Rod Macdonald's video: Diving the wreck of Kiyosumi Maru - Truk Lagoon

The 6,984grt passenger cargo liner Kiyosumi Maru was launched in 1934. In the lead up to the Pacific war she was converted to an IJN armed merchant cruiser in 1941. When it became clear how vulnerable armed merchant cruisers were, and with a pressing need for cargo ships to transport war materials to the stretched Japanese South Pacific territories, she was converted to an auxiliary transport in 1943. On 3 November 1943, whilst in a convoy north of Kavieng, she was disabled by a bomb from a U.S. B-24 bomber. She was towed to Truk Lagoon and anchored up in the Repair Anchorage. When U.S. fast carrier aircraft launched theri surprise 2-day Operation Hailstone, as a big ship she was a primary target. One bomb from a Douglass Dauntless dive bomber from the carrier Enterprise went straight into Hold No 2 just in front of the bridge and blew the bottom of the hull out and set her ablaze, whilst other bombs struck around the bridge. She listed to port and sank into 35 metres of water. .