Name SS Lisbon Maru Laid down 15 October 1919 Class and type Freighter Launched 31 May 1920 | Owner Nippon Yusen Kaisha Completed 8 July 1920 Construction started 15 October 1919 Length 136 m | |
Fate Torpedoed off Dongfushan in the Zhoushan Archipelago 1 October, and sank on 2 October 1942 | ||
Lisbon maru english
Lisbon Maru (里斯本丸) was a Japanese freighter which was used as a troopship and prisoner-of-war transport between China and Japan.
Contents
When she was sunk by USS Grouper (SS-214) on 1 October 1942, she was carrying, in addition to Japanese Army personnel, almost 2,000 British prisoners of war captured after the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941. Over 800 of these men died either directly as a result of the sinking, or were shot or otherwise killed by the Japanese while swimming away from the wreck. The ship should have carried appropriate markings to alert Allied forces to the nature of its cargo but did not do so.
A reunion of survivors was held on board HMS Belfast on 2 October 2007 to mark the 65th anniversary of the escape. Six of the former prisoners attended, alongside many bereaved families of escapees.
Aftermath
A memorial was placed in the chapel of Stanley Fort, Hong Kong, which was moved to the chapel of St. Stephen's College, Hong Kong, due to the change of sovereignty of Hong Kong.
In Popular Culture
