Akagi Maru was one of three Akagi Maru-class armed merchantmen of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was launched in 1936. Akagi Maru was used initially used as a refrigerated cargo/passenger ship between ports in Japan, Europe and South America. The ship took part in World War II in the Pacific Ocean and was sunk with great loss of life by air attack on 17 February 1944 in Chuuk Lagoon as a part of the Allied Operation Hailstone.