:Terukuni Maru (1929)

The ship was named for the Terukuni jinja, a Shinto shrine located in Kagoshima.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1935). [https://books.google.com/books?id=PdNAAAAAIAAJ&q=Asama+Maru The Nomenclature of the N.Y.K. Fleet, p. 50.] The Terukuni Maru and her sister ship Yasukuni Maru were built for NYK’s fortnightly scheduled high-speed European service, coming into operation from the autumn of 1930.[http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/nyk.htm NYK Line – Nippon Yusen Kaisha]. Timetableimages.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-12. Both ships were specially designed for tropical conditions, with state-of-the-art air conditioning and fresh air circulation systems, as their routing was south from Japan, through the Indian Ocean, Suez Canal and Mediterranean Sea.Arthur de Carle Sowerby, John Calvin Ferguson, China Society of Arts and Science The China journal, Volume 13. Page 136 Both ships were initially designed for use with geared turbine engines for projected cruising speed of 18 knots. However, under increasing pressure from the Japanese government to use only equipment and technologies available domestically, the design was changed to use standard Mitsubishi-Sulzer marine diesel engines, which reduced cruising speed to 15 knots.

The 11,931-ton steel-hulled vessel had a length of {{convert|505|ft|m}}, and a beam of {{convert|64|ft|m}}, with a single funnel, two masts, and double screws. Terukuni Maru provided accommodation for 121 first-class passengers and 68 second class passengers. There was also room for up to 60 third-class passengers. The ship and passengers were served by a crew of 177.Kawata, T.Glimpses of East Asia (1936) Nihon Yūsen Kabushiki Kaisha, p. 20

On September 24, 1939, at 5 PM, Terukuni Maru departed Yokohama on her 25th voyage to Europe. En route, she made her usual scheduled ports of call: Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe, Moji, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang, and Colombo. After transiting the Suez Canal, she called at Beirut, Naples and Marseilles (where she stayed for four days), followed by Casablanca. At 9 AM on November 19, she transited the Dover Straits, turning north to the mouth of the River Thames and her final destination of London. She took aboard a pilot off the South Downs, and underwent contraband inspection while Royal Navy minesweepers checked her route into London for mines. After receiving clearance to proceed, at 35 minutes after midnight on the morning of November 21, an explosion occurred between her second and third holds, after she struck a German magnetic mine at {{coord|51|50|N|01|30|E|display=inline, title}} off Harwich on the Essex coast. She sank in less than 45 minutes,[https://archive.today/20130204213647/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762943-2,00.html World War: Black Moons]. Time Magazine (1939-12-04). Retrieved on 2011-12-12. but there were no fatalities as all 28 passengers and 177 crew members were able to escape in lifeboats.{{cite book| title=Ugly ducklings: Japan's WWII liberty type standard ship | last=Heal |first=Syd C. |year=2003 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-59114-888-3 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3wt17E5q9rEC&pg=PA40 39–43]}}

As Japan was officially neutral at the time, the sinking of the Terukuni Maru led to a diplomatic incident between Japan and both the United Kingdom and Germany. Both countries officially denied responsibility for the mine. However, it is almost certain to have been a German mine because the type of mine used is one that had been developed by the Germans and because the United Kingdom would not have placed mines in its own shipping lanes. Although Japan was increasingly allied towards Germany, the Japanese government protested the loss with the Nazi German government, but the ship owner was not compensated for the loss.

The wrecked ship lay partly submerged on its side at {{convert|8|fathom}} depth, visible to wartime shipping.Lund & Ludlam. (1979) Out Sweeps! The Story of the Minesweepers in World War II. New English Library {{ISBN|0450044688}} p.17 The wreckage was examined for salvage potential, but salvage work was not undertaken. In 1946 the ship was demolished with explosives as part of a British effort to remove war debris from coastal waters. The remains of the Terukuni Maru have been recorded.{{citation|url=http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=908125|title=Terukuni Maru |publisher=English Heritage}}

A model of the ship is displayed in the library of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.{{citation|url=http://www.strath.ac.uk/archives/iotm/september2011/ |date=September 2011 |title=Through the porthole|last=Stewart |first=Carol |publisher=University of Strathclyde}}, contents credited to ‘A Fleet under Glass’ by John F. Petrie. University of Strathclyde Gazette, 1981.

• List of ocean liners

{{reflist}}

• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1935). [https://books.google.com/books?id=PdNAAAAAIAAJ&q=Asama+Maru The Nomenclature of the N.Y.K. Fleet.] Tokyo : Nippon Yusen Kaisha. [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/27933596 OCLC 27933596]
• Williams, David. Wartime Passenger Ship Disasters. Haynes Publishing (1997) {{ISBN|1-85260-565-0}}
• Heal, Syd. Ugly ducklings: Japan's WWII liberty type standard ship. Naval Institute Press (2003) {{ISBN|1-59114-888-X}}

{{commons category|Terukuni Maru (ship, 1929)}}

• [http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//BHC_RTV/1939/11/23/BGU407241616/?s=* ITN newsclip video image]
• [http://www.war44.com/showthread.php?t=1670 First hand accounts of the sinking]

{{November 1939 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terukuni Maru}}

Category:1929 ships

Category:Ships of the NYK Line

Category:Steamships of Japan

Category:Passenger ships of Japan

Category:Ocean liners

Category:Ships sunk by mines

Category:Shipwrecks in the English Channel

Category:World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea

Category:Maritime incidents in November 1939

Category:Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries