MS Aramis
{{short description|Ocean liner that became a French armed merchant cruiser and Japanese troop ship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= Teia maru.jpg |Ship caption= Teia Maru as a repatriation ship in 1943 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship name= *1932: Aramis
|Ship namesake= 1932: Aramis |Ship owner= Messageries Maritimes |Ship operator= *1940: French Navy
|Ship registry= *1932: {{flagicon|France}} Marseille
|Ship route= 1932: Marseille – Suez – Far East |Ship ordered= |Ship builder= Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched= 30 June 1931 |Ship completed= 1932 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= into French Navy, 1 March 1940 |Ship decommissioned= from French Navy, 1 August 1940 |Ship recommissioned= into Japanese Navy, 20 November 1942 |Ship honours= |Ship maiden voyage= 21 October 1932 |Ship refit= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship identification= *code letters ORNA (until 1933)
|Ship fate= Sunk by torpedo, 1944 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= "nautonaphte" ocean liner |Ship tonnage= {{GRT|17357}}, {{NRT|9990}} |Ship displacement= |Ship length= {{cvt|543.5|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{cvt|69.6|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship draught= |Ship depth= {{cvt|33.6|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship decks= 4 |Ship power= *1932: 2,490 NHP, {{cvt|11000|shp|lk=in}}
|Ship propulsion= *2 × screws |Ship speed= *1932: {{convert|16|kn|km/h}}
|Ship capacity= passengers: 196 × 1st class, 110 × 2nd class, 60 × 3rd class, 1,183 – 1,402 × "rationnaires" |Ship crew= |Ship armament= *as X-1:
|Ship sensors= wireless direction finding |Ship notes= sister ships: Félix Roussel, {{MS|Georges Philippar | 2}}
}} |
MS Aramis was a Messageries Maritimes ocean liner that was launched in France in 1931. She was a sister ship of Félix Roussel and {{MS|Georges Philippar||2}}. The three sisters were highly unusual in having square funnels. Aramis{{'}} interior was an Art Deco interpretation of Minoan design.
When France entered the Second World War, Aramis was converted into the armed merchant cruiser X-1. In August 1940 she was decommissioned. In 1942 Japan seized her under angary and renamed her {{nihongo||帝亜丸|Teia Maru}}. She was a repatriation ship in 1943 and a troop ship in 1944, until a United States Navy submarine sank her. About 2,665 of her passengers and crew were killed.
Design and building
Between 1929 and 1932 Messageries Maritimes (MM) had three new ocean liners built for its routes between France and the Far East. Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire in Saint-Nazaire launched Félix Roussel in 1929 and Georges Philippar in 1930.{{cite web |url= https://www.messageries-maritimes.org/felix.htm |title=Le Félix Roussel futur–Arosa Sun |website=L'Encyclopedie des Messageries Maritimes |access-date=9 July 2023}}{{cite web |url= https://www.messageries-maritimes.org/gphilip.htm |title=Le Georges Philippar |website=L'Encyclopedie des Messageries Maritimes |access-date=9 July 2023}} The Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée in La Seyne-sur-Mer launched Aramis on 30 June 1931 and completed her in October 1932.{{cite web |url= https://www.messageries-maritimes.org/aramis.htm |title=L'Aramis futur–Teia Maru |website=L'Encyclopedie des Messageries Maritimes |access-date=9 July 2023}}
Aramis{{'}} registered length was {{cvt|543.5|ft|abbr=on}}, her beam was {{cvt|69.6|ft|abbr=on}}and her depth was {{cvt|33.6|ft|abbr=on}}. Her tonnages were {{GRT|17357}} and {{NRT|9990}}.Lloyd's Register, 1933 She had berths for 196 passengers in first class, 110 in second class, 60 in third class, and 1,183 to 1,402 "rationnaires".
The ship's Minoan décor was part of a programme by MM's President, Georges Philippar, to give MM's ships unusual revivalist décors from various ancient cultures, to get away from the usual 19th- and early 20th-century de luxe styles. In this case the designers went on a research trip to Crete. The "Neo-Aegean" design, based on Sir Arthur Evans' reconstructions at Knossos mixed with Art Deco, received much publicity. Tours of the ship were arranged at ports she visited on her maiden voyage.Ulanowska, 2017
The ship had twin screws, each driven by a French-built Sulzer ten-cylinder single-acting two-stroke diesel engine. The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 2,490 NHP or {{cvt|11000|shp|lk=in}}, and gave her a speed of {{convert|16|kn|km/h}}.
MM registered Aramis at Marseille. Her code letters were ORNA.
French service
File:Teia maru aramis 1932.jpg
On 21 October 1932 Aramis left Marseille on her maiden voyage to Kobe via the Suez Canal. She called at Port Said, Djibouti, Colombo, Penang, Singapore, Saigon, Hong Kong and Shanghai.{{cite web |url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/Teia_t.htm |year=2013 |last=Hackett |first=Bob |title=IJN Teia Maru: Combined Fleet tabular record of movement |website=Combined Fleet}}
On 22 June 1933 Aramis ran aground on Zhoushan. She was refloated, and the {{ship|French cruiser|Primauguet|1924|6}} towed her to Japan.
In 1934 the call sign FOBP superseded her code letters.Lloyd's Register, 1934 In 1935–36 Aramis{{'}} engines were supercharged. This increased her power to {{cvt|15600|shp|lk=in}} and her speed to {{convert|19|kn|km/h}}. At the same time, Chantier naval de La Ciotat built her a new bow, which lengthened her by {{convert|30|ft|0}}.
On 4 September 1939, work to convert Aramis into an armed merchant cruiser was started in Saigon. She was armed with eight {{convert|138|mm|in|abbr=on}} guns, two {{convert|75|mm|in|abbr=on}} anti-aircraft guns, two {{convert|37|mm|in|abbr=on}} anti-aircraft guns, and eight machine guns. On 20 January 1940 she left Saigon, and in February she reached Hong Kong, where she was dry docked. On 1 March she left dry dock, and was commissioned into the French Navy as auxiliary cruiser X-1. She patrolled the South China Sea.
On 22 June 1940 France capitulated to Germany and Italy. On 1 August 1940 Aramis returned to Saigon and was disarmed and returned to her owners. In January 1942 became a barracks ship in Saigon.
Japanese service
On 12 April 1942, Japan seized Aramis under angary. On 2 June her French crew was disembarked. Officially, Japan chartered Aramis and ten other Vichy French. Japan paid MM 168,346 yen per month for Aramis. On 2 June she was renamed Teia Maru. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at Yokohama dry docked her from 5 July until 19 November.
On 20 November 1942 the Imperial Japanese Navy requisitioned Teia Maru. From September 1943 she made voyages exchanging interned civilians with the Allies.
File:Teia-maru-at-mormugao.jpg in Portuguese India]]
On 14 September she left Yokohama on the second Japanese–US exchange voyage. She carried 80 US repatriates from Japan. She embarked about 975 repatriates at Shanghai on 19 September, 24 at Hong Kong on 23 September, 130 at San Fernando, Philippines on 26 September, 27 at Saigon on 30 September, and others at Singapore on 5 October. She reached Mormugao in Portuguese India, on 15 October 1943 carrying 1,525 priests, nuns, Protestant missionaries, and businessmen with their families who had been stranded in areas captured by Japan.
File:GRIPSHOLM utanför Tangier - Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet - SMGF6906.tif liner {{MS|Gripsholm|1924|2}}]]
On 19 October, the neutral Swedish {{MS|Gripsholm|1924|2}} arrived carrying 1,340 Japanese officials and businessmen and their families. They were exchanged for 1,270 US citizens, 120 Canadians, and 15 Chileans, plus as UK citizens, Panamanians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Cubans, Argentinians, and nationals from other Latin American countries. 48,670 Red Cross parcels for interned Allied civilians were transferred from Gripsholm to Teia Maru for Allied prisoners of war and interned civilians in Singapore, Manila and Japan. Teia Maru left Mormugao on 21 October and returned the repatriated Japanese to Yokohama on 14 November.
On 1 January 1944 the Japanese Navy requisitioned Teia Maru again, this time as a troop ship. She sailed to Singapore with convoy Hi-41 in February 1944, and returned to Japan with convoy Hi-48 in March. She sailed again to Singapore with convoy Hi-63 in May 1944, and returned to Japan in June carrying about 1,000 Australian, British, Dutch, and other PoWs who had worked on the Burma Railway. 300 of these POWs were sent to Fukuoka Camp 6 in Orio, 350 POWs were sent to Fukuoka Camp 21 in Nakama, 100 Dutch POWs were sent to Fukuoka Camp 9 Miyata, and 250, including 150 Australian POWs, were assigned to work in Mitsui coal mines at PW Fukuoka Camp 17 in Ōmuta.
On 10 August 1944 Teia Maru left Imari Bay carrying 5,478 soldiers and civilians. Most of her military passengers were Imperial Japanese Army Air Service personnel. She was part of convoy Hi-71 carrying Operation Shō reinforcements to the Philippines. On 17 August the convoy entered the South China Sea from Mako naval base in the Pescadores. {{USS|Redfish|SS-395|6}} discovered the convoy that evening, and assembled {{USS|Rasher|SS-269|6}}, {{USS|Bluefish|SS-222|2}} and {{USS|Spadefish|SS-411|2}} for a radar-assisted wolfpack attack in typhoon conditions on the night of 18–19 August.Blair, 1975, pp. 676–680 Teia Maru was one of several ships torpedoed that night. She sank at position {{coord|18|16|N|120|21|E|display=inline,title}},Cressman, 2000, p. 248 killing 2,665 of her passengers and crew.
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last=Blair |first=Clay |author-link=Clay Blair |year=1975 |title=Silent Victory |place=New York |publisher=J.B. Lippincott Company |url= https://archive.org/details/silentvictoryus00blai |url-access=registration |pages=[https://archive.org/details/silentvictoryus00blai/page/676 676–680] |isbn=978-0397007530}}
- {{cite book |last=Cressman |first=Robert J |year=2000 |title=The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II |place=Annapolis, MD |url= https://archive.org/details/TheOfficialChronologyOfTheUSNavyInWorldWarII |publisher=Naval Institute Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/TheOfficialChronologyOfTheUSNavyInWorldWarII/page/n247 248] |isbn=1-55750-149-1}}
- {{cite book |year=1933 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 Tons and Over |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/33/33b0057.pdf |via=Southampton City Council}}
- {{cite book |year=1934 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 Tons and Over |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/34/34b0061.pdf |via=Southampton City Council}}
- {{cite book |last=Miller |first=William H. Jr |year=1997 |title=Picture History of the French Line |place= |publisher=Dover Publications |isbn=}}
- {{cite book |editor1-last=Momigliano |editor1-first=Nicoletta |editor2-last=Farnoux |editor2-first=Alexandre |year=2017 |title=Cretomania. Modern Desires for the Minoan Past |series=BSA – Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies |volume= 3 |place=London & New York |publisher=Routledge & École française d’Athènes |isbn=978-1472474995 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UigxDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Neo-Aegean%22&pg=PT108}}
- {{cite book |last=Ulanowska |first=Agata |chapter=review of: Nicoletta Momigliano & Alexandre Farnoux (eds), 2017, Cretomania. Modern Desires for the Minoan Past |title=Aegeus — Society for Aegean Prehistory |url=https://www.aegeussociety.org/en/book_reviews/review-of-nicoletta-momigliano-amp-alexandre-farnoux-eds-2017-cretomania-modern-desires-for-the-minoan-past-bsa-modern-greek-and-byzantine-studies-vol-3-london-amp-new-york-routledge-amp-ecole-francai/ |series=BSA – Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies |date=30 October 2023 |volume=3 |place=London & New York |publisher=Routledge & École française d’Athènes |isbn=978-1472474995}}. Chapter 7 of the book deals with the ship.
{{commons category-inline|Teia Maru}}
{{MM ships}}
{{August 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aramis}}
Category:Maritime incidents in August 1944
Category:Passenger ships of France
Category:Ships built in France
Category:Ships sunk by American submarines
Category:World War II cruisers of France