Tsushima Maru

Tsushima Maru (対馬丸) was a Japanese passenger/cargo ship that was sunk by the submarine USS Bowfin during World War II, while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren from Okinawa to Kagoshima.

Description
On August 22, 1944, at between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. local time, the USS Bowfin attacked the convoy in which the Tsushima Maru was sailing and sank her, close to the island of Akusekijima. There were 1,484 civilians onboard, including 826 schoolchildren (of which 767 were killed and 59 survived the sinking).

The ship was part of Convoy Namo 103, which consisted of the following ships:
 * Tsushima Maru (passenger / cargo vessel)
 * Kazuura Maru (listed as Waura Maru in some sources, assumed to be a cargo vessel)
 * Gyōkū Maru (cargo vessel)
 * Destroyer Hasu (Momi class)
 * Gunboat Uji

The crew of the USS Bowfin would not discover until 20 years later that the unmarked, unlit passenger-cargo vessel was transporting children.

Its wreck was located and identified in December 1997.