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IJN D Letourneau 1999 |
Sinking History The Saidu Maru was a small ship that was partially sunk into Tarawa Lagoon off the north coast of Tarawa (Betio), west of the main peir. Shipwreck On November 20, 1943 early in the U.S. amphibious landing at "Red Beach 2" on Tarawa (Betio), Japanese defenders used the shipwreck to emplace machine guns and fired on U.S. Marines wading ashore. Their gunfire took such a toll that the landings were suspended until carrier planes and naval gunfire reduced the shipwreck to a smoking hulk and was neutralized. Today, a portion of the shipwreck remains partially above the surface in Tarawa Lagoon. Stan Gajda reports: "I have been to it many times and spent hours snorkeling around it. It really is blown to bits, even the diesel engine. Only the stem of the boat is recognizable and you can still see many .50 cal bullets holes in it. Also around it I have found two unexploded 100lb GP bombs, no doubt relics from the bombing to put it out of action. I have never found anything real interesting in it though except Japanese bottles. I expected to find machine gun ammunition or cases or even a rusted machine gun or two. Maybe it got cleaned out long ago. In August 1998, then there was a Kiribati Shipping Company vessel aground on the same reef as the Nimanoa approximately where the Japanese barge is. Also other junk has been allowed to drift in and run aground." References The "Saidu Maru" does not appear in Lloyds of London - Lloyd's Register and might be a vessel under 500 tons. This shipwreck is sometimes confused with the RCS Nimanoa. Contribute
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