Amakasu Maru No. 1: An Analysis of a Remotely Operated Vehicle Survey on a Japanese Requisitioned WWII Shipwreck in the Pacific

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In 2016, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) 's Okeanos Explorer mission to Wake Island investigated the site of a Japanese shipwreck they believed to be the destroyer Hayate. Utilizing a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the team instead discovered the site of Amakasu Maru No. 1. Sunk by USS Triton on 24 December 1942, Amakasu Maru No. 1 was a requisitioned water tanker in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Requisitioning merchant class vessels was a common practice within the IJN and was a notable factor in Japan's WWII defeat. By examining both the history and archaeological remains of this vessel in relation to the use of IJN requisitioned vessels throughout WWII, this project provides more information on Amakasu Maru's usage within the war, as well as provides information regarding the past archaeological investigation of other IJN requisitioned vessels throughout the Pacific.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2022 SHA Poster Submissions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology