British Freighter
Beached
December 1941
Destroyed
November 20, 1943
D
Letourneau 1999
History
The Niminoa was a small freighter that was in port at Tarawa
Lagoon when the Japanese occupied the island in December 1941. It
was a British vessel
and the captain drove it up on the reef so it could not be used, and
was abandoned partially sunk to the west of the peir. The
wreck was just off "Red-2" beachead
of the USMC landing, and remainedd intact until the invasion
in November 1943.
Use By Japanese Soldiers
Japanese soldiers got aboard
and used it as an offensive
firing
position
against the Marines. Their machine guns took such a toll that the
landings were suspended until aircraft and naval gunfire reduced
the
wreck to a smoking hulk.
Stan
Gajda reports:
"I have been to it many times and spent hours snorkeling around it. It really
is blown to bits, even the diesel engine. Only the stem of the boat is recognizable
and you can still see many .50 cal bullets holes in it. Also around it I have
found two unexploded 100lb GP bombs, no doubt relics from the bombing to put
it out of action. I have never found anything real interesting in it though except
Japanese bottles. I expected to find mg ammo or cases or even a rusted mg or
two. Maybe it got cleaned out long ago. In August 1998, then there was a Kiribati
Shipping Co vessel aground on the same reef as the Niminoa approximately where
the Japanese barge is. Also other junk has been allowed to drift in and run aground."
