View source for SS Takao Maru (1927)

{{Other ships|Japanese ship Takao}}
{{Short description|Japanese banana ship and troopship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= 
|Ship caption= 
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{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header= 
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|army}}
|Ship country= Japan
|Ship name= ''Takao Maru''
|Ship namesake= 
|Ship owner= [[Osaka Shosen Kaisha]]
|Ship operator= 1941: [[Imperial Japanese Army]]
|Ship registry= [[Port of Osaka|Osaka]]
|Ship route= 
|Ship ordered= 
|Ship builder= [[Uraga Dock Company]], [[Uraga, Kanagawa|Uraga]]
|Ship original cost= 
|Ship yard number= 317
|Ship laid down= 19 July 1926
|Ship launched= 2 April 1927
|Ship completed= May 1927
|Ship maiden voyage= 
|Ship refit= 
|Ship out of service= 10 December 1941
|Ship identification= *1927: [[code letters]] TKCQ
*{{ICS|Tango}}{{ICS|Kilo}}{{ICS|Charlie}}{{ICS|Quebec}}
*by 1934: [[Maritime call sign|call sign]] JPOB
*{{ICS|Juliet}}{{ICS|Papa}}{{ICS|Oscar}}{{ICS|Bravo}}
|Ship fate= damaged by air raid and beached
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header= 
|Header caption= 
|Ship type= [[Banana boat (ship)|banana ship]]
|Ship tonnage= {{GRT|4282}}, {{NRT|2517}}
|Ship length= {{cvt|355.6|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{cvt|48.5|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|28|ft|3+3/4|in|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth= {{cvt|32.5|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks= 2
|Ship power= 782 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]; 3,915 [[Horsepower#Shaft horsepower|shp]]
|Ship propulsion= *2 × [[steam turbine]]s
*[[Gear train|double-reduction gearing]]
*1 × [[Propeller|screw]]
|Ship speed= {{convert|16.3|kn|km/h|0}}
|Ship capacity= passengers: 6 × 1st class; 64 × 3rd class
|Ship troops= 2,000
|Ship crew= 
|Ship complement= 
|Ship sensors= 
|Ship notes= 
}}
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{{nihongo|'''''Takao Maru'''''|高雄丸||}} was an [[Osaka Shosen Kaisha|OSK Line]] [[Cargo ship|cargo]] and [[Passenger ship|passenger]] [[steamship]] that was built in [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] in 1927. In 1941 the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] requisitioned her. US aircraft damaged her during the first week of the [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|Japanese invasion of the Philippines]]. In 1942 she was declared a [[total loss]].

==Building and registration==
The [[Uraga Dock Company]] in [[Uraga, Kanagawa]] built ''Takao Maru'' as yard number 317. She was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 19 July 1926, launched on 2 April 1927, and completed that May.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1928|loc=TAK}}

''Takao Maru''{{'}}s registered length was {{cvt|355.6|ft|abbr=on}}, her [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] was {{cvt|48.5|ft|abbr=on}}, her depth was {{cvt|32.5|ft|abbr=on}} and her [[Draft (hull)|draft]] was {{convert|28|ft|3+3/4|in|1|abbr=on}}. Her [[tonnage]]s were {{GRT|4282}} and {{NRT|2517}}.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1928|loc=TAK}} She had berths for 70 passengers: six in first class, and 64 in third class.<ref name=Hackett>{{cite web |last=Hackett |first=Bob |date=2018 |title=Takao Maru: Tabular Record of Movement |url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/TakaoM_t.htm |access-date=10 March 2024 |publisher=Imperial Japanese Navy Page}}</ref>

''Takao Maru'' had a single [[Propeller|screw]], driven by two [[Mitsubishi]] [[steam turbine]]s via [[Gear train|double-reduction gearing]]. Their combined power output was rated at 782 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1928|loc=TAK}} or 3,915 [[Horsepower#Shaft horsepower|shp]], and gave her a speed of {{convert|16.3|kn|km/h|0}}.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hackett |first=Bob |title=Takao Maru Class |work=Rikigun Yosen |url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/TakaoM_t.htm |access-date=10 March 2024 |publisher=Imperial Japanese Navy Page}}</ref> She was designed as a high-speed [[Banana boat (ship)|banana ship]], and had an advanced mechanical ventilation system to cool her cargo holds.<ref name=Hackett/>

The [[Yokohama]] Dock Company built a [[sister ship]], ''Koshun Maru'', which was also completed in May 1927.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1928|loc=KOR–KOS}}

OSK [[Ship registration|registered]] ''Takao Maru'' in [[Port of Osaka|Osaka]]. Her [[code letters]] were TKCQ.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1928|loc=TAK}} By 1934 her [[Maritime call sign|call sign]] was JPOB, and this had superseded her code letters.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1934|loc=TAI–TAK}}

==1931 collision==
On 1 February 1931 the {{GRT|9425|adj=on}} [[Reefer ship|refrigerated cargo ship]] ''Arabia Maru'', also owned by OSK, collided with ''Takao Maru'' off [[Kannonzaki Lighthouse]] in [[Tokyo Bay]]. ''Arabia Maru'' took on water in her [[engine room]], and was beached to prevent her from sinking.<ref name=Hackett/>

==War service and loss==
At 16:30 hrs 7 October 1941 the Japanese Army requisitoned ''Takao Maru''. She was converted into a [[troopship]] and given the Army number 638. On 7 December, the eve of the Japanese invasion of the [[History of the Philippines (1898–1946)|Philippines]], she left Mako in the Pescadores islands (now [[Magong]] in [[Penghu]]) as one of six troopships with the [[Third Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Third Fleet]]. She carried 2,000 troops of the [[48th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|48th Division]] to take part in an amphibious assault on the island of [[Luzon]].<ref name=Hackett/>

At 02:00 hrs on 10 December the ships land their troops at Pandan, near [[Vigan]]. The US [[Far East Air Force (United States)|Far East Air Force]] bombed and strafed the ships with [[Boeing B-17]] bombers and [[Curtiss P-40]] and [[Seversky P-35]] fighters. The air attack damages ''Takao Maru'' and another troop ship, ''Oigawa Maru'', and both ships are beached to prevent their sinking. ''Takao Maru'' was beached at {{coord|17|29|N|120|26|E|display=inline,title}}.<ref name=Hackett/>{{sfn|The Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee|1947|p=29}}

On 5 March 1942 Filipino guerillas attached the beached ''Takao Maru'', putting her beyond repair. On 30 September she was officially declared a [[total loss]].<ref name=Hackett/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |author=The Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee |year=1947 |title=Japanese Naval and Merchant Shipping Losses During World War II by All Causes |place=Washington, DC |publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|US Government Printing Office]] |isbn=978-1288590506 |page=29}}
*{{cite book |year=1928 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |via=[[Internet Archive]] |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1929ST/page/n1367/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1928}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1934 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons gross and over |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=[[Southampton City Council]] |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/34/34b0819.pdf |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1934}} }}

==External links==
*{{cite web |last=Nagasawa |first=Fumio |title=Early Showa |url=http://homepage3.nifty.com/jpnships/company/osk_showashoki1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140421064614/http://homepage3.nifty.com/jpnships/company/osk_showashoki1.htm |archive-date=21 April 2014}}

{{1931 shipwrecks}}
{{December 1941 shipwrecks}}
{{March 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takao Maru}}

[[Category:1927 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in December 1941]]
[[Category:Ships built by Uraga Dock Company]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by US aircraft]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Philippines]]
[[Category:Steamships of Japan]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Japan]]