Japan had serious difficulties deploying her manpower, and a few examples illustrate some of the worst events.
Tatusta Maru was a sleek, 13-year-old, 21-knot passenger liner of 16,955 tons. When she departed Japan in February 1943 with reinforcements for Truk, a submarine torpedoed her. She took down all hands, 1,481 passengers and crew, in cold, gale-driven seas.
Heavy losses occurred even in port. On February 17, 1944,
Aikoku Maru was anchored at Truk. Aboard were personnel of the 1st Amphibious Brigade. Four bombs and a torpedo ripped the ship in a great blast that killed 730 passengers and 12 crewmen. Nearby, bombs hit
Akagi Maru and set off fuel tanks, ignited her magazine, and killed 1,300 men.
The submarine USS Rasher proved to be the scourge of Japanese shipping in the South Pacific.
At 12:30 am, October 9, 1943, Commander Edward S. Hutchinson spotted his first targets as a submarine commander. His boat, USS
Rasher, was on her maiden war cruise out of Brisbane, Australia, and every man in her was eager for his first taste of blood.
They were off Ambon when they sighted a pair of freighters that were zigzagging in antisubmarine patterns, deliberately making stalking difficult and protracted, but Hutchinson was tenacious. Throughout the night he trailed the careening targets, slowly bringing his boat within torpedo range. By the time he was able to commence his attack it was dawn. He fixed the targets in his periscope sights and fired a six-torpedo spread. Four missed, but the other two ripped open