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Based mostly on primary materials which have not been published, this paper attempts at making clear to what extent the Naval Fuel Depot succeeded in converting coal into petroleum on the scale of semi-industrial plant. The author traces researches carried out by the Naval Fuel Depot, especially concentrating on the catalyst and the stirrer which the Navy reluctantly agreed to change and improve. The Imperial Navy started the research of coal hydrogenation in 1928 onward for the purpose of providing the technical data and information of industrialization for the South Manchurian Railway Company (Mantetsu) . (1) The Naval Fuel Depot investigated the influence of different catalysts on the reaction and finally came to a conclusion that zinc chloride "ZnCl_2" shold be adopted as a catalyst. However, the Mantetsu didn't agree on the introduction of ZnCl_2 because it would erode the high-pressure reactor and asserted that erric oxide "Fe_2O_3" should be used as a catalyst. (2) The Naval Fuel Depot selected the mechanical stirrer which the Navy thought could reduce the consumption of hydrogen gas. Afterward the Navy faced a rnajor technical problem, i. e. how to prevent coal from coke-forming by regulating the reaction temperature. The Mantetsu insisted on the introduction of the hydrogen gas stirrer to keep the right temperature.