Japanese submarine I-13
History | |
---|---|
Imperial Japanese Navy | |
Name | Submarine No. 621 |
Builder | Kawasaki, Kobe, Japan |
Laid down | 4 February 1943 |
Renamed | I-13 1 October 1943 |
Launched | 30 November 1943 |
Commissioned | 16 December 1944 |
Fate | Sunk 16 July 1945 |
Stricken | 15 September 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type AM submarine |
Displacement |
|
Length | 113.7 m (373 ft 0 in) overall |
Beam | 11.7 m (38 ft 5 in) |
Draft | 5.9 m (19 ft 4 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
|
Range |
|
Test depth | 100 m (328 ft) |
Crew | 108 |
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | 2 × Aichi M6A Seiran floatplanes |
Aviation facilities |
I-13 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type AM submarine that served during World War II. Designed as a submarine aircraft carrier, she was commissioned in December 1944 and sunk in July 1945.
Design and description
Previous
For surface running, the submarines were powered by two 2,200-
The Type AM submarines were armed with six internal
The aircraft
Construction and commissioning
Built by
Service history
January–June 1945
On the day of her commissioning, I-13 was attached formally to the Sasebo Naval District and assigned to Submarine
I-13 conducted work-ups and combat training with the other submarines of Submarine
Meanwhile, I-13 was at Kure when the
By late May 1945, I-13 and the other submarines of Submarine Division 1 (
Panama Canal operation
I-400 and I-401 soon rendezvoused with I-13 and I-14 in Nanao Bay, and the submarines were joined by six
While Submarine Division 1 was still at Nanao Bay, the expected imminent fall of
Operation Hikari
At 13:25 on 25 June 1945, the Combined Fleet issued orders for the attack on Ulithi, dubbed Operation Arashi ("Mountain Storm").[5][6] The orders called for I-13 and I-14 to transport disassembled Nakajima C6N1 Saiun (Iridiscent Cloud"; Allied reporting name "Myrt") reconnaissance aircraft to Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands in late July 1945.[5][6] The C6N aircraft were to be reassembled at Truk and then, in Operation Hikari ("Shining Light"), conduct a reconnaissance of Ulithi, noting the presence and location of Allied aircraft carriers and troop transports.[5][6] I-400 and I-401 then were to launch a combined total of six M6A1 floatplanes—which were to use the reconnaissance information to assist them in targeting Allied ships—on 17 August 1945 for a nighttime strike under a full moon against the Ulithi anchorage, each pilot receiving a hormone injection to improve his night vision and each plane armed with an 800-kilogram (1,764 lb) bomb.[5][6] After the strike, the aircraft were to land near the submarines, and I-13, I-14, I-400, and I-401 all were to proceed to Singapore, where ten new M6A aircraft would await them for embarkation for another strike.[5][6]
On 2 July 1945, I-13 departed Maizuru in company with I-14 and set course for Ōminato on the northern tip of Honshu, which she reached on 4 July 1945.[5][7] She loaded two crated C6N aircraft there, then got back underway at 15:00 on 11 July to begin Operation Hikari, heading for Truk, where she was scheduled to arrive on 20 July 1945. On the day she left Ōminato, Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne (FRUMEL), an Allied signals intelligence unit at Melbourne, Australia, decrypted a message from I-13 which gave her intended approximate positions for 12:00 on 13, 15 and 18 July. FRUMEL personnel could not decipher the positions, but incorrectly assessed that Operation Hikari involved the transportation of approximately four suicide attack aircraft to Singapore.[5] The Japanese never heard from I-13 again after her departure from Ōminato.[5]
Loss
At 07:47 on 16 July 1945, a TBM-3 Avenger aircraft of Composite Squadron 13 (VC-13) from the U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Anzio (CVE-57) gained radar contact on a Japanese submarine on the surface in the Pacific Ocean 550 nautical miles (1,020 km; 630 mi) east of Yokosuka, Japan.[5] The Avenger strafed the submarine and attacked her with 5-inch (127 mm) air-to-surface rockets.[5] The submarine submerged, leaving a trail of oil on the surface.[5] The Avenger dropped two depth charges, followed by sonobuoys and a Mark 24 Fido acoustic homing torpedo.[5] Two more VC-13 Avengers from Anzio arrived on the scene and took over the attack, dropping more sonobuoys and another Fido.[5] The Avengers then guided the destroyer escort USS Lawrence C. Taylor (DE-415) to a heavy oil slick that betrayed the submarine′s position.[5] At 11:40, Lawrence C. Taylor fired a barrage of 24 Hedgehog projectiles that sank the submarine — probably I-13 — at 34°28′N 150°55′E / 34.467°N 150.917°E.[5][8]
At 10:33 on 31 July 1945, U.S. Navy signals intelligence decrypted a Japanese message stating that I-13 had not been heard from since she sortied from Ōminato on 11 July, and that her status was unknown.[5] On 1 August 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared her to be presumed lost with all hands in the vicinity of Truk.[5] The Japanese removed her from the navy list on 15 September 1945.[5] The 140 men killed in her sinking represented the largest loss of life aboard a Japanese submarine during World War II.[5]
References
Footnotes
- ^ Layman & McLaughlin, p. 176
- ^ Bagnasco, p. 189
- ^ Chesneau, p. 200
- ^ a b c Carpenter & Dorr, p. 110
- ^ 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 Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (November 1, 2016). "IJN Submarine I-13: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (12 March 2016). "IJN Submarine I-400: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (November 1, 2016). "IJN Submarine I-14: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
- ^ Boyd & Yoshida, p. 209
Bibliography
- Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
- Boyd, Carl & Yoshida, Akikiko (2002). The Japanese Submarine Force and World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-015-0.
- Carpenter, Dorr B. & Polmar, Norman (1986). Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904–1945. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-396-6.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Hashimoto, Mochitsura (1954). Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet 1942 – 1945. Colegrave, E.H.M. (translator). London: Cassell and Company. ASIN B000QSM3L0.
- Layman, R.D. & McLaughlin, Stephen (1991). The Hybrid Warship:The Amalgamation of Big Guns and Aircraft. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-555-1.
- Stille, Mark (2007). Imperial Japanese Navy Submarines 1941-45. New Vanguard. Vol. 135. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-090-1.