View source for Jun'yō Maru

{{Short description|Cargo steamship that became a Japanese hell ship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= Junyo Maru.jpg
|Ship caption=''Jun'yō Maru'' in 1933
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header= 
|Ship country= 
|Ship flag= 
|Ship name= *1913: ''Ardgorm''
*1917: ''Hartland Point''
*1918: ''Hartmore''
*1921: ''Sureway''
*1927: ''Junyo Maru''
*1938: ''Zyunyo Maru''
|Ship namesake= *1917: [[Hartland Point]]
|Ship owner= *1913: SS Ardgorm Co
*1917: Norfolk & N American SS Co
*1918: Johnston Line
*1921: Anglo-Oriental Nav Co
*1927: Sanyo ShaGoshi K
*1928: Kabafuto Kisen KK
*1938: Baba Shoji KK
|Ship operator= *1913: Lang & Fulton
*1917: [[Furness Withy|Furness, Withy & Co]]
*1921: [[Synthomer|Yule, Catto & Co]]
|Ship registry= *1913: {{flagicon|UK|civil}} [[Greenock]]
*1919: {{flagicon|UK|civil}} [[Port of Liverpool|Liverpool]]
*1927: {{flagicon|Japan}} [[Takasago, Hyōgo|Takasago]]
*1928: {{flagicon|Japan}} [[Port of Tokyo|Tokyo]]
|Ship route= 
|Ship ordered= 
|Ship builder= Robert Duncan & Co, [[Port Glasgow]]
|Ship original cost= 
|Ship yard number= 324
|Ship laid down= 
|Ship launched= 30 October 1913
|Ship completed= 
|Ship acquired= 
|Ship maiden voyage= 
|Ship refit= 
|Ship in service= 
|Ship out of service=  
|Ship identification= *'''1913:''' UK [[official number]] 135334
*[[code letters]] JDPQ
*{{ICS|Juliet}}{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|Papa}}{{ICS|Quebec}}
*'''1927:''' code letters THSV
*{{ICS|Tango}}{{ICS|Hotel}}{{ICS|Sierra}}{{ICS|Victor}}
*'''1934:''' [[Maritime call sign|call sign]] JKLB
*{{ICS|Juliet}}{{ICS|Kilo}}{{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|Bravo}}
|Ship fate= Sunk, 18 September 1944
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header= 
|Header caption= 
|Ship type= [[cargo ship]]
|Ship tonnage= {{GRT|5131}}, {{NRT|3287}}
|Ship length= {{cvt|405.0|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{cvt|53.0|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship height= 
|Ship draught= 
|Ship depth= {{cvt|27.2|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks= 2
|Ship power= 475 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]
|Ship propulsion= [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion engine]] 
|Ship speed= 
|Ship capacity= 
|Ship crew= 
|Ship sensors= 
|Ship notes=  
}}
|}

{{nihongo|'''''Jun'yō Maru'''''|順陽丸}} was a [[Cargo ship|cargo]] [[steamship]] that was built in Scotland in 1913, served a succession of British owners until 1927, and was then in Japanese ownership until a [[Royal Navy]] submarine sank her in 1944.

The ship was built as '''''Ardgorm''''' for a Scottish [[Tramp trade|tramp]] shipping company. In 1917 a subsidiary of [[Furness Withy|Furness, Withy & Co]] bought her and renamed her '''''Hartland Point'''''. In 1918 she was transferred to a different Furness, Withy subsidiary and renamed '''''Hartmore'''''. In 1921 the Anglo-Oriental Navigation Company bought her and renamed her '''''Sureway'''''.

In 1927 Japanese owners bought the ship and renamed her '''''Junyo Maru'''''. In 1938 the registered spelling of name became '''''Zyunyo Maru'''''. The name's modern rendition into the [[Latin alphabet]] is ''Jun'yō Maru''.

In 1944 ''Jun'yō Maru'' was being used as a [[hell ship]], carrying about 4,200 [[Java]]nese [[Forced labour|slave labourers]] and about 2,300 [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] (PoWs) when the submarine {{HMS|Tradewind|P329|6}} sank her. More than 5,000 people were killed. This is one of the highest death tolls of any [[List of maritime disasters in World War II|maritime disaster in World War II]], and one of the highest death tolls of any ship [[List of ships sunk by submarines by death toll|sunk by submarine]].

==Building and first owner==
Robert Duncan & Co built the ship at [[Port Glasgow]] as yard number 324, launching her on 30 October 1913.<ref name=SBS>{{cite web |url= https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?&ref=5841 |title=Ardmore |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> Her registered length was {{cvt|405.0|ft|abbr=on}}, her beam was {{cvt|53.0|ft|abbr=on}} and her depth was {{cvt|27.2|ft|abbr=on}}. Her [[tonnage]]s were {{GRT|5131}} and {{NRT|3287}}. She had a single [[Propeller|screw]], driven by a three-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engine]] built by [[John G. Kincaid & Company]] of [[Greenock]] that was rated at 475 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]].{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'', 1914|loc=ARD–ARE}}

The ship's first [[Ship management|managers]] were Lang & Fulton Ltd, a Scottish firm who operated a small number of tramp steamships, to each of which they gave a name beginning with ''"Ard–"''. They named their new ship ''Ardmore'' and [[Ship registration|registered]] her at [[Greenock]]. Her [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|UK]] [[official number]] was 135334 and her [[code letters]] were JDPQ.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'', 1914|loc=ARD–ARE}}{{sfn|''Mercantile Navy List'', 1914|p=31}}

==Changes of owner==
In 1917 Furness, Withy bought two ships from Lang & Fulton: ''Ardglen'', which was still being built,<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?&ref=5844 |title=Sycamore |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> and ''Ardgorm'', which Furness, Withy renamed ''Hartland Point'', registered in [[Port of Liverpool|Liverpool]], and allocated to its Norfolk & North American Steamship Company subsidiary.{{sfn|''Mercantile Navy List'', 1918|p=245}}{{sfn|Burrell|1992|p=84}} In 1918 Furness, Withy transferred ''Hartland Point'' to its Johnston Line subsidiary and renamed her ''Hartmore''.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'', 1919|loc=HAR}}{{sfn|''Mercantile Navy List'', 1920|p=255}} Also by 1919, the ship was equipped for [[wireless telegraphy]].{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'', 1919|loc=HAR}}

In 1921 the Anglo-Oriental Navigation Company bought ''Hartmore'', renamed her ''Sureway'',{{sfn|''Mercantile Navy List'', 1923|p=514}} and made [[Synthomer|Yule, Catto & Co]] her managers.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'', 1922|loc=SUN–SUR}}

In 1927 Sanyo ShaGoshi Kaisha bought the ship, renamed her ''Junyo Maru'', and registered her in [[Takasago, Hyōgo|Takasago]]. Her Japanese code letters were THSV. By 1928 Sanyo ShaGoshi Kaisha had sold her on to Kabafuto Kisen KK, who registered her in [[Port of Tokyo|Tokyo]].{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'', 1927|loc=JUN–JUP}}

By 1934 her [[Maritime call sign|call sign]] was JKLB.{{snf|''Lloyd's Register'', 1934|loc=JUN–JUV}} In 1938 Baba Shoji KK acquired her, and her registered name became ''Zyunyo Maru''.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'', 1939|loc=ZVI–ZYU}} The name's modern rendition into the [[Latin alphabet]] is ''Jun'yō Maru''.

==Hell ship==
By September 1944 ''Jun'yō Maru'' had been fitted out as a [[prison ship]] with bamboo scaffolding between her decks and bunks three or four deep in her [[Hold (compartment)|holds]]. She had almost no [[latrine]]s, too little drinking water, only two lifeboats and very few liferafts.

She embarked about 4,200 or 4,300 Javanese forced labourers (''[[rōmusha]]s'') and an estimated 2,200–2,300 Allied PoWs at the port of [[Tanjung Priok]] on [[Java]] near [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]], to take them to [[Pekanbaru]] to build a railway across [[Sumatra]].<ref name=Kuil>{{cite web |url= http://members.iinet.net.au/~vanderkp/junyopg8.html |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120312064714/http://www.members.iinet.net.au/~vanderkp/junyopg8.html |last=van der Kuil |first=Peter |title=The Sinking of the Junyo Maru |date=March 2003 |archive-date=12 March 2012 |access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> The PoWs included at least 1,700 Dutch, 506 Indonesians, and 14 Americans.<ref name=POWNet>{{cite web |url= http://www.powresearch.jp/en/archive/ship/junyo.html |title=Junyo Maru |access-date=26 December 2023}}</ref>

The ''rōmushas'' were crammed into holds one and two, forward of the main superstructure amidships. The Allied PoWs were herded into holds three and four, aft of the superstructure. Some prisoners were left on deck. Many were already ill with [[malnutrition]] and [[dysentery]] before they embarked. Some died, others became delirious.<ref name=HistoryNet>{{cite web |url= https://www.historynet.com/juno-mayru-torpedoed-by-british-submarine-hms-tradewind/ |last=Smith |first=Robert Barr |title=''Junyo Maru'': torpedoed by British submarine HMS ''Tradewind'' |work=HistoryNet |date=6 December 2006 |access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref>

On 16 September ''Jun'yō Maru'' left Tanjung Priok for Sumatra. She traversed the [[Sunda Strait]] and passed the island of [[Krakatoa]]. On 17 September was heading for [[Padang]], escorted by a small [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] ship that survivors described as a [[corvette]] or [[gunboat]]. By 18 September she had two naval escorts, one on each quarter, which HMS ''Tradewind''{{'}}s crew described as motor launches.

==Sinking==
[[File:HMS Tradewind.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Tradewind|P329|6}} sank ''Jun'yō Maru'']]
''Jun'yō Maru'' was making a defensive zigzag course, but one of her turns placed her abeam of the submerged ''Tradewind''.<ref name=HistoryNet/> At about 1600 hrs on 18 September, ''Tradewind'' fired a spread of four torpedoes from a range of about {{convert|1800|yard}}. Two hit ''Jun'yō Maru'', one in her forward holds and the other aft. One escort vessel retaliated by dropping three [[depth charge]]s, while the other rescued Japanese survivors. ''Tradewind'' dived deep and escaped damage. ''Jun'yō Maru'' sank by her stern in about 15 minutes<ref name=HistoryNet/> at position {{coord|2|53|S|101|11|E|display=inline,title|source:nlwiki}}.

''Jun'yō Maru''{{'}}s Japanese crew launched one of her lifeboats, but it was holed and quickly swamped. Its occupants used an axe to repel PoWs in the water who tried to reach the boat. ''Rōmushas'' and PoWs in ''Jun'yō Maru''{{'}}s holds had difficulty getting up on deck to abandon ship. The senior British PoW, a Captain Upton, organised PoWs to launch the liferafts and throw overboard any [[dunnage]] that might provide buoyancy for survivors in the water. Many ''rōmushas'' and PoWs either went down with the ship or drowned as they floated in the ocean.<ref name=HistoryNet/>

The next morning, one of the Japanese escort vessels returned and rescued 680 surviving prisoners. They were taken to Pekanbaru, where they were put to work building the railway. A compiled list of names puts the number of allied POW deaths at around 1,449 but it is unknown exactly how many rōmushas perished in the disaster. Most estimates of this number are between 4,000 and 4,100.<ref name=Kuil/>

==See also==
*[[List of Japanese hell ships]]
*{{SS|Cap Arcona||2}} and {{SS|Thielbek|1940|2}} – German [[prison ship]]s sunk when transporting between 7,000 and 8,000 [[Deportation|deportees]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last=Burrell |first=David |year=1992 |title=Furness Withy 1891–1991 |place=Kendal |publisher=[[World Ship Society]] |isbn=0-905617-70-3}}
*{{cite book |year=1914 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I – Steamers |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |via=[[Internet Archive]] |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1915ST/page/n77/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'', 1914}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1919 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I – Steamers |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1920ST/ROS1920ST%20Combined/page/n438/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'', 1919}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1922 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II – Steamers & Motorships |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1923ST/page/n1097/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'', 1922}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1927 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II – Steamers & Motorships |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1928ST/page/n608/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'', 1927}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1934 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II – Steamers & Motorships |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |via=[[Southampton City Council]] |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/34/34b0439.pdf |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'', 1934}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1939 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II – Steamers & Motorships |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |via=Southampton City Council |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/39/39b0998.pdf |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'', 1939}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1914 |title=Mercantile Navy List |place=London |url= https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?name=Ardgorm&year=1914&submit=Enter |via=Crew List Index Project |ref={{harvid|''Mercantile Navy List'', 1914}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1918 |title=Mercantile Navy List |place=London |url= https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?&name=Hartland%20Point&steamsail=Steam&submit=Enter&year=1918 |via=Crew List Index Project |ref={{harvid|''Mercantile Navy List'', 1918}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1920 |title=Mercantile Navy List |place=London |url= https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?name=Hartmore&year=1920&submit=Enter |via=Crew List Index Project |ref={{harvid|''Mercantile Navy List'', 1920}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1923 |title=Mercantile Navy List |place=London |url= https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?name=Sureway&year=1923&submit=Enter |via=Crew List Index Project |ref={{harvid|''Mercantile Navy List'', 1923}} }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Jun'yō Maru}}
*{{cite web |url= https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?105102 |title=Zyunyo Maru (Junyo Maru) [+1944] |work=WreckSite}}
*{{cite web |url= http://members.iinet.net.au/~vanderkp/junyopg1.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170527111754/http://members.iinet.net.au/~vanderkp/junyopg1.html |last=van der Kuil |first=Peter |title=The Sinking of the Junyo Maru |date=1997 |archive-date=27 May 2017}}

{{September 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Junyo Maru}}

[[Category:1913 ships]]
[[Category:Japanese hell ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in September 1944]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of Japan]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by British submarines]]
[[Category:Steamships of Japan]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War II passenger ships of Japan]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]