Gidday Jan and others, The author of "HMAS Sydney-Fact, Fantasy and Fraud", asked me to pass on the Following from her research that she did back in Washington in 1990:- RG457: SRH-323. COMINCH: Combat Intelligence Division. File on Hospital Ships. Part I: General File. p.5: Tokyo (Domei) Foreign Broadcasting Digest: 9 April 1943, in English: Japanese hospital ship, Uraru Maru bombed in daylight, 3 April, off New Ireland. Damaged; direct hit. Manila Maru: torpedoed by enemy submarine off Palau, 4 March. (Managed to return to base; broadcast, 13 April.) p. 7: Berlin to North America in English, 16 April, 1943: During past 12 months, British and American planes bombed 14 Japanese hospital ships, according to Shanghai Times. p. 8: 20 April 1943, Berlin. Japanese hospital ship Fuso Maru bombed by Allied planes, 15 April. Shortly after sunrise. p. 9: 21 April: Rome: Japanese hospital ship considered sunk after enemy attack. #p.10: 28 April: Tokyo (in Japanese) to west coast, USA: American submarine torpedoed hospital ship Buenos Aires Maru; heavy damage. In daylight; South China Sea. Previously: Asahi Maru and Arabia Maru bombed. Manila Maru: sub attack. Ural Maru, Fuso Maru: bombed. p. 13 (Radio) America Maru (30 January, 4.20 am): bombed, outside Rabaul; again, 16 April. 6.12 - 8.22 pm. Machine-gunned. Fuso Maru: 15 April: bombed 3 times near Shortland Islands. Buenos Aires Maru: 25 April, entering Hongkong: 3.45 pm; torpedoed. p. 14: Ural Maru: 3 April: US plane, west of Kavieng. 4 May 1943: NAAF [?] hit hospital ship, probably Italian, near La Goulette accidentally. Apologise before protest made. (probably German Konstantz.) 7 May: Russians attacked by plane and submarine another ship. Aquileia: 26 April; bombed. Tuscana: 28 and 29 April: bombed. Virgilio: 4 May at La Goletta harbor. Principessa Giovanna: 5 May. Sicily to Tunis. *p. 23: Centaur sunk, 14 May. p. 30: Japan claimed 9 illegal attacks on 7 hospital ships in first 4 months of 1943. 24 January, 30 January, 4 March, 3 April, 15 April, 16 April, 25 April. 4 January: Arabia Maru: Three B-24s from Pandaveswar, Rangoon, R: 2 direct hits, 3 near misses. 30 January: America Maru. 4 March: Manila Maru: 2 torpedoes, south Palau; probably USS Trigger. 3 April: Ural Maru. 15 April: Fuso Maru. 25 April: Buenos Aires Maru. 24 April: Mizuho Maru: off Kikopo, near Rabaul. Machine-gunned. p. 34: 20 May: Arabia Maru attacked again yesterday; US Boeing bomber; 11.30, between Rabaul and Kavieng. p. 38: 24 May: Baikal Maru: on 22 May by 7 enemy aircraft; 3 machine-gunned. Rangoon R. p. 39: 10 January 1943: Harbin Maru: US sub Stingray; (claimed it was painted war color). 25 April 1943: Kongo Maru: US sub Pickerel. (Lights not switched on until after torpedo hit.) 13 May: attack by USS Skipjack on zig-zagging ship with Red Cross, but no other hospital ship markings. p. 43: 30 January, Rabaul: Six B(c)17s. Attack on shipping in Rabaul harbor. 3 April: near Rabaul: 1600K. One B(c)24 at 1600K attacked transport near Kavieng. 0445/0510K: eight B-17s: ship at Kavieng. 15-16 April: off Shortland Islands: no action reported by AAF these days. [RAAF??] p. 48: Japanese misuse of hospital ships. Assigned secret call signs. Escorted by mine-sweeper. (Manila Maru 23 February) ALUSNA, Chungking: hospital ship disembarked 2000 wounded, embarked artillery and infantry troops and supplies. Hospital ship transporting rice, Mindanao. 30 March report. 11 August 1942: Japanese Naval Attaché (Thailand) had permission to ship 128 tons non-ferrous metals in hospital ship to Saigon. 13 May: Skipjack attacked zig-zag Japanese armed transports; Red Cross, no other markings. p. 52: COMINCH: no direct evidence of use of Japanese hospital ships in violation of terms of Hague Convention. Does not expressly prohibit zig-zagging or being escorted. p.70: 2 December: Buenos Aires Maru bombed 0800, 27 November; sank 40 minutes later. (was in convoy) 18 November 1944: Tübingen: 4 Beaufighters. Empty. Salonika to Trieste. Believe sunk. 10 December: Third Fleet: gun camera of plane from USS Hancock, 25 November: shows plainly strafing of clearly and properly marked hospital ship; impact of bombs from another plane. (From CINCPAC) 13 November: protest re Muro Maru, off Manila. Bombed; sunk. Regards Peter Dunn "Australia @ War" http://www.ozatwar.com Over 650 Mbytes of Military home pages about Australia during WW2 Now also available on CD-Rom DISCUSSION LISTS Military Aircraft Crashes in Australia during WW2 OzCrashes-subscribe@topica.com 460 Squadron RAAF 460sqdn-subscribe@topica.com > -----Original Message----- > From: Jan Thomas [mailto:jthomas4@bigpond.net.au] > Sent: Saturday, 13 May 2006 10:21 PM > To: AUS-MILITARY-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [AUS-MIL] Hospital Ships > > Dear Anthony > > Thanks for your reply. > > Periodically throughout my life I have heard stories that the > Centaur was sunk in retaliation for Allied attacks on a > Japanese hospital ship or ships. > The most recent yesterday at a Centaur Memorial Service. > > I am secretary and founder of the 2/3 AHS Centaur Association > established in > 1999 for survivors, descendants, relatives and friends, or > indeed anyone with any sort of interest in the Centaur. > > Rumours surrounding the Centaur are rife and still surfacing > after 63 years. > They are very hurtful to those whose lives have been affected > by her loss, and I am trying to verify or scotch as many as I can. > > If this allegation is just another rumour, I need to be able > to state factually that the Allies did not attack Japanese > hospital ships. But I need concrete evidence - which of > course is very hard to find in the negative. Perhaps the way > for me to go is to follow your line that Japan didn't have > hospital ships, or ships that were internationally recognized as such. > > Thanks again > > > > ==== AUS-MILITARY Mailing List ==== > Milton Ulladulla Boer War & WW1 > http://www.shoalhaven.net.au/~cathyd/war/ >