Fujimi 400433 Japanese Naval Special Auxiliary Tanker Nipponmaru

The Nippon Maru was a Japanese tanker from the interwar period and World War II. The keel for this unit was laid in 1935, launched in April 1936, and commissioned in June 1936. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was approx. 152 m, width approx. 20 m, and the actual displacement - approx. 10,000 tons. The top speed of the tanker reached 19-20 knots. The Nippon Maru was one of the Tatekawa Maru class tankers, which class - along with several other classes of tankers - is referred to in English as Kawasaki-type oiler. The presented tanker was built at the Kawasaki shipyard in the city of Kobe, and its original user was the Japanese shipping lines Yamashita Line. It is worth noting that the Tatekawa Maru class of tankers was structurally very similar to the chronologically younger Toa Maru class and differed from it in a few construction details. Undoubtedly, the Nippon Maru was a fully oceanic tanker, capable of long navigation, and for the mid-1930s it was a modern vessel. The Nippon Maru tanker was confiscated by the Japanese Navy in the second half of 1941 and classified as an auxiliary unit. It officially entered service in November 1941. From May 1943, the tanker Nippon Maru operated in the waters of the South Pacific, and on January 14, 1944, it was sunk by the American submarine USS Scamp.