Japanese Merchant Raiders
In 1940, two passenger-cargo vessels of the Osaka Shipping Line were requisitioned for conversion to Armed Merchant Cruisers (AMC)s, in anticipation of the likely thrust southward by the Japanese. The Aikoku Maru and Hokoku Maru, under construction for the route between Japan and South America, started their rebuilds in 1941, by the time they were commissioned, they were significantly armed.
Specifications for both ships are shown below:
Read more about this topic: Japanese Raiders In The Indian Ocean
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