Army Shipping Units:

Army Sea Transport, Depot and Hospital Units:

The Japanese Army’s Shipping Command was a separate arm of service dedicated to transporting troops and supplies by sea. It carried out most of the early war amphibious landings while the navy provided armed escorts. Later in the war navy destroyers and submarines were often substitutes for the army's civilian style transport ships, which proved overly vulnerable to Allied submarines, fighters and bombers. 

Under command of General Shipping Command, located in Ujina, Japan, the Transport Headquarters (shown in some detail below) provided the necessary network to facilitate movement of ships throughout Japan’s wartime empire. Dockside, Anchorage Headquarters units organized the loading and unloading of ships, under them Sea Duty Units provided stevedores for the operation. 

Legend:

1. Parenthesis (123) are the number of individuals in a unit.

2. DN • Distributed Numbers; blocks of numbers assigned to the various unit activating authorities by Imperial General Headquarters. 

3. “Akatsuki” 暁 was the code name for all army shipping units.

4. “i” 威 was the code name for the Southern Expeditionary Army and the independent units of all types associated with its immediate command. 

 

Shipping Transport Headquarters, Areas of Operation and Branch Offices:

Note: Branch offices all had the same code names and numbers as their parent unit.

 

6168 暁 1st Shipping Transport Headquarters (211): Japan and territories excluding Hokkaido. Home station: Moji, 

Activating authority: 四國 Shikoku Army District: DN • 6157-99 

Note: 6168 code number for this unit was chosen from the block 6157 - 6199  assigned to Shikoku Army District for unit activations.

Branch offices: 

Tokyo (64), Hanshin in Osaka (40), Hiroshima (69), Kobe, Tsuruga, South Kyushu (124), North Kyushu (76), Hokuriku (160), San’in (117), Keelung Taiwan, Kaohsiung Taiwan, Pusan South Korea, North Korea and Dalian in Liaoning Prov. (116). 

 

2941 暁 2nd Shipping Transport Headquarters (211): China. Home station: Moji 

Activating authority: 甲 Ko, North China Area Army: DN • 2900-99

Branch offices: 

North China, Shanghai, South China. 

 

2944 威 3rd Shipping Transport Headquarters: South Asia and Indian Ocean. Home station: Moji 

Activating authority: 甲 “Ko” North China Area Army: DN • 2900-99

Branch offices:

Manila, French Indochina, Borneo, Malaya, Sumatra, Java, Burma, Cebu, Palau, Thailand. 

1st (Bangkok) Branch Office, 2nd (Ambon) Branch Office, 3rd (Sulawesi) Branch Office

 

6188 剛 4th Shipping Transport Headquarters: for the southeast Pacific, under 8th Area Army HQ in Rabaul.

Activating authority: 四國 Shikoku Army District: DN • 6157-99

Branch offices: Madang, work in progress    

 

6160 暁 5th Shipping Transport Headquarters (240), Hokkaido and north. Home station: Moji

Activating authority: 四國 Shikoku Army District: DN • 6157-99

Branch offices: 

Otaru (57), Hakodate. 

 

Field Shipping Depots:

Activating authority: 甲 Ko, North China Area Army: DN • 2900-99

2951 暁1st Field Shipping Depot 1st Branch Depot 

2951 暁1st Field Shipping Depot 2nd Branch Depot

2951 暁1st Field Shipping Depot 3rd Branch Depot 

 

Activating authority: 甲 Ko, North China Area Army: DN • 2900-99

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot (Volume 2, page 59) 

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 1st Branch Depot 

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 2nd Branch Depot 

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 3rd Branch Depot 

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 4th Branch Depot         

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 5th Branch Depot 

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 6th Branch Depot 

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 7th Branch Depot 

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 8th Branch Depot 

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 1st Mobile Repair Section    

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 2nd Mobile Repair Section   

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 3rd Mobile Repair Section    

2949 暁 2nd Field Shipping Depot 4th Mobile Repair Section  

 

Activating Authority: 四國 Shikoku Army District: DN • 6157-99 

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot - Wake (Island Shipping)

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot 1st Branch Depot 

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot 2nd Branch Depot 

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot 3rd Branch Depot 

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot 3rd Branch Depot 

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot 4th Branch Depot 

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot 5th Branch Depot 

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot 1st Mobile Repair Section 

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot 2nd Mobile Repair Section 

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot 3rd Mobile Repair Section 

6194 暁 3rd Field Shipping Depot 4th Mobile Repair Section 

 

Activating Authority: 四國 Shikoku Army District: DN • 6157-99 

6195 暁 4th Field Shipping Depot 

6195 暁 4th Field Shipping Depot 1st Branch Depot 

6195 暁 4th Field Shipping Depot 2nd Branch Depot 

6195 暁 4th Field Shipping Depot 3rd Branch Depot 

6195 暁 4th Field Shipping Depot 4th Branch Depot 

6195 暁 4th Field Shipping Depot 1st Mobile Repair Section 

6195 暁 4th Field Shipping Depot 2nd Mobile Repair Section 

6195 暁 4th Field Shipping Depot 3rd Mobile Repair Section

 

The following units came to light after publication of the books, so new (to me) code numbers.

Hospital Shipping Units: 

Activating Authority: 中部 Chubu Army District: DN • 4000-49

4032 暁 2nd Hospital Shipping Medical Section 

4033 暁 3rd Hospital Shipping Medical Section

4034 暁 4th Hospital Shipping Medical Section

4035 暁 5th Hospital Shipping Medical Section

4037 暁 7th Hospital Shipping Medical Section 

4038 暁 8th Hospital Shipping Medical Section

4039 暁 9th Hospital Shipping Medical Section

 

Activating Authority: 四國 Shikoku Army District: DN • 6157-99 and DN • 6400-99

6164 暁 52nd Hospital Shipping Medical Section  

6165 暁 53rd Hospital Shipping Medical Section 

6445 暁 25th Hospital Shipping Medical Section 

6446 暁 26th Hospital Shipping Medical Section 

6477 暁 28th Sea Raiding Base Battalion 

 

Activating Authority: 黒 “Kuro” Kurume Divisional District: DN • 6700-99

6781 暁 55th Hospital Shipping Medical Section 

6782 暁 59th Hospital Shipping Medical Section 

6783 暁 60th Hospital Shipping Medical Section 

Army Shipping Corps breast badge

© 2021 R.S.G.



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