Japanese submarine I-175
 I-75 in late October 1941.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | I-75 |
| Ordered | 1934 |
| Builder | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kobe, Japan |
| Laid down | 1 November 1934 |
| Launched | 16 September 1937 |
| Commissioned | 8 December 1938 |
| Renamed | I-175 on 20 May 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk 4 February 1944 |
| Stricken | 10 July 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Kaidai type (KD6B Type) |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 105 m (344 ft 6 in) |
| Beam | 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) |
| Draft | 4.57 m (15 ft 0 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 75 m (246 ft) |
| Complement | 70 |
| Armament |
|
I-75, later I-175, was an
Design and description
The submarines of the KD6B sub-class were very similar to the preceding KD6A sub-class. They displaced 1,814 tonnes (1,785 long tons) surfaced and 2,605 tonnes (2,564 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 105 meters (344 ft 6 in) long and had a beam of 8.2 meters (26 ft 11 in) and a draft of 4.57 meters (15 ft 0 in). They had a diving depth of 75 m (246 ft)[1]
For surface running, the submarines were powered by two 4,500-
The submarines were armed with six internal 53.3 cm (21.0 in)
Construction and commissioning
I-75 was laid down on 1 November 1934 by Mitsubishi in Kobe, Japan.[4][5] Launched on 16 September 1937, she was completed and commissioned on 18 December 1938.[4][5]
Service history
Pre-World War II
On the day of her commissioning, I-75 was attached to the
On 11 November 1941, the 6th Fleet's commander,
As Japanese military forces began to deploy for the opening Japanese offensive of the war, I-75 was assigned to the Submarine Advance Force on 11 November 1941 and departed Saeki Bay on the coast of Kyushu that day in company with I-74 bound for Kwajalein Atoll, which the two submarines reached on 20 November 1941.[4][5][13] Assigned to support Operation Z, I-75 got underway from Kwajalein on 23 November 1941 and set course for the Hawaiian Islands.[4][5] While she was en route, she received the message "Climb Mount Niitaka 1208" (Japanese: Niitakayama nobore 1208) from the Combined Fleet on 2 December 1941, indicating that war with the Allies would commence on 8 December 1941 Japan time, which was on 7 December 1941 on the other side of the International Date Line in Hawaii.[5]
World War II
First war patrol
When the attack on Pearl Harbor took place on the morning of 7 December 1941, the submarines of Submarine Squadron 3 were deployed south of Oahu, with orders to reconnoiter the area and attack any ships that sortied from Pear Harbor.[5] I-75′s patrol area was 25 to 50 nautical miles (46 to 93 km; 29 to 58 mi) southwest of Oahu.[5]
I-75 bombarded the harbor at
On 17 December 1941, I-75 hit the American 3,253- or 3,545-
I-75 departed the
January–April 1942
I-75 and I-74 got underway from Kwajalein on 13 January 1942[4][5][13] and headed north, passing Midway Atoll[13] in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands on their way to the Aleutian Islands.[4][10] From the Aleutians, the two submarines made their way to Yokosuka, Japan, where they arrived on 19 February 1942.[4][5][13]
Second war patrol
I-75′s stay in Japan ended on 15 April 1942, when she began her second war patrol, departing Kure in company with I-74 to form a patrol line[5] east of Japan.[4] While she was at sea, 16 United States Army Air Forces B-25 Mitchell bombers launched by the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) struck targets on Honshu in the Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942,[13] but I-75 made no contact with enemy forces.[13] I-75 and I-74 concluded their patrol with their arrival at Kwajalein on 10 May 1942.[4][5][10][13]
Third war patrol: Midway operation
On 20 May 1942, I-75 was renumbered I-175[4][5] and I-74 became I-174.[10][13] The two submarines departed Kwajalein in company that day to participate in Operation MI, the planned Japanese invasion of Midway Atoll.[5][13] Plans called for them first to support a preliminary phase of the Midway operation, Operation K-2, which called for the Japanese submarines I-121 and I-123 to refuel two Kawanishi H8K (Allied reporting name "Emily") flying boats at the French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands so that the two aircraft could conduct a reconnaissance flight over Pearl Harbor,[14] while I-175 patrolled 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) southwest of Oahu to provide weather reports in support of the operation.[5] The aircraft were scheduled to arrive at the French Frigate Shoals on 30 May 1942 and make their Pearl Harbor flight on 31 May.[15] When I-123 arrived off the French Frigate Shoals on 29 May 1942, however, she found the U.S. Navy seaplane tenders USS Ballard (AVD-10) and USS Thornton (AVD-11) already operating flying boats there.[14][15] She radioed her news of this sighting after she surfaced that night, and the reconnaissance flight was postponed for a day.[14] When I-123 again observed the French Frigate Shoals on 31 May, she found the American ships still there and noted U.S. Navy flying boats landing in the lagoon, and this news resulted in the Japanese concluding that the U.S. Navy was using the atoll as a base.[15] The Japanese decided to cancel the reconnaissance flights entirely.[14][15]
With their supporting mission for the aircraft cancelled, I-175 and I-174 took patrol stations in support of the scheduled invasion of Midway. The Battle of Midway began on 4 June 1942, and it ended on 7 June 1942 in a decisive Japanese defeat. The Japanese cancelled the invasion of Midway. I-175 made no contact with enemy forces during the battle and concluded her patrol with her arrival at Kwajalein on 20 June 1942.[4][5]
Fourth war patrol
On 8 July 1942, I-175 set out from Kwajalein on her fourth war patrol, assigned a patrol area in the
On 24 July 1942, I-175 torpedoed and damaged the 3,345-gross register ton Australian merchant ship Murada off Crowdy Head, 82 nautical miles (152 km; 94 mi) northeast of Newcastle.[5] On 26 July 1942, she survived a depth-charge attack by the Royal Australian Navy corvette HMAS Cairns, then moved southward.[5] She torpedoed and sank the French 2,795-gross register ton merchant ship Cagou, which was carrying a cargo of nickel ore, 160 nautical miles (300 km; 180 mi) northeast of Newcastle on 28 July 1942.[4][5]
During the predawn hours of 3 August 1942, I-175 was on the surface when she encountered the Australian 233-gross register ton
On 5 August 1942, I-175 arrived in a new patrol area south of Jervis Bay on the coast of New South Wales.[5] On 7 August 1942, however, the Guadalcanal campaign began with United States Marine Corps landings on Guadalcanal in the southeastern Solomon Islands, and that day I-175 received orders to move to an area west of San Cristobal in the southeastern Solomons.[5] She made her transit via the Nouméa area in New Caledonia.[4]
At dawn on 12 August 1942, I-175 was on the surface 170 nautical miles (310 km; 200 mi) southwest of Espiritu Santo when two U.S. Navy SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) attacked her.[4][5] She submerged, but not before suffering bomb damage.[4][5] Two destroyers — USS Grayson (DD-435) and USS Sterett (DD-407) — were detached from Saratoga′s escort screen in Task Force 11 and forced her to remain submerged until dark,[5] when she finally escaped. She headed for Rabaul on New Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago for emergency repairs, arriving there on 17 August 1942.[4][5]
Fifth war patrol
I-175 departed Rabaul for to begin her fifth war patrol on 22 August 1942, assigned a patrol area southeast of Guadalcanal extending from the
Sixth war patrol
On 16 October 1942, I-175 got underway from Truk for her sixth war patrol,[4][5] ordered to form a patrol line with I-174[5] and patrol an area in the Solomon Islands southeast of the Indispensable Reefs and Shortland Islands.[4] I-175 and I-174 later were ordered to leave their patrol areas and join the submarines I-172 and Ro-34 in an attempt to intercept an American convoy,[5] but I-175 did not encounter enemy ships. She returned to Truk on 19 November 1942[4][5] and was assigned that day to the B Patrol Unit with I-174 and the submarines I-9, I-15, I-21, and I-24.[5]
November 1942–May 1943
On 20 November 1942, I-175 suffered damage in an anchorage in
Aleutian Islands campaign
As I-175′s repairs were being completed, Japan's fortunes in the
On 5 June 1943,[4] I-175 departed Paramushiro on a supply run to Kiska, where she unloaded one ton of ammunition and 15 tons of food and embarked 60 passengers.[4][5] She then returned to Paramushiro, where she arrived on 10 June 1943[4][5] and refueled from the oiler Teiyō Maru on 11 June 1943.[5] On 13 June 1943 she began another run to Kiska, calling there on 17 June to deliver 16 tons of supplies and embark 70 passengers, and returning to Paramushiro on 20 June 1943.[4][5]
I-175 departed Paramushiro on 24 June 1943 to begin her eighth war patrol, ordered to attack Allied shipping in the North Pacific Ocean in an area 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) south of Amchitka with I-171.[4][5] While she was on patrol, the Japanese evacuated their garrison on Kiska on 28 July 1943. She made no contact with enemy forces and concluded the patrol by heading back to Japan, arriving at Kure on 10 August 1943.[4][5]
Ninth war patrol: USS Liscome Bay
I-175 got underway from Kure on 19 September 1943 and arrived at Truk on 25 September.[5] She departed Truk on 16 October 1943 to begin her ninth war patrol, assigned a patrol area in the vicinity of Wake Island.[5] On 20 October 1943, the submarine I-36 reported a large Allied convoy south of the Hawaiian Islands heading west, and I-175 and the submarines I-19, I-35, and I-169 received orders to intercept the convoy, but I-175 failed to make contact.[5]
I-175 was heading back to Truk on 20 November 1943 when the U.S. offensive phase of the
Meanwhile, Liscome Bay sank at 05:33 at 02°54′N 172°30′E / 2.900°N 172.500°E with the loss 55
On 26 November 1943, I-175 transmitted a report that she had survived a six-hour counterattack on 24 November by two destroyers which had dropped 34 depth charges, six of which had detonated close aboard.
Tenth war patrol
I-175 got underway from Truk on 27 January 1944 with the commander of Submarine Division 12 embarked to begin her tenth war patrol, making for a patrol area northeast of the Marshall Islands.[4][5] While she was at sea, the next phase of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign began when U.S. forces landed on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur (beginning the Battle of Kwajalein) and on Majuro.[5] The same day, I-175 and the submarine Ro-39 received orders to proceed to Wotje Atoll in the Marshalls at flank speed.[5] On 3 February 1944, I-175 reconnoitered Wotje Atoll.[5]
Loss
The battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) detected a vessel on radar east of Wotje at 22:03 on 3 February at a range of 21 nautical miles (39 km; 24 mi).[5] Ordered to detach from the screen and investigate, the destroyer USS Charrette (DD-581) closed with the contact.[5] At a range of 10,300 yards (9,400 m), the contact disappeared from Charrette′s radar, indicating a submerging submarine.[5] Charrette achieved sonar contact on the submarine and at 00:03 on 4 February 1944 dropped eight depth charges before losing contact.[5] Ordered to assist Charrette, the destroyer escort USS Fair (DE-35) arrived on the scene and at 00:40 fired a salvo of 10 Hedgehog projectiles.[5] Charrette and Fair heard and felt four explosions, which sank the submarine — probably I-175 — 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) northwest of Jaluit Atoll at 06°48′N 168°08′E / 6.800°N 168.133°E.[4][5]
Most Japanese sources claim that Charrette and Fair sank Ro-39 on 4 February 1944 and that the destroyer USS Nicholas (DD-449) sank I-175 on 17 February 1944 northwest of the Marshall Islands at 10°34′N 173°31′E / 10.567°N 173.517°E.[5]
On 26 March 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared I-175 to be presumed lost with all 100 hands in the Kwajalein area.[4][5] The Japanese struck her from the Navy List on 10 July 1944.[4][5]
Notes
- ^ Carpenter & Polmar, p. 96
- ^ Chesneau, p. 198
- ^ a b Bagnasco, p. 183
- ^ 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 I-175 ijnsubsite.com November 25, 2018 Accessed 6 May 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 Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (12 June 2010). "IJN Submarine I-175: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ I-168 ijnsubsite.com November 16, 2018 Accessed 4 May 2022
- ^ I-169 ijnsubsite.com November 16, 2018 Accessed 4 May 2022
- ^ I-70 ijnsubsite.com September 16, 2018 Accessed 4 May 2022
- ^ I-73 ijnsubsite.com November 5, 2018 Accessed 4 May 2022
- ^ a b c d I-174 ijnsubsite.com November 25, 2018 Accessed 4 May 2022
- ^ Tully, Anthony (19 May 2014). "IJN Seaplane Carrier CHITOSE: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ "2012 Fleet Review" (PDF). Japan Defense Focus. December 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (12 June 2010). "IJN Submarine I-174: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (January 1, 2014). "IJN Submarine I-123: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Midway: The Approach". pacificeagles.com. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Abbey & Clifford 1980, p. 11.
- ^ Sturma 2011, p. 40.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Cundall, Peter (23 March 2021). "IJN NISSHIN MARU: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
References
- Abbey, Tony; Clifford, Shirley (27 December 1980). "The Attack on the Dureenbee". The Canberra Times. p. 11. Retrieved 29 July 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
- 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.
- Hackett, Bob & Kingsepp, Sander (2001). "IJN Submarine I-175: Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com.
- Sturma, Michael (2011). Surface and Destroy: The Submarine Gun War in the Pacific. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2996-9.