MARU, Kawasaki Kisen’s 3,110 Gross ton.
http://www.amnwr.com/Shipwrecks/pictures/KiskaJapShip.html
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Urajio Maru story
23/Dec. 1942 at 1400 departed Paramushiro Is. Stormy weather slowed passage to Kiska Is.

30/Dec. 1942 entered and anchored Kiska Bay. At once unloading operations began. By morning of the following day unloading completed.
At 1100 enemy aircraft suddenly appeared and attacked causing damage. During the battle a bomb fell near Port side Hold No.1 and water column fell back on ship causing further damage. The ship began flooding and lost power. After this ship underwent repairs.

04/Jan. 1943 during a violent wind and rain storm the ship was abandoned. In the course of the airraid 4 men had been killed.

The underwater wreck was investigated in 2001 and found to be collapsing badly.

—

Best Regards,
Yutaka Iwasaki

Mar. 21, 2007

2 Comments for 'Yutaka Iwasaki comments on ship wrecks'

mitch skaggs

March 21, 2007 | 7:34 pm

Yutaka-I am involved in an expedition that will focus its efforts on sunken wrecks in and around Kiska Harbor. We will be leaving in late summer of 2007 and will be documenting the wrecks in Kiska including the Nissan Maru and RO 65 submarine. Can you give us any information on either of these wrecks - possibly any surviving crew members? Also, we have reason to believe there is the possibility there is a Japanese Destroyer laying on the bottom of a cove along Kiska Island. Do you know anything about this or do you know anything about any Japanese Destroyers missing at or around this time or do you know of anyone that we may contact?
thank you for your time - sincerely,
mitchskaggs@hotmail.com
Yutaka Iwasaki

March 25, 2007 | 10:59 am

Hello Mitch

I have not so much info, sorry.

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RO-65
See http://www.combinedfleet.com/RO-65.htm
Also
SRC Project Display
http://home.nps.gov/applications/submerged/dispproj.cfm?projcode=ALEU
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Nissan Maru
Here is a photo.
http://homepage3.nifty.com/jpnships/showa1/showa1_oiw_01.htm
And a story
Nissan Maru Nissan Kisen’s 6537GT
02/June/1942 departed Paramushiro Is.
10/June/1942 arrived at Attu Is.
12/June/1942 arrived at Kiska Is where cargo of coal was unloaded.
On 15/June/1942 the ship was seriously damaged in an air raid.
19/June/1942
At 0500 another high altitude air attack occurred during which the ship was bombed and hit.
At 0700 sank. One crewman was killed. At this time was still loaded with 200 tons coal.
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Destroyer in a cove
July 5, 1942 Submarine Growler (SS-215) sinks Japanese destroyer ARARE and damages destroyers KASUMI and SHIRANUI . They were anchoring in line off Kiska harbor waiting fog clear.
ARARE wreck was found last summer.
http://ussgrunion.com/blog/2006/10/02/status-report-october-2nd/
KASUMI, after having bow cut off, was towed from Kiska to Japan homeland. So I think most probable is this Kaumi’s bow part with No. 1 turret.
SHIRANUI, after having hull braced, also was towed to Japan homeland. (maybe no remain.)

July 15, 1942 Submarine Grunion (SS-216) sinks Japanese submarine chasers Ch-25 and Ch-27 west of Sredni Point, Kiska, Aleutians, 52Â°02′N, 177Â°42′E.
Japanese records the torprdoed location was one nautical mile north of Little Kiska Is. .

Another large size vessel sunk at the shore is I-7.
See http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-7.htm
Japanese records this sub run aground on the ‘Twin (Futagoiwa) rocks, South Channel’.

No other Destroyer size vessels that lost at Kiska are not recorded.
—
(Surviving crew)
I’m trying to find surviving Kano Maru crews through my poor connections, but not get positive reflection yet. Today, I think it is miraculous thing that people remember such old history and salvage the fact.
Mr. Hirofumi Asakura, the representative of Kiska Veterans Reunion, died last Autumn.

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I hope your new discovery will light this Forgotten War and Casualties both of US and Japan.

Regards, Yutaka Iwasaki
Mar. 25, 2007

Posted on Wednesday 21 March 2007

2 Comments for 'Yutaka Iwasaki comments on ship wrecks'

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