HISTORICAL INFORMATION ON DIVE SITES AND WRECKS
Historical Information of Dive Sites and Wrecks by Charles Davis, Jr. (Seahorse Travel and Tours)
Oryoku Maru
During WWII, the Oryoku Maru was a "Hell Ship" used to transport prisoners in very inhumane conditions to Japan. Many books and articles have been written about the "Hell Ships," especially about this one. Much of the information here is from the war crime trials held after the war.
As the Allied forces started to gain ground in the Pacific and push towards the Philippines, the Japanese made plans to evacuate allied prisoners of war (POW). POWs were to be sent to Japan and once there, be used as slave laborers in the mines and factories. In October 1944, a de¬cision was made to have all physically fit prisoners of war that were being held in Prisoner of War Camps in Cabanatuan and Davao transferred to Manila for even¬tual shipment to Japan. This group of pris¬oners gathered and stayed at Bilibid Prison until December 13, 1944. That day, a total of 1,619 American and Allied Prisoners of War were assembled. Of the 1,619, about 1,100 were officers, a majority being field grade. All in the group were Americans except 30 who were Allied Nationals. In the morning, the entire group marched the streets of Manila to the waterfront. Lieutenant Toshino, the Prisoner of War Guard Commander, was standing at the gate checking the number of prisoners as they left the camp.
The group arrived at the pier in about an hour and then waited several hours be¬fore they were loaded onto their ship. The ship was the Oryoku Maru, a ship designed for luxury travel in the Oriental market before the war. It was considered on par with European luxury liners. The ship car¬ried absolutely no markings of any sort. It was heavily armed fore and aft with 3-inch anti-aircraft guns, dual purpose, and pom¬pom guns. The prisoners were about 20 feet below the main deck.
In the early afternoon, Japanese civil¬ians, some sailors and a group of soldiers to man anti-aircraft guns, in total number¬ing about 1,500 persons, embarked. The prisoners were then loaded aboard. When the prisoners started to embark, Mr. Wada, the Japanese interpreter, was supervising the embarkation. While wait¬ing at the pier, the groups somehow got mixed up so that when Commander Portz led his group aboard the ship, he had about 700 men in his group and they were placed in the after hold. It took about an hour and a half to load group #1. Group #2 in the charge of Lt. Colonel Curtis T. Beecher started loading about 1530 hours in the for¬ward hold. In this group, there were over 600 prisoners. The hold was 60 by 100 feet. (Note: the size was probably only 50 x 100 feet since the ship's beam is listed at 57 feet and would be even smaller under the wa¬terline). There were temporary troop ac¬commodations built about four feet from the floor and extending out 12 feet from the bulkhead, and running around the en¬tire hold area in a square, with no partition, and all wood. The prisoners went down into this hold via wooden steps from the hatch to the hold. Light and air could only come through the hatch opening, which was about 20 feet by 20 feet. There were no ventilators and no portholes. Group #3 went aboard and was loaded in the hatch amid-ships with approximately 300 men.
In group #2, the conditions in the hold were so crowded that the men, a few min¬utes after entering the hold, began fainting. The Japanese were asked to move some of the men out. The request was refused and they were told that there would be about 200 men put into the forward hold. There wasn't enough air and men were faint¬ing due to the lack of air and intense heat. The Japanese were hurrying men into the hold. In some cases, these men were being pushed down the stairs and beaten with ri¬fle butts and shovels. Men were knocked down and off the ladder falling on the men already below. Aihara, one of the guards, was alleged to have been one of the men standing at the hatch entrance beating the prisoners as they entered. All during this time, Wada was present during the load¬ing and without a doubt observed the treat¬ment being given the prisoners, although he did nothing to stop it.
At about 1800 hours, all the men were loaded. The weather in the Philippines is tropical and extremely hot. In the low¬er bays when all men were in, they had to crouch because they couldn't stand up¬right. No men were permitted in the center under the hatch by order of the Japanese guards. In the upper bays one could stand or crouch but could not lie down.
Prior to embarking, the last meal that the prisoners had was on the night of December 12th, at about 1900 hours in Bilibid. For this meal, they were fed a '/2 canteen cup of steamed rice and 1/4 canteen cup of soup. There was also an issue of a 1/2 canteen cup of rice to be eaten on the morning of the 13th. The meal amounted to nearly a full canteen cup of steamed rice and a teaspoon of salt and seaweed for each man, and one canteen cup of water for one whole bay of approximately 45 men. Each man received the equivalent of three teaspoonful of water. The distribution of the food and water was left entirely up to the Americans. The Japanese had nothing to do with it. Never were the Japanese ever physically present in the holds. Other than this mea¬ger ration, the prisoners did not receive any food while aboard the Oryoku Maru, ex¬cept on December 14, when the men in the center hold received morning chow.
When the prisoners first boarded the ship, there were a few cases of active diar¬rhea and dysentery. No provisions had been made for any latrine facilities in the holds. After repeated requests, four five-gallon buckets were lowered into the holds. They were placed in the corners. More buckets were requested from the Japanese to no avail. The four buckets that the POWs re¬ceived were overflowing within 1'/2 hours, and requests to empty them were refused. By 2400 hours, the lower floor was a sea of human waste. The stench in the hold at about 2400 hours due to the lack of air and human waste was overpowering.
When the men first entered the ship, the temperature was between 85 and 90 degrees. About 0200 hours on the 14th, due to the noise and excitement, the hatch, which was the only opening for air, was completely battened down, cutting off all air except that which seeped through the hatch cover. The temperature then rose to about 120 degrees. Men against the bulk¬heads and in the bays were passing out for lack of air. These men were transferred to the front of the bay where they were re¬vived. For the remaining time on the Oryoku Maru, the air situation became worse because of dehydration, weakness, thirst and stench.
No sick bay had been designated. There was no room for it. Repeated requests were made for permission to bring the more se¬rious cases of heat prostration and dehy¬dration on deck where they would at least be able to get some air. But Wada denied these requests.
During the nights of the 13th and 14th, some men became deranged and would wander about the hold stepping on oth¬er prisoners, screaming for water and air. Some became violent to the extent that they lashed out with canteens or struck with their fists or feet at anyone with whom they came in contact. It was pitch-black in the hold. In this chaos, sleeping was im¬possible. On this first night, about 40 to 50 men went out of their minds.
About 0300 hours on the morning of the 14th, the Oryoku Maru weighed an¬chor and headed out towards the South China Sea. Along with the Oryoku Maru were four merchant ships, a destroy¬er and a submarine chaser. At dawn of the 14th, the forward hatch was opened and in the forward hold were 8 to 10 men who had died during the night. At about 0800 hours, an air-raid alarm sounded. The ship was strafed, ricochets began fly¬ing into the holds. The ship had been dam¬aged, and was moving now with difficulty. Several men had been wounded during the raid by the ricochets. During the air raid, it was learned that at least 30 men had died in the aft hold the night of the 13th, most¬ly due to suffocation. After the raid, medi¬cal groups were called on deck to treat the wounded Japanese. These groups were se¬verely beaten because "American planes were sinking the Japanese ship." When the POWs requested for medical aid and food and water for men in the holds, they were beaten up and told that the Japanese would do nothing for the prisoners.
On the night of the 14th and the morn¬ing of the 15th, conditions grew worse.Men were suffering from thirst so acutely that many went out of their minds. There was much screaming. There was almost a complete lack of discipline, no matter how hard the hold leaders tried to restore order. The need for water was so acute that the men were drinking their own urine and sewage running in the open drains along the side of the ship. These hideous actions were revealed to the Japanese but no ac¬tion was taken. The hold was a bedlam with men screaming, swearing and fight¬ing. Men went berserk and the conditions were like some fantastic nightmare.
On the nights of the 14th and 15th, the ship was bombed. The Japanese beached it making minor repairs, and discharged all Japanese passengers who were moved back to Subic Bay. The prisoners were still aboard. The prisoners felt that the Japanese knew that the ship would be bombed again so they took the Japanese passengers off and left the prisoners on.
On the morning of the 15th, when the ship was anchored in Subic Bay about 300 yards offshore from Olongapo Naval Reservation at about 0830 hours, Wada came around and told the men that the prisoners would be evacuated from the ship shortly; that they would not be able to take their shoes or any other gear as they would have to swim. He said that the Japanese were instructed to "shoot-to-kill" so they, the prisoners, had better be very careful. Several of the guards fired into the holds prior to evacuation. About 0930 hours, the order for the evacuation came through. Prior to this order there had been an air raid in which the aft hold was directly hit, and about one hundred men were killed. There were no life preserv¬ers or lifeboats. Men were forced over the side of the ship with no regard as to wheth¬er or not they could swim. While the men were leaving the ship, six US planes dived on the ship but just prior to the bomb re¬lease point, the lead plane zoomed up and wagged its wings in recognition. No bombs were released. During the swim for shore, some of the men held on to debris from the ship and attempted to float ashore. In one case, a raft with five men on it heading for shore was fired upon by a machine gun on shore. Two of the men on the raft leaped off into the water and the remaining three were killed.
During the disorder in the evacuation, some of the half-starved men attempt¬ed to salvage whatever food and medical supplies were available on the ship. While searching the compartments for food, they came across American cigarettes and can¬dy usually found in Red Cross parcels.
The food and medical supplies the men managed to salvage were confiscated by the Japanese. During this salvage operation, some Japanese came upon the prisoners in the compartments and began firing on them. Lt. Toshino came upon Lt. William H. Brewster in one of the compartments and shot him, killing him instantly.
Once on shore, the prisoners were assem¬bled in an area adjacent to a tennis court. During the assembly, the men were permit¬ted to fill their canteens at a water tap out¬side the tennis court, but to do this they had to stand in line from four to six hours. Fifty percent of the prisoners received their first water ration since the night of the 13th. The rest didn't get any because the Japanese, as a result of the confusion, chased them back into their assembly area. About 30 min¬utes later, Wada had the prisoners march to the tennis court to conduct a head count. Assembling a large group of men in the area of a tennis court was almost impossible. A chicken wire fence surrounded the court. A small area had been set aside for the sick and wounded. There was not enough space for a person to stretch out and lie down. Rosters were called off several times. All personnel were told to give any information available to them on persons not present so as to be able to determine how many men were dead or missing and how many were present.
In the gathering at the tennis court, it was learned that the conditions in the aft hold had been worse than the conditions in the forward hold. Many of the deaths in this hold were caused by suffocation. At roll call there were less than 1,300 prisoners still alive out of the 1,619 that had left Manila. At 1430 hours, American planes came back and bombed the Oryoku Maru. All the prisoners by this time had been evacuated. No food was issued on the 15th or the 16th, and the water situation was still very bad. On the evening of the 17th, one sack of un¬cooked rice was issued for 130 men. This amounted to about two tablespoons for each man. The same amount of rice was issued on the 18th and 19th. On the 20th, the ration increased to four tablespoon¬ful. All of this was eaten raw, although fa¬cilities for cooking were stored close by and within sight.
While the prisoners were kept at the tennis court, there was no provision made for protection against the sun. On the third day, the men were allowed to leave the court and go into the shade for a few hours. Most of the men had on only a pair of shorts, some, more fortunate, had shirts and some trousers. There were no shoes or hats. At night, it was very cold and since there were no blankets, the prison¬ers were forced to lie on the hard concrete and suffer from the cold. While waiting at the tennis court, six or seven men died from wounds and exhaustion and were buried nearby.
On the morning of December 20, 1944, five hundred of the men were taken to San Fernando, Pampanga and the second group left on the 21st. The first group was placed in the provincial jail, and the second group in the movie house. While there, the prisoners were finally issued a canteen of rice. There was a spigot at the theater with running water and by keeping order, ev¬erybody received enough water. Ample water was also available at the jail.
The saga continued for these men un¬til they arrived in Japan and put to work in labor camps as slave laborers. When the "cargo" of POWs reached its ultimate des¬tination, Moji, Japan, only 497 of the origi¬nal 1,619 men arrived.
Seian Maru
It is difficult to document the military life of the Seian Maru. Japanese records show that there were at least three ships in use, and sunk, with that name. In addition, war records are often inaccurate. The na¬val pilots that sank this ship identified her as merchant tanker. Japanese records show her as having been converted to a tanker and later converted back to a cargo vessel, which she is. But we do know something about her. This ship is the Seian Maru. This is established beyond any doubt as the name is still faintly visible on the ship's bow. She ran aground outside of Subic Bay on November 17, 1944. Refloated, she made it into Subic Bay escorted by a sub¬marine chaser (CH36). On November 19, aircraft sank both vessels. CH36 is not a known dive site.
ONI 208-J was a document created by the US Navy's Office of Naval Intelligence. It was a recognition guide for friendly forces to identify Japanese merchant ves¬sels. Other editions exist to identify mili¬tary ships. The information in the ONI 208 file for the Seian Maru matches the ship in Subic Bay. The illustrations shown here were taken from a copy of the doc¬ument. Built in 1938 along with a sister ship Hokuan Maru, she was 351 feet long and 50 feet wide. Powered by diesel en¬gines, she could cruise at 12 knots with a top speed of 13 knots and a radius of 9,500 miles. In addition to her crew facilities, she was capable of carrying nine passengers.
The history of HCU-1 (US Navy Harbor Clearance Unit 1) shows that she was demolished for navigational purpos¬es in 1967. While the records state it was for navigational purposes, it may have been primarily for training purposes. The damage on the starboard side is exten¬sive and appears to have been done after the ship was sunk. The damage howev¬er does not lower her depth. The moor¬ing line attaches to the rudder. The ship lies on her port side. The starboard side shows the damage done by the demoli¬tion crews with a major portion of that side open. The superstructure is missing. At the bow, if you look closely, you can see the name of the ship. Dropping down, the holds are accessible.
USS New York
(CA-2, aka USS Rochester)
The fourth New York, an armored cruiser authorized by Congress in 1888, was laid down September 19, 1890 by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia; launched on December 2, 1891; sponsored by Miss Helen Page; and commissioned at Philadelphia August 1, 1893, Capt. John Philip in command.
Assigned to the South Atlantic Squadron, the New York departed New York harbor December 27, 1893 for Rio de Janeiro, arriving at Taipu Beach in January 1894. She remained there until head¬ing home on March 23 via Nicaragua and the West Indies. Transferred to the North Atlantic Squadron in August, the cruiser returned to West Indian waters for win¬ter exercises and was commended for her aid during a fire that threatened to destroy Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Returning to New York, the cruis¬er joined the European Squadron in 1895 and steamed to Kiel, where she represent¬ed the United States at the opening of the Kiel Canal. Rejoining the North Atlantic Squadron, the New York operated off Fort Monroe, Charleston, and New York through 1897.
The New York departed Fort Monroe on January 17, 1898 for Key West. After the declaration of war in April, she steamed to Cuba and bombarded the defenses at Matanzas before joining other American ships at San Juan in May, seeking the Spanish squadron. Unable to find it, they bombarded fortifications at San Juan be¬fore withdrawing. The vessel became then the flagship of Admiral Sampson's squad¬ron as the American commander planned the campaign against Santiago. The battle on July 3 resulted in the complete destruc¬tion of the Spanish fleet.
The cruiser sailed for New York on August 14 to receive a warrior's welcome. For the next year, she cruised with vari¬ous state naval militias to Cuba, Bermuda, Honduras, and Venezuela and conducted summer tactical operations off New England. On October 17, 1899, she depart¬ed New York for troubled areas in Central and South America.
She transferred to the Asiatic Fleet in 1901, sailing via Gibraltar, Port Said, and Singapore to Cavite where she became the flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. She steamed to Yokohama in July for the unveiling of the memorial to the Perry expedition. In October, the New York visited Samar and other Philippine islands as part of the cam¬paign against insurgents. On March 13, 1902, she got underway for Hong Kong and other Chinese ports. In September, she visited Vladivostok, Russia, then stopped at Korea before returning to San Francisco in November. In 1903, she transferred to the Pacific Squadron and cruised with it to Ampala, Honduras in February to pro¬tect American interests during turbulence there. Steaming via Magdalena Bay, the cruiser returned to San Francisco for a re¬ception for President Roosevelt. In 1904, she joined squadron cruises off Panama and Peru, then reported to Puget Sound in June where she became the flagship of the Pacific Squadron. In September, she en¬forced the president's neutrality order dur¬ing the Russo-Japanese war. The New York was at Valparaiso, Chile from December 21, 1904 to January 4, 1905, then sailed to Boston and was decommissioned on March 31 for modernization.
Recommissioned on May 15, 1909, she departed Boston on June 25 for Algiers and Naples where she joined the Armored Cruiser Squadron on July 10 and sailed with it for home on the 23rd. Operating out of Atlantic and gulf ports for the next year, she went into fleet reserve on December 31.
In full commission again on April 1, 1910, the New York steamed via Gibraltar, Port Said, and Singapore to join the Asiatic Fleet at Manila on August 6. While sta¬tioned in Asiatic waters, she cruised among the Philippine islands and ports in China and Japan. She was renamed Saratoga on February 16, 1911.
The cruiser spent the next five years in the Far East. Steaming to Bremerton, Washington on February 6, 1916, the Saratoga went into reduced commission with the Pacific reserve fleet.
As the United States drew closer to par¬ticipation in World War I, she was com¬missioned in full on April 23, 1917, and joined the Pacific Patrol Force on June 7. In September, she steamed to Mexico to counter enemy activity in the troubled country. At Ensenada, the Saratoga in¬tercepted and helped to capture a mer¬chantman transporting 32 German agents and several Americans seeking to avoid the draft law. In November, she transited the Panama Canal, joining the Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet at Hampton Roads. Here she was renamed Rochester on December 1, 1917.
After escorting a convoy to France, the Rochester commenced target and de¬fense instruction of armed guard crews in Chesapeake Bay. In March 1918, she re¬sumed escorting convoys and continued the duty through the end of the war. On her third trip, with convoy HM-58, a U¬boat torpedoed British steamer Atlantian on June 9. The Rochester sped to her aid but the Atlantian sank within 5 minutes. Other ships closed in, but the sub was not seen again.
After the Armistice, the Rochester served as a transport vessel bringing troops back home. In May 1919, she served as flagship of the destroyer squadron guard¬ing the transatlantic flight of the Navy's NC seaplanes. In the early 1920s, she oper¬ated along the east coast.
Early in 1923, she got underway for Guantanamo Bay to begin another peri¬od of service off the coasts of Central and South America. In the summer of 1925, she carried General Pershing and other mem¬bers of his commission to Arica, Chile to arbitrate the Tacna-Arica dispute and re¬mained there for the rest of the year. In September 1926, she helped bring peace to turbulent Nicaragua and from time to time returned there in the late 1920s.
After a quiet 1927, the Rochester re¬lieved gunboat Tulsa (PG-22) at Corinto, Nicaragua in 1928 as expeditionary forc¬es directed efforts against bandits in the area. Disturbances boiled over in Haiti in 1929, and opposition to the government was strong; inasmuch as American lives were endangered, she transported the 1st Marine Brigade to Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien. In 1930, she transported the five¬man commission sent to investigate the sit¬uation. In March, she returned to the area to embark marines and transport them to the United States. She aided Continental Oil tanker H. W. Bruce, damaged in a colli¬sion on May 24.
In 1931, an earthquake rocked Nicaragua, and she was the first relief ship to arrive on the scene and ferried refugees from the area. Bandits took advantage of the chaot¬ic conditions and the Rochester steamed to the area to counter their activities. She departed Balboa on February 25, 1932 for service in the Pacific Fleet. She arrived in Shanghai on April 27 to join the fleet in the Yangtze River in June and remained there until steaming to Cavite, to be decommis¬sioned on April 29, 1933. She moored at the Olongapo shipyard for the next 8 years. Her name was struck from the Navy Register on October 28, 1938, and she was scuttled in December 1941 to prevent her capture by the Japanese.
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