SS Yawata Maru

The SS Yawata Maru was an 18,000 ton ocean liner on the trans-Pacific run, sailing from Tokyo to Seattle and down to San Francisco.

Built at Nagasaki in 1939, she was intended to sail to Europe but was needed more in the Pacific. After two years of service, she was handed over to the Imperial Japanese Navy and carried prisoners of war. One year later she was turned into an aircraft carrier and was bombed along with her sisters SS Nitta Maru and the SS Kasuga Maru. The Yawata Maru was the only one of the trio that saw passenger service.