Voyage to Hell

Based upon report originally produced from comprehensive details compiled by Capt D. Nelson (SSVF) B.R.E on 23 Aug 45. It was printed in a booklet prepared by Lt Col T.R.Beaton (Retd) Australian Army after he had spent two years as Curator of the Hellfire Pass Museum (Dec 1999 Dec 2001) No 5 Group From Java, 456 Americans, 385 Australians, 1159 Dutch, led by American Lt Col Thorp they left Singapore by train, 9th January 1943, at Penang they boarded the Hell Ship Moji Maru. 965 Dutch aboard the Nichimei Maru also left Penang in the same convoy On the 15th January the convoy was attacked by B24 Liberators, the Nishimei Maru was sunk with the loss of 40 Dutch prisoners, on the Moji Maru 25 prisoners were killed. On reaching Thanbyuzayat this group worked in the 18-kilo, 80-kilo and 100 Kilo camps. The death rate of 24% for the group was made up of 322 Dutch, 28%, 98 Americans 22%, 54 Australians 14% From COFEPOW website : Hello: my name is Kyle Thompson of the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery in Second World War, taken prisoners by Japanese. When Java fell March 8, 1942; we had three ship rides under the Japs: October 11, 1942, boarded Dai Nishi Maru in Batavia and sailed to Singapore, arriving October 16; moved by metal boxcars on train from Singapore to Penang, Malaya; On January 12, 1943, loaded on Mojo Maru and sailed from Penang in company with the Nitimei Maru and a small escort vessel; On January 15, 1943, Allied bombers located the small convoy 48 miles off Moulmein, Burma, sinking the Nitimei Maru and damaging the Moji Maru, the latter containing all the Americans who were in this convoy; some Dutch and perhaps others lost when Nitimei Maur sunk, but no American casualties. These were the only hell ships the bulk of American POWs captured in Java cruised on. Later 18 Americans of our group (including survivors of USS Houston, American heavy cruiser sunk 03/01/42 off coast of Java) perished when Allied submarines sunk Jap ship (idenity unknown) enroute to Japan (location unknown) on June 24, 1944.