Japanese submarine I-157

Coordinates: 32°37′N 129°17′E / 32.617°N 129.283°E / 32.617; 129.283
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sister ship I-56 in harbor, 1930
History
Empire of Japan
NameI-57
BuilderKure Naval Arsenal, Kure, Japan
Laid down8 July 1927
Launched1 October 1928
Completed24 December 1929
Commissioned24 December 1929
Decommissioned15 November 1930
Recommissioned14 November 1931
Decommissioned1 June 1932
Recommissioned5 October 1932
Decommissioned22 October 1934
Recommissioned15 November 1935
Decommissioned7 January 1937
Recommissioned1 January 1938
Decommissioned5 December 1938
RecommissionedAugust 1939 or 1 September 1939 (see text)
RenamedI-157 on 20 May 1942
Fate
  • Surrendered September 1945
  • Stricken 30 November 1945
  • Scuttled 1 April 1946
General characteristics
Class and type
Kaidai-class submarine
(KD3B Type)
Displacement
  • 1,829 t (1,800 long tons) surfaced
  • 2,337 t (2,300 long tons) submerged
Length101 m (331 ft 4 in)
Beam8 m (26 ft 3 in)
Draft4.9 m (16 ft 1 in)
Installed power
  • 6,800 bhp (5,100 kW) (diesels)
  • 1,800 hp (1,300 kW) (electric motors)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range
  • 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged
Test depth60 m (197 ft)
Complement60
Armament

I-57, later I-157, was an

invasion of Malaya in December 1941, the Dutch East Indies campaign in early 1942, and the Battle of Midway in June 1942. She then served on training duties — except for a brief period of participation in the Aleutian Islands campaign in 1943 — until she was converted into a kaiten manned suicide attack torpedo carrier in 1945. She surrendered to the Allies at the end of the war in 1945 and was scuttled
in 1946.

Design and description

The

crewmen.[1]

For surface running, the submarines were powered by two 3,400-

propeller shaft. When submerged, each propeller was driven by a 900-horsepower (671 kW) electric motor. The submarines could reach 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) on the surface and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged. On the surface, the KD3Bs had a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph); submerged, they had a range of 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph).[2]

The submarine had eight internal 53.3 cm (21.0 in)

bow and two in the stern. They carried one reload for each tube for a total of 16 torpedoes. They also had one 120 mm (4.7 in) deck gun.[3]

Construction and commissioning

Built by the

Launched on 1 October 1928, she was completed and commissioned on 24 December 1929.[1][4][5]

Service history

Pre-World War II

On the day of her commissioning, I-57 was attached to the Kure Naval District and assigned to Submarine Division 19 in Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet.[4][5] She was placed in reserve at Kure on 15 November 1930,[4][5] but returned to active service on 14 November 1931.[4][5] On 1 December 1931, Submarine Division 19 was reassigned to the Kure Defense Division in the Kure Naval District.[4]

On 20 May 1932, Submarine Division 19 began a second stint with Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet,

Ryojun, Manchukuo, in company with I-56, I-58, and the submarines I-61, I-62, I-64, I-65, I-66, and I-67 for a training cruise off Qingdao, China, which the nine submarines concluded with their arrival at Sasebo on 5 October 1934.[4][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] I-57 again went into reserve at Kure on 22 October 1934,[4][5] and on 15 November 1934 Submarine Division 19 was reassigned to the Kure Guard Squadron in the Kure Naval District.[4]

I-57 resumed active service in Submarine Division 19 on 15 November 1935,[4][5] and that day Submarine Division 19 was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet.[4] On 1 December 1936, Submarine Division 19 was reassigned to the Kure Naval District,[4] in which it was placed in the First Reserve on 7 January 1937.[4] The division returned to active service in the district on 1 January 1938,[4] but was placed in Third Reserve on 15 December 1938,[4] and I-57 went into reserve at Kure that day.[4][5]

I-57 returned to active service in Submarine Division 19 either in August 1939[4] or on 1 September 1939,[5] according to different sources, and the division as a whole began an assignment to Submarine Squadron 4 in the 1st Fleet on 15 November 1939.[4] The squadron was assigned directly to the Combined Fleet on 15 November 1940.[4]

As the Japanese armed forces mobilized for an offensive against

Malayan Peninsula.[4][5]

World War II

First war patrol

Hostilities began in

Trengganu, British Malaya.[5] I-57′s patrol was uneventful, and she concluded it with her arrival at Cam Ranh Bay in Japanese-occupied French Indochina on 20 December 1941.[5]

Second war patrol

I-57 departed Cam Ranh Bay on 28 December 1941, assigned a patrol area in the

gross register ton auxiliary tanker Tan-3, which was on a voyage from Balikpapan, Borneo, to Surabaya.[4][5] Tan-3 sank, and aircraft rescued her crew on 8 January 1942.[5] I-57 returned to Cam Ranh Bay on 16 January 1942.[5]

February–May 1942

An outbreak of

Celebes, which she reached on 6 March.[5] Submarine Squadron 4 was disbanded on 10 March 1942, and the submarines of Submarine Division 19 — I-56, I-57, and I-58 — were reassigned to Submarine Squadron 5.[4][5] I-57 departed Staring Bay on 13 March 1942 bound for Kure, Japan, where she arrived on 20 March 1942 for repairs.[5] With them complete, she got back underway from Kure on 14 May 1942 and set course for Kwajalein Atoll.[5] During her voyage, she was renumbered I-157 on 20 May 1942.[4][5] She arrived at Kwajalein on 24 May 1942.[5]

Third war patrol: The Battle of Midway

On 26 May 1942, I-157 departed Kwajalein to conduct her third war patrol, operating in support of Operation MI, the planned Japanese invasion of

Vice Admiral Teruhisa Komatsu, ordered the 15 submarines in the Japanese submarine patrol line to move westward.[18]

After the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, ordered Komatsu to interpose his submarines between the retreating Japanese fleet and the opposing United States Navy aircraft carriers,[18] the Japanese submarines, including I-157, began a gradual movement to the north-northwest, moving at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) by day and 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) after dark.[18] I-157 made no contact with enemy forces during the battle,[5][17][18] and returned to Kwajalein on 19 June 1942.[4]

June 1942–May 1943

On 22 June 1942, I-157 departed Kwajalein bound for Kure, Japan, which she reached on 30 June.[18] On 10 July 1942, Submarine Squadron 5 was disbanded, and Submarine Division 19 — consisting of I-156, I-157, I-158, and I-159 — was reassigned to the Kure Submarine Squadron in the Kure Naval District.[4][5] I-157 assumed duties as a training ship, and operated without incident until May 1943.[5]

Aleutian Islands campaign

On 21 May 1943, Japanese Imperial General Headquarters decided to withdraw the garrison on Kiska in the Aleutian Islands and bring the Aleutian Islands campaign to a close.[5] I-157 was attached temporarily to Submarine Squadron 1 — along with the submarines I-2, I-7, I-21, I-24, I-34, I-36, I-155, I-156, I-168, I-169, and I-171 — for the evacuation of the island.[5] They were assigned to the Kiska Evacuation Force in the Northern District Force of the 5th Fleet.[5]

I-157 departed Kure on 22 May 1943, called at

battery cells overboard.[5] She broke loose, but the damage she sustained prevented her from diving.[5] She headed back to Paramushiro on the surface, arriving there on 20 June 1943 for an overnight stop and refueling from Teiyo Maru.[5] She got back underway on 21 June 1943 and headed to Kure, where she arrived on 26 June 1943 and began repairs.[5]

June 1943–April 1945

Upon completion of her repairs, I-157 returned to training duties in Submarine Division 19 in the Kure Naval District.

Type 13 air-search radar.[5]

Kaiten carrier

On 20 April 1945, I-157 was reassigned to Submarine Division 34 in the 6th Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet,[4][5] and by May 1945 she had been modified for service as a kaiten manned suicide attack torpedo carrier by the installation on her deck of fittings for two kaiten.[5] Between May and August 1945, she made three voyages to transport kaiten from the kaiten base at Otsushima to kaiten shore bases along the coast of Kyushu.[5]

During July 1945, the crews of I-156, I-157, I-158, I-159, and I-162 underwent training in launching kaiten against enemy ships in the event of an

bearings, and that she began testing of these systems before the end of the war.[5]

On 15 August 1945,

navy list on 30 November 1945.[5] She moved to Sasebo and was stripped of all usable equipment.[5]

Disposal

On 1 April 1946, the U.S. Navy

Operation Road's End.[5] The demolition charges detonated at 13:18, and she sank at 13:25 at 32°37′N 129°17′E / 32.617°N 129.283°E / 32.617; 129.283 (I-157).[5] She was the first Japanese submarine sunk that day.[5]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Carpenter & Polmar, p. 93
  2. ^ Chesneau, p. 198
  3. ^ Bagnasco, p. 183
  4. ^ 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 I-157 ijnsubsite.com 16 October 2018 Accessed 23 January 2021
  5. ^ 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 Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (1 May 2017). "IJN Submarine I-157: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b c I-153 ijnsubsite.com September 19, 2018 Accessed 15 January 2022
  7. ^ a b c I-154 ijnsubsite.com October 11, 2018 Accessed 15 January 2022
  8. ^ a b c I-155 ijnsubsite.com June 10, 2018 Accessed 15 January 2022
  9. ^ a b c d I-156 ijnsubsite.com October 15, 2018 Accessed 17 January 2022
  10. ^ a b c d I-158 ijnsubsite.com October 20, 2018 Accessed 17 January 2022
  11. ^ I-61 ijnsubsite.com August 24, 2018 Accessed 28 September 2020
  12. ^ "I-162 ex I-62". iijnsubsite.info. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  13. ^ "I-164 ex I-64". iijnsubsite.info. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  14. ^ "I-165 ex I-65". iijnsubsite.info. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  15. ^ "I-166 ex I-66". iijnsubsite.info. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  16. ^ I-67 ijnsubsite.com September 14, 2018 Accessed 28 September 2020
  17. ^ a b c Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2016). "IJN Submarine I-162: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (1 May 2016). "IJN Submarine I-156: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  19. ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (May 1, 2016). "IJN Submarine I-154: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 20 January 2022.

Bibliography

32°37′N 129°17′E / 32.617°N 129.283°E / 32.617; 129.283

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