American Search Team Finds Wreck of Notorious Japanese Prison Ship

Photo: Bundes Archive

A team of marine archaeologists, deep-sea search technicians and WWII history enthusiasts have uncovered the wreck site of a notorious vessel class - a Japanese prisoner transport ship, referred to as a "hellship" because of the typical conditions on board. 

The vessel in question was the merchant freighter Hofuku Maru, a 5,800 gt cargo ship that had the dubious distinction of serving as a prisoner transport ship in two wars - first in WWI, moving German prisoners after the Siege of Tsingtao, and again in WWII, moving Allied POWs to labor camps around Southeast Asia.

In July 1944, Hofuku Maru called in Manila with a load of about 1,300 British and Dutch prisoners of war on board, and she stayed until September for engine repairs. On September 20, she got under way in a convoy of 11 vessels on a voyage to Japan. Barely had the convoy departed when it was hit by U.S. Navy carrier-based fighters from USS Hornet. In an attack northwest of Subic Bay, every ship in the convoy was sunk, including Hofuku Maru, which was hit by one or more torpedoes. 1,047 POWs on board Hofuku Maru were killed; the remainder were rescued by Japanese escorts or made it to shore by swimming. 

Hofuku Maru was one of hundreds of ships that were sunk during the hostilities in the Pacific Theater, and her location remained lost to time for more than 80 years. But a small team of researchers with the Hellships Memorial Foundation became interested in finding her wreck, and began digging through Japanese and American archives to see if they could find evidence on the true site of the sinking. They made a discovery in the historical records, and they calculated a viable search zone off Luzon. 

“We were absolutely stunned that Japanese sources had information on where the convoy was attacked and what ships were hit – this was a smoking gun," said the foundation's leader, former U.S. Navy officer Randy Anderson. 

Divers found the remains of the Hōfuku Maru at a depth of about 164 feet (50 meters). Evan Kovacs/Marine Imaging Technologies; LLC

With help from a sonar search consultant, they found an uncharted wreck within the search zone. A dive inspection revealed a perfect match for Hofuku Maru: the wreck's size and details matched blueprints for the ship, and it was split into two halves, consistent with severe damage from torpedo strikes. Human remains were visible in the wreckage, as would be expected from a loaded prison ship. Given the evidence, the team is confident in the identity of the discovery. No remains, artifacts or materials were taken from the site, and the team emphasized that they treated it with the proper respect for a war grave.

The expedition was filmed for the Discovery Channel, and will air on June 24

Source: maritime-exective.com