Japanese submarine I-18
I-18, ca. January 1941.
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History | |
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Empire of Japan | |
Name | Submarine No. 38 |
Builder | Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Sasebo, Japan |
Laid down | 25 August 1937 |
Launched | 12 November 1938 |
Renamed | I-18 |
Completed | 31 January 1941 |
Commissioned | 31 January 1941 |
Fate | Sunk 11 February 1943 |
Stricken | 1 April 1943 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type C1 submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 109.3 m (358 ft 7 in) overall |
Beam | 9.1 m (29 ft 10 in) |
Draft | 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 100 m (330 ft) |
Crew | 95 |
Armament |
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Notes | Fitted to carry 1 × Type A midget submarine |
I-18 was one of five
Design and description
The Type C submarines were derived from the earlier KD6 sub-class of the
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 6,200-
The boats were armed with eight internal bow 53.3 cm (21.0 in)
Construction and commissioning
Ordered under the
Service history
Pre-World War II
Upon commissioning, I-18 was attached to the Yokosuka Naval District, assigned to Submarine Division 2 in Submarine Squadron 1 in the 6th Fleet[4] In the autumn of 1941, she underwent conversion into a mother ship for a Type A midget submarine.[5][6] The submarines I-16, I-20, I-22, and I-24 also underwent the conversion.[5] By 15 November 1941, I-18 was a part of Submarine Division 3 — which also included I-19 and I-20 — in Submarine Squadron 1 in the 6th Fleet.[6]
At the Kure Navy Club in Kure, Japan, on 17 November 1941, the commander of Submarine Division 3 briefed the commanding officers of the five converted submarines on the upcoming attack on Pearl Harbor and on the role of their submarines in it.[4] He had been designated the commander of the Special Attack Unit, made up of all five submarines, each of which was to launch a Type A midget submarine off Pearl Harbor so that the midget submarines could participate in the attack.[4][5] I-22 was to serve as flagship of the Special Attack unit.[4]
On 18 November 1941, the five submarines moved from Kure to the Kamegakubi Naval Proving Ground, where each embarked a Type A midget submarine.[4] At 02:15 on 19 November 1941, the five submarines got underway from Kamegakubi bound for the Hawaiian Islands,[4] taking a direct route that took them south of Midway Atoll.[4] While at sea, they 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.[4]
World War II
Pearl Harbor
At 02:15 on 7 December 1941, I-18 launched her midget submarine, No. 17, south of Oahu about 13 nautical miles (24 km; 15 mi) from the entrance to Pearl Harbor.[4] No. 17 was depth charged and sunk with the loss of its two-man crew outside the harbor in Keehi Lagoon.[4] Its wreck was discovered resting in 75 feet (23 m) of water on 13 June 1960, and the United States Navy submarine rescue ship USS Current (ARS-22) refloated it on 6 July 1960, finding no human remains inside.[4] At the request of the Government of Japan, the United States returned the wreck to Japan, where it is displayed at the Naval Academy Etajima in Etajima.[4]
I-18 and the other four "mother" submarines proceeded to the planned recovery area for their midget submarines west of
First war patrol
On 4 January 1942, I-18, I-22, and I-24 departed Kwajalein to begin their first war patrol, assigned patrol areas off the Hawaiian Islands, with the commander of Submarine Division 2 embarked on I-18.
On 18 January 1942, I-18, I-22, and I-24 received orders to depart their patrol areas,[4][5][6] the orders calling for I-18 and I-24 to make for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and bombard Midway Atoll.[4][6] On 24 January 1942, I-18 conducted a periscope reconnaissance of Midway,[4] and on 25 January 1942, the two submarines surfaced in darkness off Midway to begin their bombardment.[4][6] I-24 opened fire with her 140-millimeter (5.5 in) deck gun,[4][6] and United States Marine Corps coastal artillery promptly returned fire, forcing I-24 to submerge after firing only six rounds.[4][6] I-18 also submerged without ever having opened fire on the atoll.[4][6]
After the bombardment attempt, I-18 and I-24 as well as I-22 set course for Japan. Unknown to them, the U.S. submarine USS Gudgeon (SS-211) had received Ultra intelligence information alerting her to their activities and routes.[4] She did not sight any of them, but while searching for them she encountered and sank the submarine I-73, which was following the same route, 240 nautical miles (440 km; 280 mi) west of Midway on 27 January 1942.[4] I-18 arrived at Yokosuka along with I-22, I-24, and the submarines I-4, I-5, I-6, and I-7 on 2 February 1942.[4][6]
February–April 1942
After her port call at Yokosuka, I-18 moved to Kure, then departed Kure on 18 March 1942.[4] She remained in Japan into April 1942.[4]
During I-18′s stay in Japan, the
During the detachment's voyage, 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.[4] The detachment received orders from the 6th Fleet that day to divert from its voyage and head northeast, passing north of the Bonin Islands, to intercept the U.S. Navy task force that had launched the strike.[4] The detachment failed to find the U.S. ships and soon resumed its voyage.
I-30 and Aikoku Maru called at Penang from 20 April to 22 April 1942 before heading into the Indian Ocean to conduct an advance reconnaissance of the "A" Detachment's planned operating area.
Indian Ocean operation
I-18 and the other "A" detachment units got underway from Penang on 30 April 1942, headed westward into the Indian Ocean with I-10 serving as the detachment's flagship.[4] The submarines refueled at sea from Aikoku Maru and Hōkoku Maru on 5, 10, and 15 May 1942.[4] I-18 suffered a mishap on 17 May when her port diesel engine flooded in heavy seas and four of its cylinders seized, damage which prevented her from reaching the launch area for the midget submarines on schedule.[4]
I-10′s
After the midget submarine attack, the "A" detachment began anti-shipping operations.
On 2 July 1942, I-18 attacked the
I-18 conducted a reconnaissance of Rodrigues on 20 July and of Diego Garcia on 31 July 1942, then proceeded to Penang.[4] As she neared Penang on 2 August 1942, she detected an unidentified enemy — probably Royal Navy — submarine stalking her, but she arrived at Penang safely later that day.[4] She later set course for Japan, arriving at Yokosuka on 23 August 1942 to undergo an overhaul.[4]
Guadalcanal campaign
By mid-November 1942, the Japanese had decided to organize a system of submarine supply runs to
I-18 made three supply runs to Guadalcanal, in each case dropping her cargo off at Cape Esperance on the island's northwest coast.[4] She delivered 15 tons of cargo in supply drums on 5 January 1943[4] and 25 tons in supply drums on 11 January 1943.[4] On 22 January 1943, she departed Truk on her last supply run, delivering 18 tons of cargo in a supply container at Cape Esperance on 26 January 1943.[4]
On 28 January 1943, I-18 was attached to Submarine Force "A".[4] She deployed to waters north of Rennell Island and south of Guadalcanal, where she formed a patrol line with the submarines I-11 — which served as the force's flagship — I-16, I-17, I-20, I-25, I-26, I-32, and I-176, targeting any Allied naval forces attempting to interfere with Operation Ke, the Japanese evacuation of their forces on Guadalcanal.[4] On 2 February 1943, Submarine Force A received orders to intercept a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier task force 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) southeast of San Cristobal, but they failed to find the task force.[4]
The Japanese completed Operation Ke on 8 February 1943. That day, Submarine Force A received orders to intercept a U.S. Navy force 150 nautical miles (280 km; 170 mi) south-southeast of Rennell Island.[4] Two of the submarines, including I-18, found and engaged the American force before losing contact with it.[4] Later that day, the commander of Submarine Force A ordered all its submarines except for I-11 and I-17 to proceed to Truk.[4]
Loss
On 11 February 1943, I-18 reported sighting an American task force in the
The Japanese declared I-18 missing on the day she was sunk.[4] She was struck from the Navy list on 1 April 1943.[4]
After World War II, the U.S.
Notes
- ^ Bagnasco, p. 192
- ^ a b Chesneau, p. 201
- ^ a b Carpenter & Dorr, p. 104
- ^ 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 Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2017). "IJN Submarine I-18: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2015). "IJN Submarine I-22: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2017). "IJN Submarine I-24: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2012). "IJN Submarine I-30: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
References
- 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.
- Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander. "IJN Submarine I-18: Tabular Record of Movement". Sensuikan!. combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- Hashimoto, Mochitsura (1954). Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet 1942 – 1945. Colegrave, E.H.M. (translator). London: Cassell and Company. ASIN B000QSM3L0.
- Stille, Mark (2007). Imperial Japanese Navy Submarines 1941-45. New Vanguard. Vol. 135. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-090-1.