Name Ayatosan Maru Status Shipwreck Draft 12 m Builder Tama Shipbuilding Co. | Acquired 1939 Length 145 m Beam 20 m | |
Owner Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (1939)
Imperial Japanese Navy (1939–1942) Fate Sunk by Allied aircraft Displacement 9,788 gross ton (10,930DWT) | ||
The Ayatosan Maru (綾戸山丸 貨物船) was a 9,788 gross ton (10,930DWT) freighter that was built by Tama Shipbuilding Co., Tamano for Mitsui & Co. Ltd. launched in 1939. She had been intended to run the New York passenger and freight run, however she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy and fitted out as a high-speed transport, which was completed in May 1941.
During the invasion of Malaya she was damaged by Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed Hudson light bombers and a blaze broke out which was later extinguished. She was also damaged by a torpedo from the Dutch submarine HNLMS O-16.
After unloading troops and supplies at Gona on 21 July 1942, she was bombed by United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force bombers and was sunk at 8°50′S 148°50′E, with the loss of three lives. She became known as "The Gona Wreck". The wreck was later used to range artillery and as a bombing target by Allied forces.