Photo 4 of 4 showing the last moments for the Japanese 5,000-ton cargo ship Shoun Maru as the result of a torpedo attack by a TBM Avenger flying from USS White Plains, Sasanhaya Bay, Rota, Mariana Islands, 24 Jun 1943.

Historical Information
Caption     Photo 4 of 4 showing the last moments for the Japanese 5,000-ton cargo ship Shoun Maru as the result of a torpedo attack by a TBM Avenger flying from USS White Plains, Sasanhaya Bay, Rota, Mariana Islands, 24 Jun 1943. ww2dbase
WW2-Era Location Name Sasanhaya Bay, Rota, Mariana Islands
Date 24 Jun 1944
Photographer    Unknown
 
Source Information
Source    ww2dbaseUnited States Navy
Link to Source    Link
Identification Code   NH 95567
 
Related Content
More on...   
TBF Avenger   Main article  Photos  
Mariana Islands Campaign   Main article  Photos  Maps  
Mark XIII   Main article  Photos  
Photos in Series See all 4 photos in this series
Photos on Same Day 24 Jun 1944
 
Licensing Information
Licensing  Public Domain. According to the United States copyright law (United States Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105), in part, "[c]opyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government".

Please contact us regarding any inaccuracies with the above information. Thank you.
 
Metadata
Added By David Stubblebine
Photo Size 5,689 x 4,448 pixels



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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Commenter identity confirmed David Stubblebine says:
13 Jul 2025 04:06:49 PM

Bubbles are the last sign of Shoun Maru in Sasanhaya Bay after being sunk by a Mark XIII torpedo. The torpedo attack was executed by Lieutenant (junior grade) Edward Fickenscher who dropped a single Mark XIII torpedo from a TBM Avenger flying from USS White Plains. The torpedo’s depth was set at seven feet and it was launched at a range of 1,200 yards from an altitude of 160 feet while flying at 155 knots. Many sources date these photos as 23 Jun 1944 but this is incorrect, due to a misreading of the original Navy action report. Other reports created at the time list the date of this attack as 24 Jun 1944. Also, this attack is often mistakenly credited to Task Force 58, the fast carrier task force, but White Plains was attached to Task Group 52.14, part of the tactical support task force.

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Map
WW2-Era Location Name:
Sasanhaya Bay, Rota, Mariana Islands

Latitude-Longitude:
14.1249, 145.1638

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