Yasukuni Maru ( 1930 ) History . The " Yasukuni Maru " and her sister ship " Terukuni Maru " were built for NYK ’ s fortnightly scheduled high - speed European service , coming into operation from the autumn of 1930 . 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 . 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 , 933 - ton steel - hulled vessel had a length of , and a beam of , with a single funnel , two masts , and double screws . " Yasukuni 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 . Civilian career . " Yasukuni Maru " departed Yokohama on her maiden voyage on 22 September 1930 for London , with ports of call in between at Yokkaichi , Osaka , Kobe Moji , Shanghai , Hong Kong , Singapore , Penang , Colombo , Aden , Suez , Port Said , Marseilles , and Gibraltar . On her return to Yokohama , she substituted Naples for Marseilles and arrived back at Yokohama on 18 October 1930 . Thereafter , she entered regular service with NYK , following the same routing . On 5 April 1934 " Yasukuni Maru " responded to a distress call from the Imperial Japanese Navy training cruiser at Port Said , Egypt , and took off several ill sailors including an appendix patient . In September – October 1939 , at the request of the Foreign Ministry , " Yasukuni Maru " evacuated Japanese civilians , members of the diplomatic staff and some German nationals from Germany on the verge of World War II . She returned to Yokohama on 18 October 1939 after her final civilian voyage and was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy on 25 October 1939 . Military career . " Yasukuni Maru " was classified by the Imperial Japanese Navy as an auxiliary transport , and briefly used to transport troops and war materials from Japan to China during the Second Sino - Japanese War . However , as the war situation stabilized , she was returned to NYK slightly more than a month later , on 11 December 1939 . On 29 October 1940 , " Yasukuni Maru " was again requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy , and was classified this time as an auxiliary submarine tender . She was taken to Kure Naval Arsenal , where her luxurious internal fittings were torn out , and she was repainted gunmetal grey . On 11 January 1941 she was assigned to the 1st Submarine Division of the IJN 6th Fleet . During the conversion , she was armed with six obsolete 152 - mm / 50 cal . ( 6 - inch ) guns in single mounts and two Type 93 dual mount 13 . 2 - mm machine guns and fitted with one 1110 - mm and one 900 - mm search lights . During most of the remainder of 1941 , " Yasukuni Maru " was based at Takao in Taiwan for patrols of Ryukyu Islands and the coast of China . However , at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor , she was based at Kwajalein . On 20 December 1941 , she was assigned to the 3rd Submarine Division , still with the IJN 6th Fleet . Kwajalein was attacked on 1 February 1942 by aircraft from United States Navy Task Force 8 ( , with " Yasukuni Maru " hit by one bomb in her aft turret and damage to her stern . She returned to Kure on 1 March for repairs lasting to 23 April . She returned to Kure again on 23 November for repairs and regular maintenance . In early 1943 , " Yasukuni Maru " was assigned to “ Operation C ” , the reinforcement of the Japanese landing on New Guinea . " Yasukuni Maru " , with 1448 men and 11 tanks of the IJA 20th Infantry Division departed Pusan for Wewak on 8 January 1943 together with transports " Hakozaki Maru " and " Aratama Maru " and the destroyer . The convoy successfully delivers to reinforcements to Rabaul and Wewak . On 4 February 1943 , " Yasukuni Maru " took on troops and supplies of the IJA 41st Infantry Division at Tsingtao , China , disembarking the troops at Wewak at the end of the month , and returning to Kure in early March . She was based at Truk in April , and was part of another troop convoy to Balikpapan in May . In October , she was part of the convoyed evacuating surviving Japanese troops from Wewak to Palau , and returned to Japan at the end of December 1943 . On 24 January 1944 , " Yasukuni Maru " was assigned to a troop convoy departing Tateyama , Chiba for Truk . On 31 January , approximately northwest of Truk , the convoy was attacked by the US submarine and " Yasukuni Maru " was hit by two torpedo s . She took on water rapidly , and sank within five minutes at with loss of 300 crewmen and 888 technicians . Escorting destroyer recovered only 43 survivors . She was struck from the navy list on 10 March 1944 .