Japanese submarine I-122
I-22 sometime prior to her renumbering as I-122 on 1 June 1938.
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History | |
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Imperial Japanese Navy | |
Name | Submarine No. 49 |
Builder | Kawasaki Corporation, Kobe, Japan |
Laid down | 28 February 1925 |
Launched | 8 November 1926 |
Renamed | I-22 on 8 November 1926 |
Completed | 28 October 1928 |
Commissioned | 28 October 1928 |
Decommissioned | 16 March 1933 |
Recommissioned | 15 November 1933 |
Decommissioned | 15 February 1936 |
Recommissioned | 30 June 1936 |
Renamed | I-122 on 1 June 1938 |
Decommissioned | 20 June 1938 |
Recommissioned | 1 May 1940 |
Fate | Sunk by USS Skate, 10 June 1945 |
Stricken | 15 September 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | I-121-class submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 85.20 m (279 ft 6 in) overall |
Beam | 7.52 m (24 ft 8 in) |
Draft | 4.42 m (14 ft 6 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth |
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Complement | 80 |
Armament |
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I-122, laid down in 1925 as Submarine No. 49 and known as I-22 from her construction period until June 1938, was an
After she was renumbered I-122 in 1938, the number I-22 was assigned to a later submarine which also served during World War II.
Design
I-122 and her three sister ships — I-21 (later renumbered I-121), I-23 (later renumbered I-123), and I-24 (later renumbered I-124) — were the Imperial Japanese Navy's only submarine minelayers.[2] They were known in Japan by the type name Kirai Fusetsu Sensuikan (機雷敷設潜水艦, minelaying submarine), commonly shortened to "Kiraisen"-type submarine (機雷潜型潜水艦, Kiraisen-gata sensuikan).[2]
The Kiraisen-type design was based on that of the
Construction and commissioning
Built by
Service history
1928–1937
Upon commissioning, I-22 was assigned to either the
Submarine Division 13 was reassigned directly to the Kure Naval District on 15 November 1933,[3] and that day I-22 was recommissioned and returned to active service in the division.[3] The division began duty in the Kure Defense Squadron in the Kure Naval District on 15 November 1935,[3] and I-22 was decommissioned and again placed in reserve,[3] either on that day or on 16 February 1936,[4] according to different sources.
I-22 again was recommissioned on 30 June 1936, rejoining Submarine Division 13 in the Kure [3][4] Her sister ship I-24 had suffered damage to her main ballast tanks while I-23 and I-24 were conducting deep diving trials on 25 May 1935,[5] so all four submarines of her class had their designed diving depth limited to 180 feet (55 m) in 1936.[5]
Second Sino-Japanese War
On 7 July 1937 the first day of the
I-21 and I-22 received orders to provide distant cover for Kuma while she put a
I-22 was renumbered I-122 on 1 June 1938,[3][4] freeing up her previous number for the new submarine I-22, which was launched later that year.[8] On 20 June 1938, I-122 was placed in the Second Reserve in the Kure Naval District.[3] In an effort to reduce international tensions over the conflict in China, Japan withdrew its submarines from Chinese waters in December 1938.[7]
1939–1941
While in reserve, I-122 and all three of her sister ships — which, like her, had been renumbered on 1 June 1938, I-21 becoming I-121, I-23 becoming I-123, and I-24 becoming I-124 — underwent conversion into submarine
On 1 May 1940, I-122 returned to active service in Submarine Division 13,[3] which was assigned that day to Submarine Squadron 5 in the 4th Fleet.[3] She soon began a lengthy training cruise in the Pacific in company with I-121, I-123, and I-124:[3][9][10][11] The four submarines departed Sasebo, Japan, on 16 May 1940 and visited the waters of the Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands, and Mariana Islands before concluding their cruise with their arrival at Yokosuka, Japan, on 22 September 1940.[3][9][10][11]
From 30 January to 4 February 1941, I-121 temporarily substituted for I-122 as flagship of Submarine Division 13 while I-122 was in reserve at Kure.
As the Imperial Japanese Navy began to deploy in November 1941 in preparation for the impending
World War II
First war patrol
In East Asia, the Pacific campaign began on 8 December 1941, and Japanese forces
Second war patrol
On 5 January 1942, I-122 set out from Davao to begin her second war patrol, bound for the waters off northern Australia.[4] On 15 January 1942, she laid 30 mines in the western approaches to the Torres Strait. On 20 January 1942, she began patrolling in the northern approaches to the Dundas Strait between Melville Island and the Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory on the mainland of Australia.[6] She concluded her patrol by arriving at Davao with I-121 on 30 January 1942.[4]
Third war patrol
In company with I-121, I-122 departed Davao on 9 February 1942 to begin her third war patrol, with a primary mission of supporting an impending air attack on Port Darwin by planes from the
On 24 February 1942, I-122 sighted an Allied
March–May 1942
After replenishing and refueling, I-122 departed Staring Bay in company with I-121 on 10 March 1942 — the same day they were subordinated directly to the headquarters of the Combined Fleet — and headed for Japan.[4] They arrived at Kure on 21 March 1942, and I-122 began a refit there.[6] While they were there, Submarine Squadron 6 was disbanded on 10 April 1942, and their division — Submarine Division 13 — was subordinated directly to the 6th Fleet.[4]
Midway operation
With her refit complete, I-122 departed Kure bound for
The Battle of Midway began on 4 June 1942, and on 5 June 1942 I-122 reached a new patrol area to support the other Japanese forces involved in it.[4] The battle ended on 7 June 1942 in a decisive Japanese defeat, and the Japanese cancelled the invasion of Midway. I-122 concluded her patrol with her arrival at Kwajalein in company with I-121 and I-123 on 25 June 1942.[4] She got back underway before the end of June[3] to return to Japan, arriving at Yokosuka probably in July 1942.[3][4]
Guadalcanal campaign
Toward the end of I-122′s stay at Yokosuka, Submarine Division 13 was resubordinated to Submarine Squadron 7 in the 8th Fleet on 14 July 1942.[3][4] On 16 July 1942, she departed Yokosuka to take up her new duties, calling at Truk from 24 to 31 July 1942 and arriving at Rabaul on New Britain on 4 August 1942.[3][4]
While I-122 was at Rabaul, the
An
With her repairs complete, I-122 again put to sea from Rabaul on 21 October 1942 to refuel reconnaissance floatplanes at the Indispensable Reefs.
New Guinea campaign
With her overhaul complete, I-122 moved from Kure to Saeki.[3] She departed Saeki on 14 March 1943 bound for Rabaul, where she arrived on 25 March 1943[3][4] and was assigned the mission of supporting Japanese forces fighting in the New Guinea campaign by delivering supplies to Lae on the coast of New Guinea.[4] She began her first supply run on 27 March 1943, when she put to sea from Rabaul.[3][4] She arrived at Lae on 30 March, unloaded her cargo, and got back underway the same day, arriving at Rabaul on either 31 March[3] or 2 April 1943,[3][4] according to different sources. Her second run began on 15 April 1943[3][4] — the same day that her squadron, Submarine Squadron 7, was reassigned to the Southeast Area Fleet[3][4] — and she arrived on 18 April at Lae, where she unloaded either 23[3] or 23.5[3] (according to different sources) tons of food and ammunition, embarked 15 sick or wounded soldiers, and departed the same day, reaching Rabaul on 20 April 1943.[3][4] On her next runs, she departed Rabaul on 24 April,[3] called at Lae on 26 April, unloaded 23.5 tons of food and ammunition,[3][4] and returned to Rabaul 28 April 1943;[3] departed Rabaul on 2 May, called at Lae on 4 May, again unloading 23.5 tons of food and ammunition and taking aboard 15 soldiers, and returned to Rabaul on 8 May 1943;[4] put to sea from Rabaul on 10 May, visited Lae on 12 May, and reached Rabaul on 14 May 1943;[4] and left Rabaul on 23 May,[3] unloaded supplies at Lae on 25 May,[4] and returned to Rabaul on 27 May 1943.[3] On 31 May 1943, Submarine Division 13 was disbanded, and I-122 and I-121 were attached directly to Submarine Squadron 7 headquarters.[4]
I-122 continued making supply runs from Rabaul to Lae throughout June and into early July 1943.[3][4] Departing Rabaul on 3 June,[3] she called at Lae on 5 June,[4] and departed the same day for Rabaul, which she reached on 7 June;[3] left Rabaul on 10 June,[3] unloaded at Lae on 12 June,[4] and returned to Rabaul on 14 June;[3] departed Rabaul on 21 June,[3] visited Lae on 23 June,[4] and made port at Rabaul on 25 June 1943;[3] and got underway from Rabaul on 30 June,[3] stopped at Lae on 2 July,[4] and arrived at Rabaul on 4 July 1943.[3] In her tenth and final run, she departed Rabaul on 7 July[3] and visited Lae on 9 July[4] before heading back to Rabaul, which she reached on 11 July 1943.[3] On 15 August 1943, I-122 and I-121 were transferred to the Kure Guard Unit in the Kure Naval District in Japan.[3][4] I-122 left Rabaul for the last time on 19 August 1943, bound for her new duties in Japan.[3][4] She reached Kure on 1 September 1943[3][4] and underwent repairs there.[3]
Home waters
After arriving in Japan, the aging I-122 and I-121, by then considered obsolescent, were withdrawn from combat and assigned duty as
On 31 January 1944, I-122 and I-121 were reassigned to Submarine Division 19 in the Kure Guard Squadron
Loss
At 11:45 on 9 June 1945, I-122 got underway from Maizuru for a training cruise in Nanao Bay in the Sea of Japan, under the command of Lieutenant Mihara Sosaku.[4] On 10 June 1945, as I-122 zigzagged on the surface in Nanao Bay at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) while returning to her base at Nanao, the American submarine USS Skate (SS-305) sighted her at 11:20.[4] At 11:44, Skate fired four torpedoes at a range of 800 yards (730 m).[4] Two of them hit I-122 amidships, and she sank quickly 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) southeast of Rokugo Misaki Lighthouse at 37°29′N 137°25′E / 37.483°N 137.417°E. Five minutes later, Skate′s crew heard the sounds of I-122 breaking up and saw a large air bubble reach the surface, followed by a great deal of oil.[4]
Observers at the lighthouse witnessed the sinking of I-122, but the Japanese did not realize that American submarines had penetrated the defenses of the Sea of Japan and attributed her loss to the on-board explosion of her own torpedoes.[4] After they reported the sinking, an Imperial Japanese Navy Aichi M6A1 Seiran ("Clear Sky Storm") floatplane arrived on the scene to search for survivors but found none;[4] I-122 was lost with all hands.[4] Skate sighted the floatplane, but it did not detect her.[4]
I-122 was stricken from the Navy list on 15 September 1945.[4]
References
- ISBN 0-87021-459-4p.191
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Boyd and Yoshida, p. 18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo I-122 ijnsubsite.com 19 September 2018 Accessed 5 February 2022
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2015). "IJN Submarine I-122: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ a b Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2017). "IJN Submarine I-124: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2018). "IJN Submarine I-121: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ a b c Boyd and Yoshida, p. 54.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (20 July 2017). "IJN Submarine I-22: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ a b I-121 ijnsubsite.com 19 September 2018 Accessed 1 February 2022
- ^ a b I-123 ijnsubsite.com 19 September 2018 Accessed 6 February 2022
- ^ a b I-124 ijnsubsite.com 19 September 2018 Accessed 6 February 2022
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2014). "IJN Submarine I-171: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2014). "IJN Submarine I-123: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ "Midway: The Approach". pacificeagles.com. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
Bibliography
- Boyd, Carl, and Akihiko Yoshida. The Japanese Submarine Force and World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1995. ISBN 1-55750-015-0.