The Heian Maru was a 510 ft. long cargo-passenger liner that had been converted to a submarine tender. It settled on it's port side at the bottom of Truk Lagoon, 110 ft. deep.
It was a beautiful ship that looked more like an elegant cruise ship than a merchantman workhorse or a submarine tender.
The name "HEIAN MARU" was plainly visible on the ship's starboard bow.
The most interesting cargo I saw on the Heian Maru were the eight spare submarine periscopes it carried in one of the starboard corridors of the superstructure.
Text and Photos © 1999 by Bob Hampton All Rights Reserved