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Miyati Type (3 classes):

There are no Motoyuki models for ships in this class, but then it's hardly an impressive or noteworthy grouping! Looking elsewhere, the Genkai Maru is a Miyati class AKL in AE, and the shipside does resemble the Genkai Maru class photo (#1) at combinedfleet.com.

1) Miyati Cargo (xAKL): 60 ships. A single bmp file (0266.bmp), shared with Miyati AG and Miyati AGP classes. One database entry (12/41). Can convert to both the other Miyati classes.
2) Miyati AG: 0 ships. A single bmp file (0266.bmp), shared with Miyati Cargo and Miyati AGP classes. One database entry (12/41). Can convert to both the other Miyati classes.
3) Miyati AGP: 0 ships. A single bmp file (0266.bmp), shared with Miyati AG and Miyati Cargo classes. One database entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert.

Colors & Profile:
- 0266.bmp: 3 classes use this bmp, and all the active ships are AKLs. The current version is "purple-ish", which is OK in and of itself, but since armaments are necessary, that would normally require some rework. However, we'll do something a bit different here. The existing, "no weapons" shipside will remain (#2), but will be replaced with a rusty, brownish shipside (with visible weapons) in early 1942 (#3). That will remain unchanged until it's superseded by the "merchant green" camo late in 1944 (#4). Armament: This shipside has no visible weapon mounts. However, per the database each class has a mix of DP and 25mm AA guns fore and aft, so those will be added to the 1942 & later shipsides.

Daigen Type (2 classes):

There are no Motoyuki models for ships in this class, either. Looking elsewhere, the Muko Maru is a Daigen class AKL in AE, and the shipside does resemble the Muko Maru class photo (#1) at combinedfleet.com.

1) Daigen Cargo (xAKL): 68 ships. A single bmp file (0267.bmp), shared with Daigen AG class. One database entry (12/41). Can convert to the Daigen AG class.
2) Daigen AG: 0 ships. A single bmp file (0267.bmp), shared with Daigen Cargo class. One database entry (12/41). Can convert to the Daigen Cargo class.

Colors & Profile:
- 0267.bmp: 2 classes use this bmp, and all the active ships are AKLs. The existing shipside would have to change anyway for armament reasons, but we'll go one step further and give them something like the "Gozan treatment": Start off with a slightly rusty, greyish color (#2) and then turn them into real rust buckets in 1943 (#3). As with the Gozan types, this is a class of small ships that were probably far down the painting totem pole, to include not receiving "merchant green" camo in 1944 (or ever). Armament: This shipside has no visible weapon mounts. However, per the database each class has a mix of DP and 25mm AA guns fore and aft, so those will be added.

Kasu Type (2 classes):

Another small ship type without Motoyuki models. But similar to the others, the Amakasu Maru is a Kasu-D class AKL in AE, and the shipside does resemble the Amakasu Maru photo (#1) at combinedfleet.com.

1) Kasu-D Cargo (xAKL): 46 ships. A single bmp file (0258.bmp), shared with Kasu AG class. One database entry (12/41). Can convert to Kasu AG class.
2) Kasu AG: 0 ships. A single bmp file (0258.bmp), shared with Kasu-D Cargo class. One database entry (12/41). Can convert to Kasu-D Cargo class.

Colors & Profile:
- 0258.bmp: 2 classes use this bmp, and all the active ships are AKLs. The current version is "purple-ish" (OK for AKLs), so no change is needed at the start (#2). However, by early 1943 we'll shift it to a greyish-rust color (#3) much like the early Daigen shipside. And we'll keep it like this for the duration. Both classes have the rear mounted Type 88 DP, but only the AG class has forward mounted 25mm AA (so it can't be added). No change required.

Std-E Type (2 classes):

Motoyuki has three models of this type, all fairly primitive in look.

1) Std-E Cargo (xAKL): 188 ships. A single bmp file (0268.bmp), shared with Kiso AG, Kiso-E Cargo, and Std-ETd TK classes. One database entry (12/41). The first ship of this class arrives 4/42. Cannot upgrade or convert.
2) Std-ETd TK: 3 ships. A single bmp file (0268.bmp), shared with Kiso AG, Kiso-E Cargo, and Std-E Cargo classes. One database entry (12/41). The first ship of this class arrives 1/43. Cannot upgrade or convert.

Colors & Profile: Addressed in Kiso section above.

Std-F Type (1 class):

There are no Motoyuki models for ships in this class, but there are Japanese plans (specifications and profile) for the wartime Standard F (see #1), which confirms that the existing shipside is correct.

1) Std-F Cargo (xAKL): 35 ships. A single bmp file (0275.bmp), not shared. One database entry (6/42). The first ship of this class arrives 8/43. Cannot upgrade or convert.

Colors & Profile:
- 0275.bmp: 1 class uses this bmp, and there are no active ships. Current version is the same dark bluish-grey as the other Standard types, so we'll keep that and make the necessary armament fix (#2). Despite the small size, the entire class is new and thus (like all the other Std types) more likely to gain "merchant green" camo in late-1944 (#3). Armament: Needs rear 25mm AA, while the 13mm AA is small & invisible at this resolution.

OK! That finishes off the xAKLs and their associated auxiliaries. Next up?? Not sure....probably the remaining xAPs. There are 15 classes, but there's also some bleed into the auxiliaries (via shared bmps), so I'll need to give these a thorough look before finally getting back to the remaining auxiliaries.

xAP Types:

2) Asama Maru xAP: Two ships in this class (the other being Tatsuta Maru). A single bmp file (0301.bmp), not shared. One data base entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo. With that out of the way, let's take a moment to appreciate the beauty of these ships. In AE this class is 9580 tons, but the reality was 17K+. These are old-school ocean liners, impressive on the outside (#1) and internally luxurious (#2).

There are two ships in this class (actually three, but we'll come to that later), so the Asama Maru TROM and the Tasuta Maru TROMs at combinedfleet are helpful, but not determinative. Except in one area: Both ships (along with the 3rd sister) were designated as Diplomatic Exchange and Repatriation Ships between 6/42 and 10/42, a task in which Allied diplomatic personnel were sent from Japanese controlled territories to Mozambique, where they were "exchanged" (effectively) for their Japanese equivalents (see here for details of this program). To facilitate their travel through dangerous, submarine infested waters, all three vessels received very unique paint jobs (#3); "the exchange vessels would have large white crosses on their sides and the owner's national flag painted prominently on port and starboard."

After completing this mission, the ships were assigned various wartime duties, and although the TROMs make no further mention of painting schemes, we do know this much:

1) As you can see from the "Diplomatic mission" photos, the ships still had white uppers and very dark hulls (probably peacetime black).
2) It is probable that they received "wartime grey" colors at some point, most probably when being repainted to remove the Diplomatic Mission insignia.
3) Only one of them survived into 1944, and for that we have a Motoyuki model showing Asama Maru in late war "merchant green" camo (see #4), which makes sense for such a valuable vessel.

Lastly, there is Armament. According to the database, this class had a stern-mounted 12cm short gun and Type 88 DP guns facing R&L and another on the forecastle. The existing shipside has no visible weaponry, so these need to be added (although the side guns are obscured by the superstructure).

Taking all that into account, here's the foldered plan:

12/6/41 = Change the shipside to white uppers/black hull as per the pre-war photos, including fore and aft guns (#5)
6/1942 = Add the "Diplomatic mission" paint job and remove the guns (#6) (This has no in-game effect of course, but does provide a role playing opportunity should players choose to use it)
11/1942 = Implement the original "wartime grey" shipside (with armament) (#7).
7/1944 = Change to "merchant green" camo (#8)

Edit: For consistencies sake, I renumbered this sequence since the first xAP type to be reviewed was the Brazil Maru class back in Post #49

xAP Types:

3) Kamakura Maru xAP: One ship in this class. A single bmp file (0313.bmp), not shared. One data base entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo. As alluded to in the Asama Maru review (see above), the Kamakura Maru was the third ship in that class (#1). However she had a few structural differences, most prominently a single funnel and a different propulsion system (the in-game effect is less endurance than the Asama Maru class), but inside she was just as luxurious (#2). Like her sisters, Kamakura Maru served in a Diplomatic Exchange and Repatriation role in mid-1942 (#3). As an interesting aside, on her return voyage from Mozambique, the ship carried the cremated remains of 4 Japanese mini-sub crewmen killed during the attack on Sydney a few months earlier, a rare instance of respect from one combatant to the other.

Even though the Kamakura Maru TROM has no mention of paint schemes, the photographic record suggests that she bore the same colors as the Asama Maru class. Although sunk on 4/28/43 (before implementation of the merchant green camo directive), had she survived it's very likely that she would have been painted green as well.

As for armament, the AE database weaponry is identical to that carried by the Asama Maru class, so we'll simply follow that shipside example.

Accordingly, here's the foldered plan:

12/6/41 = Change the shipside to white uppers/black hull as per the pre-war photos, including fore and aft guns (#4)
6/1942 = Add the "Diplomatic mission" paint job and remove the guns (#5) (This has no in-game effect of course, but does provide a role playing opportunity should players choose to use it)
11/1942 = Implement the original "wartime grey" shipside (with armament) (#6).
7/1944 = Change to "merchant green" camo (#7)

xAP Types:

4) Hakone Maru xAP: Ten ships in this class. A single bmp file (0305.bmp), not shared. One data base entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo. Four of these vessels are true sister ships (#1) including the class namesake (#2). Motoyuki has modeled one of them, the Hakusan Maru (#3), in mid-1942 warship grey. Not surprisingly, other vessels in this AE class have different profiles (such as the Miike Maru (#4) model), but we'll stick with the Hakone sub-class for color & armament purposes. The first question would be, "how long did the ships retain their white upper-black hull commercial colors?", and the answer is, "it depends". For example, the Hakone Maru TROM makes its first military mention in June 1942, while the Hakusan Maru TROM states that she underwent military conversion at Sasebo Naval Yard all the way back in October 1940. Given that several of the xAP classes are starting off with commercial colors, in this case we'll begin with the dark Sasebo blue-grey in 1941 and then transition to a greyish-grey in late 1943, ultimately shifting to green merchant camo in late 1944.

Armament: According to the database, this class has a 12cm short gun and dual Type 88 DP guns on the poop, plus another Type 88 DP gun on the forecastle. The existing shipside has all of these, so no changes are needed.

Here's the foldered plan:

12/6/41 = Change the shipside to dark Sasebo blue-grey (#5)
10/1943 = Shift to the later war greyish-grey (#6).
10/1944 = Change to "merchant green" camo (#7)

xAP Types:

5) Buenos Aires Maru xAP: Two ships in this class. A single bmp file (0306.bmp), not shared. One database entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo. There's a Motoyuki model of Buenos Aires Maru in "summer 1942" sporting wartime grey (#1), and it seems likely that she received this paint job before the war began. The combinedfleet TROM gives us the probable dates:

November 1941: Requisitioned by the Imperial Army (IJA) as a troop ship (A-APK). Alotted IJA No. 997.
1 November 1941: Arrives at Ujina. (A commercial shipyard in Hiroshima)
16 November 1941: Arrives at Kure. (Aside from these two weeks at Ujina, Buenos Aires Maru was in near-continuous action up until the time period reflected in the model)

The TROM also has information on her next color scheme:

October-November 1942: BUENOS AIRES MARU is converted to an IJA hospital ship Byoinsen (A-AH) and assigned IJA ship No. 8976.
18 August 1943: Arrives at Rabaul. BUENOS AIRES MARU is photographed painted white with a green stripe around her hull. She carries number 8976 near her bridge and displays large red crosses on the sides of her funnel and hull. (#2)

"Hospital ship" would seemingly be a poor choice for an AE vessel, since it can't perform the historical role in-game. On the other hand, the Japanese had 20 of them, so they were a noticeable presence in the ports and seas of the Pacific theatre. There is also plenty of evidence that the Japanese ignored many of the hospital ship rules: With this one ship alone we see zig-zagging, traveling with escorts, and transporting of combatants. Plus, there's the fact that Buenos Aires Maru was attacked multiple times (see TROM excerpts below). If ever there was an AE candidate for "sketchy hospital ship", it's this one!

25 April 1943: South China Sea. S of Hong Kong. At 1545, LtCdr (later Rear Admiral) Frank W. Fenno’s (USNA '25) USS RUNNER (SS-275) torpedoes and damages zigzagging BUENOS AIRES MARU at 22-14N, 114-47E. Seven men are wounded and her hull is damaged.
27 November 1943: Steffen Strait between New Hanover and New Ireland, Bismarcks. At about 0830, a B-24 “Liberator” heavy bomber mistakenly bombs hospital ship BUENOS AIRES MARU. The bomb damages the hull and floods the engine room. BUENOS AIRES MARU takes on a list. At 0850, she sinks by the bow off Saint Matthias Island at 02-40S, 149-20E.

Of course there is another ship in this class, the Huzi Maru. Although not a sister ship, the ONI pages show they had somewhat similar profiles (#3). This vessel does not have a TROM, and I couldn't find any information clearly related to it. As noted in an earlier review, sometimes the "sunk date" in the AE database (11/27/44) can give us a clue, but not in this case. Perhaps this was one of the many ships that underwent name changes, but regardless, there's nothing on which to base colors, armament, or length of service.

Speaking of armament, the AE database tells us this class had a stern-mounted 12cm short gun and dual Type 88 DP guns on the forecastle. The existing shipside has the stern gun, but needs weapons in front.

Which brings us to the foldered plan:

12/6/41 = Use the existing "purplish" shipside (modified to add a forecastle gun) (#4)
11/1942 = Shift to the shipside with Hospital colors & remove weaponry (#5) (the guns still exist in the database, however)

xAP Types:

6) Horai Maru xAP: Eleven ships in this class. A single bmp file (0307.bmp), not shared. One data base entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo. Perhaps the main issue with this class is that while the namesake ship (and several others) have two funnels (#1), many of the rest (such as Mizuho Maru - see #2) only have one. This is an issue affecting several of the xAP "classes" (which tend to be groupings of vessels from different "real" classes, i.e. ships built from the same plan, usually in the same shipyard), but there's no solution so - as a general rule - we'll ignore it and just go with the existing funnel counts for each AE class. With respect to colors, it seems likely that most of these ships retained their pre-war look (white uppers/black hull) for at least the first few months. After that, they'll transition to the "war-time grey" of the existing shipside, and ultimately will acquire the merchant green camo as shown in the Motoyuki model of Oryoku Maru (#5).

But just to spice things up, it turns out that one ship in this class was originally the Italian liner Conte Verde (#3), which stayed in Shanghai after Italy joined the war in 1940. Later she was chartered by the Japanese government, renamed "Teikyo Maru", and participated in the Diplomatic Exchange and Repatriation program in 1942. After this, she remained in Shanghai until being scuttled by her Italian crew when Italy surrendered in September 1943. She was soon raised and repaired by the Japanese, and suffered numerous vicissitudes thereafter which don't concern us (the TROM has all the details). But in tribute to this lovely ship (#4), let's put her in-game for a few months in 1942. Yes, the paint job will apply to all ships of the class, but still, it's not for long. Most importantly, this won't require much work because the DMP mod team has already created the Conte Verde-colored shipside (so all that's needed is to alter the funnel colors).

Armament: According to the database, this class has a stern-mounted 12cm short gun and dual Type 88 DP guns on the forecastle. The existing shipside has these, so no changes are needed.

All that said, here's the foldered plan:

12/6/41 = Change the shipside to white uppers/black hull as per the pre-war photos (#6)
6/1942 = Replace with the modified DMP Conte Verde shipside (#7)
9/1942 = Implement the original "wartime grey" shipside (with dark funnels) (#8)
7/1944 = Change to "merchant green" camo (#9)

xAP Types:

7) Takasago Maru xAP: One ship in this class (Teia Maru). A single bmp file (0302.bmp), not shared. One data base entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo. This is an interesting class for several reasons. First of all, the AE "Takasago Maru" is a tiny To'su Wa-1 AMc (definitely not this ship). Secondly, the real Takasago Maru (#1) was a passenger liner that converted to a hospital ship just before the war, and it can be ignored since it's not in AE.

Except we can't ignore it completely, since the existing shipside (#2) is based entirely on this vessel. By contrast, the Teia Maru (the only ship in this class) has a completely different profile and is actually the re-named French Liner "Aramis" (#3), berthed in Saigon and commandeered by the Japanese in April 1942 under the "Right of Angary". A lovely ship with unusual square funnels, painted all in white and glamorous and chic like so many of the liners from this lost era (#4). According to the TROM, Aramis (Teia Maru) left Saigon in June (under charter from her commercial owners at the rate of 168,346 yen/mo) and "entered drydock at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries" in Yokohama. There must have been substantial reconstruction because she didn't re-enter service until the end of November 1942, by which time she probably was wearing wartime grey paint as seen in the attached photo (#5). The next noteworthy development is that Teia Maru served as a Diplomatic Exchange ship from September to November of 1943 (#6), after which she was "requisitioned and registered in the IJN" in January 1944. Probably meaning that her guns were re-installed and the diplomatic markings removed. There's no evidence for green camo, so we'll bypass it in this case.

Armament: According to the database this class is the same as the Asama Maru class, with a stern-mounted 12cm short gun and Type 88 DP guns facing R&L and another on the forecastle. The existing shipside has nothing, so these need to be added (although the side guns are obscured by the superstructure)

Accordingly, here's the foldered plan:

5/1942 = The new white shipside which matches the profile of Aramis (#7)
12/1942 = Change the colors to greyish, add more boats, add fore & aft guns) (#8)
9/1943 = Add the "Diplomatic mission" paint job and remove the guns (#9) (This has no in-game effect of course, but does provide a role playing opportunity should players choose to use it)
1/1944 = Remove Diplomatic markings and restore armament (go back to #8).

Modders Note:

Those modding the game might want to make some changes. The easiest would be to keep everything the same, and just change the name of "Teia Maru" to "Takasago Maru". The only problem with that (as noted above), is the Takasago Maru was a Hospital ship for the entire war, so the ship color is wrong. A more extensive change would involve renaming the class to "Teia Maru", using the new shipsides shown here, and then altering several of the database values: Speed is roughly the same (Cruise rises from 16 to 17), but since the Gross tonnage effectively doubles, the other values (capacities, endurance, etc) would all be "more". The small chart below shows a comparison of the relative numbers for each ship, to include the dimensions of Asama Maru (which I used in order to properly size the new Aramis-based shipside).

Dimensions of 3 ships:
1) Aramis: 17,537 tons (GRT); 566 ft 137x6
2) Takasago Maru: 9347 tons (GRT); 463 ft 124x5
3) Asama Maru: 16,975 tons (GRT); 584 ft 141x6

xAP Types:

8) Kanzyu Maru xAP: Six ships in this class. A single bmp file (0308.bmp), not shared. One data base entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo.

A few issues here. Half the ships (including the class namesake) have one funnel while the others have two. Also, the ship profile is incorrect for the 1-funnel group because it does not have the large space between the bridge and the rest of the superstructure to the rear. That's a unique "look" we don't see in other merchant ships, so the shipside should be modified accordingly. Three of these single-funnel vessels are true sister ships (#1), two of which were given new names: La Plata Maru became Kanzyu Maru (the class namesake) although the combinedfleet class grouping lists her as Kanju Maru (apparently she remained a commercial vessel). Her identical twin "Santos Maru" (see #2) became Manzyu Maru (and is called Manju Maru at combinedfleet), while Montevideo Maru did not get a name change. The latter two were requisitioned by the IJN before the outbreak of hostilities and converted to a submarine tender and auxiliary transport at Yokosuka (hence they would start with bluish-grey paint).

Of the remaining ships, two were twin funnel affairs (Teibi Maru & Teiritsu Maru) acquired by "Right of Angary" in Saigon in early 1942 and chartered from their Vichy owners at roughly 95K yen/month each. The sixth vessel, Huso Maru (#3), is another twin funneled vessel without a TROM or much of anything for background, so we'll ignore these latter three for color purposes. There's no evidence of late war green camo for any of the six, and since we're going with the navalized bluish color scheme at the start, we'll transition instead to mid-war greyish grey and eventually late war silver grey.

Armament: Like the Buenos Aires class, these vessels have a stern-mounted 12cm short gun and a single Type 88 DP gun on the forecastle. The existing shipside has neither, so they need to be added.

Here's the foldered plan:

12/6/41 = Alter the shipside profile (see #4 for the original shipside) and change the color to Navalised blue-grey (#5)
11/1943 = Shift to the mid-war greyish-grey (#6).
2/1945 = Change to late war silver grey (#7)

This is quite the fascinating trove of information you have gathered together here on the WW2 Japanese Merchant Marine. Even more so in light of a book I read recently on the subject by Mark Parillo about how badly it was mismanaged during the war.

Plus, some exquisite artwork and rare photos to boot. [8D]

ORIGINAL: Nami Koshino

This is quite the fascinating trove of information you have gathered together here on the WW2 Japanese Merchant Marine. Even more so in light of a book I read recently on the subject by Mark Parillo about how badly it was mismanaged during the war.

Absolutely true. Here's an island nation, totally dependent on imports, and KNOWING exactly what happened to Britain in WW1 (and likewise knowing the solution) and seeing the same thing happening to Britain again in WW2....and they just ignored all those lessons. The AE AI is Einstein in comparison to the historical Japanese opponent.

Plus, some exquisite artwork and rare photos to boot. [8D]

This project has turned out to be a lot more work than I first imagined, but the research has been a real eye-opener in many ways. Hopefully I'm sharing some of that in a way that folks find interesting. I'm glad you are enjoying it!

xAP Types:

9) Kongo Maru xAP: Five ships in this class. A single bmp file (0309.bmp), not shared. One data base entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo.

Things are a bit confusing as there are two completely different vessels named Kongo Maru. The freighter-type (#1) was converted into an armed merchant cruiser by the IJN in October 1941 (and is thus the namesake ship for the Kongo Maru AMC class). However there were also two sister ship passenger liners (#2) named Kongo Maru and Koan Maru (#3), each with twin funnels and a profile that roughly matches the shipside - but no TROM for either one. Also missing a TROM are two other sister ships in this AE class, each with a similar profile (Konron Maru & Tenzan Maru). Kobe Maru (#4) is the 5th vessel, also without a TROM, but the pre-war pictures show it with the same profile as the other four (albeit only one funnel). To increase the confusion, combined fleet has TROMs for vessels named Kongo Maru, Koan Maru, and Tenzan Maru, but all three are freighters.

Fortunately Motoyuki has modeled the Koan Maru (#5), and he notes that this vessel (and presumably her sisters and lookalikes) were "not under military control until the end" because they were "state-owned" ferries (belonging to the Ministry of Railways) "dedicated to the most important routes". For colors, we don't have much to go on - the photos & postcards are all pre-war (the model is post-war), but it seems likely that these ferries (because that is what they really are) retained their original colors throughout the conflict, especially since most of their routes appear to have been short runs to and from Korea. It's possible that a more neutral color scheme was eventually adopted (if so, the timing would be after the calamitous submarine attack described below), but the postwar survivor still had white uppers, so perhaps a white upper/grey hull combo would be most appropriate.

The next problem involves the profile of the existing shipside. The front half of the ship looks fine, but the rear portion should have a second and third lower set of "windows". So it has to be modified.

Armament: According to the database, this class has a stern-mounted 12cm short gun and a single Type 88 DP gun on the forecastle (same as the Kanzyru Maru class). The existing shipside has neither, so they need to be added. Based on the findings above, it seems unlikely that these vessels were armed until later in the war, probably sometime after USS Wahoo sank the Konron Maru near Tsushima in October 1943. That was Wahoo's last kill since among the dead were two members of the Japanese Parliament, and it was this action which triggered the massive hunt that led to her demise (interestingly, it was also the last US submarine foray into the Sea of Japan until 1945).

Which brings us to the foldered plan:

12/6/41 = Alter the shipside profile (see #6 for the original shipside), add weapons, and change the color to white uppers/black hull (#7)
12/1943 = Shift the hull to a mid-war greyish-grey (#8).

xAP Types:

10) Dairen Maru xAP: Four ships in this class. A single bmp file (0310.bmp), not shared. One data base entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo.

A refreshing change from the recent reviews (for me anyway), is that we don't have a lot of surprises with this class. Three of the four are true sister ships (Dairen Maru, Hoten Maru (see #1), and Tsingtao Maru) as shown in the ONI report (#2), while the 4th vessel (Taizan Maru) is very similar. As their names imply, the sister ships were built to service the passenger and cargo trade between Manchukuo and China, and it appears that most of them continued in this role until late in the war (only the TROM of Hoten Maru covers early war activities). Accordingly, it seems likely that most of them retained their commercial colors (black hull/white uppers) until fairly late in the war. For the same reason, merchant green camo seems unlikely.

Armament: According to the database, this class has a single stern-mounted Type 88 DP gun. The existing shipside already has it, so no changes are needed.

Here's the foldered plan:

12/6/41 = Change the color to white uppers/black hull, to include the orange-yellow Hoten Maru funnels (#3)
2/1944 = Shift to the late war greyish-grey (#4).

xAP Types:

11) Keihuku Maru xAP: Twelve ships in this class (the largest xAP group). A single bmp file (0311.bmp), not shared. One data base entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo.

The main issue with this class is the extreme variability in ship profiles. One of the most obvious is funnel count, in particular the fact that every ship has one funnel except the class namesake, Keihuku Maru (#1). But we also see variations in height of superstructure, promenade decks in the superstructure (varies from 1 to 3), length of hull, flush decks vs raised forecastle and/or poop, etc. (#2). Even worse, the existing shipside doesn't match ANY ship in this class. However, after looking through the various ONI pages (all but 2 ships have them), the Ural Maru (#3) appears to be most representative, and thus a good candidate for the new profile. Worth noting that this issue affects the xAK classes to a far greater degree, but it's more noticeable when you have a small number of ships to compare against one another.

As to colors, all of the Japan-built vessels have pre-war photos showing a black hull and white uppers, but we don't have any wartime pics or models. On the other hand, there's an undated photo of the Tango Maru (#4) which is certainly from the war years, probably late 1942-early 1943. Per the TROM, this was originally the German vessel Rendsburg, confiscated in 1940 by Dutch authorities in the NEI, scuttled near Batavia as a blockship, refloated & repaired by the Japanese in August 1942, and returned to service as the Tango Maru sometime thereafter. Since the ship name is clearly visible in the photo, it must be dated post-August 1942, and the vessel obviously has bright white uppers and a very dark (probably black) hull. Which is one of the clearest indicators yet that Japanese commercial shipping was still being painted in pre-war colors well into 1942. Additional information can be gleaned from the TROMs and other sources (such as they are). Of the 12 ships:

7 of 12 have combinedfleet TROMs
8 of 12 were small "Japan-built" passenger+cargo ships, most of which were assigned to Japan-Manchuria routes
5 of 8 Japan-built vessels do not have TROMs
4 of 12 were foreign (3 from Vichy, the other being the previously discussed Tango Maru)
2 of 12 have TROM records indicating IJA conversion to Troop Transports (with grey paint)
2 of 12 served as hospital ships, one for the entire war.

So what does that tell us? In general, the absence of a combinedfleet TROM tends to correlate with civilian-controlled ships that operated outside the main war zones. Which makes sense here, since the Japan-Manchuria routes kept many of these vessels operating in the seas north of the Home Islands. Accordingly, a number of them probably retained the white upper/black hull combination for some time. We also know that a few of these were definitely painted in "wartime grey" colors (for example, see Ural Maru TROM entry for November 1941), so that's a reasonable transition for this class, probably in late 1942. With nothing else to go on, let's take an approach similar to that used with the smaller xAK classes (since this is the smallest xAP class), and give them a greyish rust in 1943, and even more of the same in 1945.

Armament: According to the database, this class has a single stern-mounted Type 88 DP gun, but the existing shipside placed it in front, thus we need to place it in the correct location on the new shipside.

So here's the foldered plan:

12/6/41 = New shipside with white uppers/black hull (#5)
11/1942 = Shift to a uniform greyish color scheme (#6)
9/1943 = Add rusty streaks to the shipside (#7)
1/1945 = More rust (#8)

Note: Of some interest perhaps, is a prewar photo of the Ussuri Maru (another ship of this class and very similar to the Ural Maru) berthed dockside in Dairen, Manchuria (#9). Unfortunately the picture is rather low res, but it's still fascinating to see the cargo winches in action, and the piecemeal way in which goods were handled in those days. So yes, build up your ports, dammit!

xAP Types:

12) Shanghai Maru xAP: Three ships in this class. A single bmp file (0312.bmp), not shared. One data base entry (12/41). Cannot upgrade or convert. No evidence of early war camo.

There's a real conundrum with this class. We'll start by taking a quick look at Shanghai Maru (#1), which provided passenger service for decades between Nagasaki and Shanghai (along with the nearly identical Nagasaki Maru - not part of this class for some reason). Not nearly as opulent as the large liners of this era, she still had upscale features like this smoking room and the decidedly kitschy verandah cafe (#2). Neither ship has a TROM, and it seems very likely that both of them continued to make the same runs throughout their short war time careers (Shanghai Maru sank near Shanghai in late 1943 after colliding with another vessel, while her almost-sister hit a Japanese mine and sank near Nagasaki in early 1942).

By contrast, the other two ships in this class, Naminoue Maru and Ukishima Maru, had military roles right from the start. According to her TROM, Naminoue Maru served as a hospital ship from 1937 until September 1942, when she converted to a troop transport and was "painted grey overall and fitted with AA guns". That was a short-lived career as she was torpedoed and sank near Rabaul less than a month later. Ukishima Maru was requisitioned by the IJN in late 1941, converted to an auxiliary cruiser at Sasebo (with four large 15cm guns), and served in this role almost to the end of the war (she hit a mine and sank in mid-1945). Motoyuki has modeled her (#3) in mid-1942 (albeit the color should be dark Sasebo bluish-grey).

The problem is this: The existing shipside features the Shanghai Maru profile (#4 - includes two funnels) while the two vessels with actual wartime service have a somewhat different profile (#5 - featuring one funnel). A similar issue applies to colors, as the Shanghai Maru probably kept her commercial paint until the end, while the other two were Sasebo grey and hospital colored until late 1942 (at which point they were both, briefly, war time grey - albeit perhaps different shades). It really is a dog's breakfast, and there's no obvious "correct" approach, soooooo:

1) Profile: Keep the existing shipside along with its two funnels. Aside from "it saves me a lot of work", the current profile has a slightly different "look" from most of the others, whereas the Naminoue/Ukishima profile is more generic.
2) Colors: Start off with the commercial look of white uppers/black hull, transition to Sasebo bluish-grey in September 1942, and finally shift to a greyish-grey tone in early 1944. This addresses the fact that all 3 ships have prewar photos showing the white/black colors, gets us past the hospital ship period, and uses the navalized blue-grey schemes that definitely applied to one ship, and possibly two.

Armament: According to the database, this class has a stern-mounted 12cm short gun and a single Type 88 DP gun on the forecastle. The shipside has the front weapon, but needs the stern gun. Fortunately this is one area where the AE database overrides historical reality, because otherwise we'd also have to figure out which of three different types of armament to use.

Anyway, here's the foldered plan:

12/6/41 = Change the color to white uppers/black hull (#6)
9/1942 = Implement the dark Sasebo blue-grey (#7)
3/1944 = Shift to the late war greyish-grey (#8)

xAP Types:

Time to finish up the xAP types. We just completed a sequential review of 11 of the 15 classes, which leaves four more:


1) Brazil Maru xAP:

This was already reviewed in Post #49 (and greatly expanded upon in Post #124)

13) Heian Maru xAP:

Also previously reviewed (in Post #53), since it shares a bmp file with the Heian Maru AS class.

14) Yasukuni Maru xAP:

Will be reviewed with the AS Auxiliaries (Yasukuni AS)
Edit: Complete - See Post #102

15) Aikoku Maru xAP:

Will be reviewed with the AMC Auxiliaries (Aikoku Maru AMC)
Edit: Complete - See Post #107

That completes the xAP types! Not much in the way of interesting camouflage, but the research turned up some interesting historical nuggets, many of which will appear in these new and revised shipsides. Next up? Stay tuned.

In closing, I'd like to pay tribute yet again to the DMP mod team - throughout my work on the xAPs, many of their hulls and topsides served as the "starting point" for additional modifications. It's true that most of their shipsides are direct copies of the originals in AE, but they altered the colors in both accurate and novel fashion, and I can tell you that it's not an easy process.

It's been about a week since the xAPs were finished, but I haven't been sitting around eating bon bons. This project started off mostly as an intellectual exercise: "Wow, just look at all the historical variability in Japanese ship camo and colors! If only we could see this in-game!" All presented in a way that was intended to be interesting and informative, and hopefully enticing enough that somebody with artistic skill might be interested in taking up the challenge. As it turned out, that wound up being me....although my first attempts were horrible (and laughable) in hindsight. The poster child of this period was a full WEEK spent on multiple iterations of CV Shinano (yes, I know), before I finally bagged the whole thing (it still lies buried in a sub-folder, taunting me). If nothing else, I suppose it taught me what NOT to do!

Anyway, over the months there's been a slow but steady accretion of research and completed shipsides (137 and counting), and I'm beginning to see the hazy outlines of how this might all come together. Which is what I've been working on recently. The extremely boring process of examining all the different ship types and classes and bmp files, making sure that all bases have been covered, and developing a masterplan for what should be the first release. Which will be all the merchant ships and auxiliaries, the latter loosely defined as ships that aren't submarines or "pure" warships. Which is a pretty fuzzy definition, so I'll talk about it later in this post.

Without further ado, here is the high level plan for finishing off the Merchants & Auxiliaries:

I. Groups & Types that are complete:

1) xAK & AK Groups: 16 Types (comprising multiple classes) complete & posted
2) xAKL Groups: 7 Types (comprising multiple classes) complete & posted
3) XAP Groups: 15 Types (comprising multiple classes) complete & 13 posted (2 will be posted with the AS & AMC Types)
4) ACM Types: There are 2 classes of ACM in WitP-AE, To'su xACM & Kiso xACM, both included in the xAKL section
5) AD Types: There are 2 classes of AD in WitP-AE, Ehime AD & Akasi AD, both included in the xAK section
6) AGP Types: There are 2 classes of AGP in WitP-AE, Gozan AGP & Miyati AGP, both included in the xAK and xAKL sections
7) AKV Types: There are 2 classes of AKV in WitP-AE, Lima AKV & Aden AKV, both included in the xAK section
8) AMc Types: There are 2 classes of AMc in WitP-AE, To'su xAMc & Kiso xAMc, both included in the xAKL section
9) AR Types: 4 Types complete & posted
10) LSD Types: There are 2 classes of LSD in WitP-AE, Shinshu Maru & Akitsu Maru, each previewed in the LSD section
11) PB Types: There are 3 classes of PB in WitP-AE, To'su xAPB, Kiso xPB, & Ansyu xPB, all three included in the xAK and xAKL sections


II. Types that are next to be completed (in no particular order):

- AV Types: 5 classes, 4 complete, 1 in process
- AS Types: 7 classes, 4 complete, 3 in process
- AMC Types: 6 classes, 2 complete, 4 in process
- AG Types: 9 classes, 4 complete, 5 in process
- AKE Types: 17 classes, 13 complete, 4 in process


III. Types that are pending:

- LST Types - 2 classes, Not started (2 to go)
- LB Types - 4 classes, Not started (4 to go)
- ARD Types - 1 class, Not started (1 to go)
- AO Types - 7 classes, Not started (7 to go)
- TK Types - 8 classes, Not started (8 to go)


IV. Types that might be included:

- CMc Types - 2 classes, 1 complete, 1 in process
- CM Types - 10 classes, Not started (10 to go)
- MTB Types - 4 classes, Not started (4 to go)
- MGB Types - 4 classes, Not started (4 to go)
- ML Types - 3 classes, Not started (3 to go)
- HDML Types - 1 class, Not started (1 to go)
- AM Types - 2 classes, 1 complete, 1 in process
- DMS Types - 6 classes, Not started (6 to go)

I am *probably* going to bite the bullet and do all the ships in Section IV, but that category exists because either the ships aren't true auxiliaries (small torpedo boats, for example) or they morph from true auxiliary into warships (f/e most of the CM & DMS classes convert to Escorts). As for the AM and CMc types, they are easy enough to finish (the "half complete" status comes from bmps that are shared with the To'su AKL classes), but it seemed odd to leave the rest of the minesweeping/minelaying groups untouched. We'll see.

So what does that leave? Without getting into a count of types and classes here's what's in the next two groups:

2) Submarines: SS, SST, SSX
3) Warships: CV, CVL, CVE, CS, BB, CA, CL, CLAA, DD, APD, E, TB, PC, SC

The "Master Plan" is to deploy the new shipsides in 3 different releases, starting with the Merchants & Auxiliaries, then the Submarines, and finally the Warships. Initially each release would be a stand-alone download, but eventually (probably) they would be merged into a single zip file. As noted earlier, this is purely a graphics mod, and is fully compatible with all the official AE (i.e. AndyMac) and DaBabes scenarios. That also means it will seamlessly overwrite files in existing campaigns, too, so you don't have to start over to get the benefit of the new ship art. It will probably work with most non-official mods, but the mod leaders would have to verify that. Anyway, that's what we're looking at, so back to the grindstone!