IJN
Freighter
via Robert Rocker
via The Aleutian Warriors
Ship History
Nojima or Nozima Maru.
Wartime History
On August
21, 1942 at 1315 she departed Kataoka Bay, Shumushu Island. On the 25th she arrived at Kiska Island from when unloading was completed according to schedule on September 15 at noon. She prepared to depart on the following evening.
On September 16, 1942 a large air attack was suddenly launched and after a time near misses holed the ship and flooded the engine room causing the ship to lose power. One minute later the ship was directly hit amidships by a dud bomb. At 0442 the ship was machine-gunned and the captain killed. Inside the ship pumping operations began and, together with patching, prevented the ship from sinking. At 0454 however another large air attack occurred opening a larger hole and the ship was run aground to prevent sinking in Trout Lagoon, near the mouth of a small stream. The ship would have required towing back to Japan for extensive repairs. On October 13, 1942 she was abandoned. On April 20, 1943 the ship was again bombed in an air raid and became a total loss.
Post War Salvage
The shipwreck remained exposed along the shoreline. The stern section was refloated in 1956 by the US tug Salvage King and towed by Salvage King and Canadian tug Sudbury II to Japan for scrap but sank en route due to a storm.
Wreckage
The bow section remains aground on a beach today almost straddling a small creek in Trout Lagoon.
References
Thanks to Eric / J-Aircraft.com for additional information.
The Aleutian Warriors
