AHS+Centaur

The AHS Centaur Background information The AHS //Centaur// was the Australian hospital ship sunk by a Japanese submarine in the early morning of 14 May 1943, with the death of 268 of its 332 crew, hospital staff and passengers. Hospital ships were specifically created to bring back seriously wounded and ill soldiers from the battlefront to mainland hospitals. The Hague Convention of 1907 and the Geneva Convention of 1929 created this special category of protected ships during war. The aim was to try to impose some rules on the conduct of warfare that would protect the seriously wounded of all sides from further suffering and involvement in the war. The Conventions clearly stated that hospital ships were not to be considered legitimate targets during war, provided that they were clearly marked, were not carrying weapons; ammunition or combat-active soldiers, and were carrying only crew, medical personnel and wounded combatants. The Japanese were not signatories to these Conventions, but they had said that they would observe them during wartime. Although the Japanese agreed to the Geneva Convention the Centaur was attacked and sunk by a [|KD7 type] Kaidai class Japanese submarine. There are three main theories for the sinking of the centaur such as the Japanese thought the centaur was a legitimate target, they were not aware that the centaur was a hospital ship and that the Japanese deliberately sunk a protected vessel. The exact reason remains unknown.

Armament

1 x 4-inch (100 mm) Mark IX naval gun, 2 x .303 Vickers machine guns, 2 x paravanes, degaussing equipment. Discovery The wreck wasn’t found until December 2009. The wreck was found at [|27°16.98′S] [|153°59.22′E] [|﻿/] [|27.283°S 153.987°E] [|﻿ /] [|-27.283; 153.987] [|Coordinates] : less that 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi), below sea level in a steep-walled gully, 150 me(490 ft) wide and 90 meters (300 ft) deep just off Queensland.  By danrocks13