Ural Maru
Encyclopedia
Ural Maru was a 6,374-ton Japanese transport ship and hospital ship
during World War II
. Ural Maru was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of some 2,000 lives on September 27, 1944 by the American submarine USS Flasher
.
Ural Maru was used as a hospital ship during Second Sino-Japanese War
. Opening of Pacific War
, the ship was used as a military transport. In 1943, the ship was changed to a hospital ship, painted white and marked red cross. On April 3, 1943, when carrying 50 medic
and medicines, the ship was bombed by a US Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and lightly damaged.
On the last cruise, Ural Maru was used as a transport ship carrying Japanese wounded, nurses and a number of "comfort women". In addition there were ten unusual passengers - Indian National Army cadets of Indian origin on their way to Japan for military training. Only one of them, Bishan Singh, died in the sinking. One of the survivors, Ramesh S. Benegal, went on to become an officer in the Indian Air Force in independent India and retired as an Air Commodore. He provides a first-person account of the sinking of the Ural Maru in his book "Burma to Japan with Azad Hind - A War Memoir". The complement of passengers is also based on his account. Some accounts refer to the ship as carrying Allied (Indian) POWs but do not seem to be true because otherwise the INA cadets would have noticed.
In response to the Australian protest against the sinking of the hospital ship Centaur
, the Japanese had lodged a counter-protest about the sinking of a number of their own hospital ships, the Ural Maru being one of them. In the case of this ship, at least, their account appears to be true.
The INA cadets on board the Ural Maru were: (Malayans of Indian parentage) Narayanan, Bishan Singh, Navaratnam, Ghosh, Robert Prosper, Ranjit Das; (Burmese of Indian parentage) Benegal, Gandhi Das, Dutta, Bimol Deb.
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....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Ural Maru was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of some 2,000 lives on September 27, 1944 by the American submarine USS Flasher
USS Flasher (SS-249)
USS Flasher was a Gato-class submarine which served in the Pacific during World War II. She received three Presidential Unit Citations and six battle stars, and sank 21 ships for a total of 100,231 tons of Japanese shipping....
.
Ural Maru was used as a hospital ship during Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
. Opening of Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, the ship was used as a military transport. In 1943, the ship was changed to a hospital ship, painted white and marked red cross. On April 3, 1943, when carrying 50 medic
Medic
Medic is a general term for a person involved in medicine, especially emergency or first-response medicine, such as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or a military member trained in battlefield medicine. Also the term is used toward a Nurse in pre-hospital care and/or emergency...
and medicines, the ship was bombed by a US Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and lightly damaged.
On the last cruise, Ural Maru was used as a transport ship carrying Japanese wounded, nurses and a number of "comfort women". In addition there were ten unusual passengers - Indian National Army cadets of Indian origin on their way to Japan for military training. Only one of them, Bishan Singh, died in the sinking. One of the survivors, Ramesh S. Benegal, went on to become an officer in the Indian Air Force in independent India and retired as an Air Commodore. He provides a first-person account of the sinking of the Ural Maru in his book "Burma to Japan with Azad Hind - A War Memoir". The complement of passengers is also based on his account. Some accounts refer to the ship as carrying Allied (Indian) POWs but do not seem to be true because otherwise the INA cadets would have noticed.
In response to the Australian protest against the sinking of the hospital ship Centaur
AHS Centaur
Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was a hospital ship which was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 14 May 1943...
, the Japanese had lodged a counter-protest about the sinking of a number of their own hospital ships, the Ural Maru being one of them. In the case of this ship, at least, their account appears to be true.
The INA cadets on board the Ural Maru were: (Malayans of Indian parentage) Narayanan, Bishan Singh, Navaratnam, Ghosh, Robert Prosper, Ranjit Das; (Burmese of Indian parentage) Benegal, Gandhi Das, Dutta, Bimol Deb.