Kongō Maru-class armed merchantmen Informations

The Kongō Maru-class armed merchant cruiser was a class of two armed merchant cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

The Kongō Maru-class vessels Kongō Maru and Kiyosumi Maru were originally built by IHI Corporation at Kawasaki shipyard in Kobe as combined cargo-passenger ships. They were converted to "auxiliary cruiser" role in September–December 1941 (and therefore armed).The civilian class was named Kiyosumi Maru class (1934-1935) and consisted of:淸澄丸 Kiyosumi Maru (finished 5 October 1934)金剛丸 Kongō Maru (finished 4 March 1935)

The ships Kashii Maru, Kagu Maru and Kinugasa Maru from the 1936 civilian Kinugasa class were converted to seaplane tenders, forming the Kashii Maru-class.The three vessels of the Kashii Maru class (former civilian Kinugasa Maru class):衣笠丸 Kinugasa Maru (finished 28 February 1936)香久丸 Kagu Maru (finished 18 April 1936)香椎丸 Kashii Maru (finished 18 April 1936)

The original designs featured unusually high speed for a cargo ship (16-19 knots), as well as 6 luxury rooms for 2 occupants each.

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