On February 25, 1944, the 6,200 ton cargo vessel Tango Maru, crammed with 3,500 Javanese labourers (romusha

Romusha

were forced laborers during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in World War II. The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that in Java, between four and 10 million romusha were forced to work by the Japanese military. About 270,000 of these Javanese laborers were sent to other Japanese-held areas...

) and hundreds of Allied POWs

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

, was traveling between Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

 and Ambon

Ambon Island

Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...

. The American submarine USS Rasher

USS Rasher (SS-269)

USS Rasher , a , was a ship of the United States Navy named for the rasher, a vermilion-colored rockfish or scorpionfish found along the California coast....

 sank the ship with three torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

 hits. Only about 500 Javanese survived.

On the same day USS Rasher also sank the Ryusei Maru

Ryusei Maru

The Ryusei Maru was a Japanese transport ship that was sunk by the USS Rasher on February 25, 1944. Nearly 5,000 lives were lost.On the same day USS Rasher also sank the Tango Maru, killing some 3,500 Javanese laborers and POW's....

, killing some 5,000 Japanese soldiers.

Another Japanese ship named Tango Maru, a 2,046 ton tanker, was also sunk by the Rasher, on November 8, 1943 in the Makassar Strait

Makassar Strait

Makassar Strait is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea.The Mahakam River of Borneo empties into the strait....

.