Japanese hellships WW2
Vessels of Torment
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During the Second World War, the Japanese Imperial Army used cargo vessels to transport Allied prisoners of war (POWs) across vast stretches of ocean. These ships became known as "hellships" – an apt term for the horrors inflicted upon the thousands of men imprisoned in their dark, sweltering holds. What occurred on these ships was not merely transportation but a continuation of the brutalities the Far East POWs (FEPoWs) had endured since capture. What follows is an in-depth, unsanitised account of the most notorious of these ships, their final voyages, and the suffering endured by those forced to travel aboard them.
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FEPoWs were herded aboard these ships in the hundreds and thousands, often after long marches or days in transit under guard. Stripped of dignity, starved, and many already sick or wounded, they were forced down into the cargo holds – steel boxes without light, ventilation, or sanitation.
Prisoners were crammed shoulder to shoulder, with no room to lie down. The air was thick with the stench of sweat, human waste, and death. There were no toilets – a single bucket would serve hundreds. Food, when given, was a handful of weevil-ridden rice or watery soup, lowered down on ropes. Drinking water was minimal, often limited to a cup a day. Men with dysentery defecated where they lay. The sick lay alongside the dead. The only air came from the narrow hatch above, which was often covered during the day. Temperatures soared to unbearable levels.
Some ships had wooden platforms slung across the holds, others did not. Fights would break out over space. Many resorted to licking condensation from steel bulkheads. Others drank urine or sucked on stones to combat thirst. Lice and fleas were everywhere. Hope was in short supply. Death was frequent and always among them.
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