The was a Japanese passenger ship which, renamed Kamakura Maru, was sunk during World World II, killing 2,035 soldiers and civilians on board.

The Chichibu Maru was built for the Nippon Yusen

Nippon Yusen

Japan-based or NYK Line, is one of the largest shipping companies in the world. It is a core Mitsubishi company. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo.-1870-1900:...

 shipping company by the Yokohama Dock Company in 1930. She had a beam of 22,6 meters, a length of 178 meters and a tonnage of 17,498. Cruising speed was 19 knots, with a maximum of 21 knots. The ship could carry 817 passengers.

Before the war, the ship carried passengers between Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

 and San Francisco. Prince Takamatsu

Prince Takamatsu

was the third son of HIM Emperor Taishō and HIM Empress Teimei and a younger brother of the HIM Emperor Shōwa . He became heir to the Takamatsu-no-miya , one of the four shinnōke or branches of the imperial family entitled to inherit the Chrysanthemum throne in default of a direct heir...

 and Princess Takamatsu

Princess Takamatsu

Princess Takamatsu of Japan, , known informally as Princess Kikuko, was a member of the Japanese imperial family. The Princess was the widow of Prince Takamatsu , the third son of the Emperor Taishō and the Empress Teimei...

 also traveled on this ship. She was renamed twice, in 1938 as Titibu Maru and in 1939 as Kamakura Maru.

In 1942 she was confiscated by the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 to serve as a troop transport ship, and also as hospital ship

Hospital ship

A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....

.
On April 28 1943, the Kamakura Maru, sailing from Manila to Singapore and carrying some 2,500 soldiers and civilians, was torpedoed by the US submarine USS Gudgeon

USS Gudgeon (SS-211)

USS Gudgeon , a Tambor-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the gudgeon). Her keel was laid down by the Mare Island Navy Yard. She was launched on 25 January 1941, sponsored by Mrs. William S. Pye, and commissioned on 21 April 1941 with Lieutenant Commander...

. The ship was hit by two torpedoes and sank within 12 minutes. Four days later, 465 survivors were rescued from the sea by Japanese ships, meaning some 2,035 people were killed.