5 was laid down at the Sasebo shipyard of Matsuura Shipbuilding (松浦造船所) at the behest of Kojiro Linuma (飯沼耕次郎).

[1] Kamikaze Maru No.5 was launched and named on 14 July 1939, completed 26 August 1939, and registered in Tokyo.

[2] On 26 February 1942, she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy for service as a salvage ship and assigned to the Sasebo Naval District.

[2] On 15 May 1942, she departed Hong Kong arriving on 21 May 1942 at Manila where she assisted in salvaging the many vessels scuttled by the fleeing American forces after the Battle of Corregidor.

7, she attempted to raise the submarine tender USS Canopus which had been scuttled in Mariveles Bay on the Bataan peninsula across from Corregidor but was unsuccessful.