Japanese submarine I-2
History | |
---|---|
Imperial Japanese Navy | |
Name | Submarine cruiser No. 75 |
Builder | Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation, Kobe, Japan |
Laid down | 6 August 1923 |
Renamed | I-2 on 1 November 1924 |
Launched | 23 February 1925 |
Completed | 24 July 1926 |
Commissioned | 24 July 1926 |
Decommissioned | 15 November 1929 |
Recommissioned | 15 November 1930 |
Decommissioned | 1 October 1935 |
Recommissioned | 1 December 1936 |
Decommissioned | 15 November 1939 |
Recommissioned | 31 July 1941 |
Fate | Sunk by USS Saufley, 7 April 1944 |
Stricken | 10 June 1944 |
Fate | Sunk 7 April 1944 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | J1 type submarine |
Displacement |
|
Length | 320 ft (98 m) |
Beam | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
Draught | 16.5 ft (5.0 m) |
Propulsion | twin shaft MAN 10 cylinder
4 stroke diesels giving 6000 bhp two electric motors of 2600 ehp |
Speed | 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) (surfaced) 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (submerged) |
Range | 24,400 nmi (45,200 km; 28,100 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Test depth | 80 m (262 ft) |
Complement | 68 officers and men |
Armament |
|
I-2 was an
Construction and commissioning
Built by
Service history
1926–1937
Upon commissioning, I-2 was assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District,[2][3] and she moved from Kobe to Yokosuka before the end of July 1926.[3] On 1 August 1926, she and her sister ship I-1 were assigned to Submarine Division 7 in Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet.[2][3] On 1 July 1927, the division was reassigned to the Yokosuka Defense Division in the Yokosuka Naval District,[2] and on 15 September 1927 it returned to duty in Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet.[2]
On 15 November 1929, I-2 was
On 1 August 1930, Submarine Division 7 began an assignment to Submarine Squadron 1 in the
I-2 got underway from Sasebo, Japan, in company with the other vessels of Submarine Squadron 1 — I-1 and I-3 of Submarine Division 7 and I-4, I-5, and I-6 of Submarine Division 8 — for a training cruise in Chinese waters on 29 March 1935.[2][4][5][6][7][8] The six submarines concluded the cruise with their return to Sasebo on 4 April 1935.[2][4][5][6][7][8] On 1 October 1935, I-2 again was decommissioned and placed in reserve to undergo reconstruction,[3] and on 15 November 1935 her division was reassigned to the Yokosuka Defense Squadron in the Yokosuka Naval District,[2]
While I-2 was out of commission, her American-made K-tube
Second Sino-Japanese War
On 7 July 1937 the first day of the
Submarine Squadron 1 was based at Hong Kong until the autumn of 1938.[9] In an effort to reduce international tensions over the conflict in China, Japan withdrew its submarines from Chinese waters in December 1938.[9]
1938–1941
Submarine Division 7 was reassigned to the Submarine School at Kure, Japan, on 15 December 1938,[2] and was reduced to the Third Reserve in the Yokosuka Naval District on 15 November 1939.[2] While in reserve, I-2 on 20 November 1939 began a refit, during which impulse tanks were installed on her Type 15 torpedo tubes, her collapsible radio masts were removed, and a long-range very-low-frequency receiver.[3] Meanwhile, Submarine Division 7 returned to active service when it was assigned to Submarine Squadron 2 in the 6th Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet, on 15 November 1940.[2][3] After completion of her refit, I-2 was recommissioned on 31 July 1941[2][3] and rejoined her division.
On 10 November 1941, the commander of the 6th Fleet,
World War II
First war patrol
On 7 December 1941, I-2 arrived in her patrol area in the
On 9 January 1942, I-2 was ordered to divert from her patrol and search for the
Second war patrol
While I-2 was at Yokosuka, Submarine Squadron 2 — consisting of I-1, I-2, I-3, I-4, I-6, and I-7 — was assigned to the
On 1 March 1942, I-2 was in the Indian Ocean south of
On 11 March 1942, I-2 sighted the British 4,360-gross register ton armed
Indian Ocean raid
Orders arrived from the
On 7 April 1942 I-2 reported sinking an unidentified merchant ship at 00°48′N 082°18′E / 0.800°N 82.300°E,[3] and she transmitted another weather report on 9 April 1942.[3] Later that day, Japanese carrier aircraft struck Trincomalee.[3] Reassigned to the Advanced Force, I-2 departed her patrol area on 10 April 1942 and proceeded to Singapore, which she reached on 15 April 1942.[3]
April–May 1942
I-2 got underway from Singapore on 21 April 1942 bound for Japan, where she arrived at Yokosuka on 1 May 1942 to undergo a refit.
Third war patrol
The
Guadalcanal campaign
While I-2 was at Yokosuka, the
On 10 October 1942, I-2 was reassigned to the Advance Unit. After sunset on 11 October 1942, she arrived off Kamimbo Bay on the northwest coast of Guadalcanal and unloaded cargo, then proceeded to a patrol area west of Guadalcanal.[3] She developed clutch problems, and her air conditioning system broke down, but she remained on patrol.[3] Operating in Savo Strait on 12 October 1942 in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Cape Esperance, she sighted what she identified as an enemy cruiser — possibly the destroyer USS McCalla (DD-488) rescuing survivors after the battle — at 21:00 and attempted an attack, but could not get into a firing position.[3] About 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) west of Savo Island, she sighted an empty lifeboat and a drifting seaplane float.[3] She returned to Truk on 3 November 1942,[3] and her crew began makeshift repairs there assisted by crewmen from Urakami Maru and Hie Maru.[3]
I-2 was assigned to the "B" Patrol Unit on 15 November 1942.
After embarking the commander of Submarine Division 7, I-2 left Shortland Island on 14 December 1942 bound for Truk.[3] At 13:21 that day, the submarine USS Wahoo (SS-238) sighted I-2 on the surface off Shortland at 06°30′S 156°09′E / 6.500°S 156.150°E in poor visibility amid numerous rain squalls, identifying her at a range of 3,000 yards (2,740 m) by a large Imperial Japanese Navy flag she was flying and by "I 2" painted on her conning tower.[3] At 13:28, Wahoo fired three torpedoes at an estimated range of 800 yards (730 m).[3] Wahoo observed a hit 20 feet (6 m) forward of I-2′s conning tower, and two-and-a-half minutes later Wahoo′s sound operator reported hearing I-2 breaking up as she sank.[3] However, I-2 was unscathed; she heard two large explosions — apparently two of Wahoo′s torpedoes detonating prematurely — and crash-dived, believing herself under attack by an aircraft.[3] After submerging, I-2 heard a third explosion.[3] I-2 continued her voyage to Truk, which she reached on 17 December 1942,[3] but Wahoo received credit for sinking her until an Allied examination of Japanese records after World War II confirmed that I-2 had survived Wahoo′s attack.[3]
After almost a month′s stay at Truk, I-2 got back underway on 16 January 1943, stopped at Rabaul — where she took aboard a Daihatsu — from 16 to 20 January 1943, and then headed for Guadalcanal on her eighth supply run.[3] She arrived off Kamimbo Bay on 26 January but, finding the area heavily patrolled by Allied aircraft and motor torpedo boats, did not attempt to deliver her cargo until the following day.[3] She surfaced after sunset on 27 January 1943 and unloaded 15 tons of cargo before two motor torpedo boats sighted her and forced her to submerge.[3] She headed back for Rabaul[3] and was reassigned to the "A" Patrol Unit on 29 January while at sea.[3]
I-2 arrived at Rabaul on 31 January 1943.[3] That day, the Japanese evacuation of Guadalcanal, Operation Ke, began. By the time it concluded on 9 February, 11,700 Japanese troops had been evacuated and the six-month Guadalcanal campaign finally came to an end.[3] However, I-2 had one more mission to perform at Guadalcanal. Reassigned to "A" Patrol Unit on 7 February 1943, she departed Rabaul on 9 February, stopped briefly at Shortland Island on 11 February and departed the same day with I-1′s torpedo officer aboard and tasked to find and destroy the wreck of I-1,[3] which had run aground and sunk at Kamimbo Bay on 29 January 1943 while in combat with two Royal New Zealand Navy minesweeper corvettes.[11] After sunset on 13 February 1943, she penetrated Kamimbo Bay to a distance of only 1,100 yards (1,010 m) from shore but failed to find I-1′s wreck.[3] On 15 February 1943 she tried again, reaching a point 1.4 nautical miles (2.6 km; 1.6 mi) from the coast before motor torpedo boats attacked her with depth charges.[3] After an aircraft also attacked her at 11:20, she gave up and proceeded to Shortland Island, which she reached on 18 February 1943.[3] She got back underway the same day, called at Truk from 23 to 26 February 1943, and then continued on to Japan, where she arrived at Yokosuka on 5 March 1943 for repairs.[3]
Return to the Aleutians
On 1 April 1943, Submarine Division 7 was reassigned to the
With her repairs complete, I-2 departed Yokosuka at 14:30 on 22 May 1943 bound for Paramushiro, which she reached at 04:07 on 27 May 1943.[3] She departed Paramushiro at 0800 on 30 May 1943 with a cargo of 250 cases of ammunition.[3] Arriving at Kiska at 22:20 on 3 June 1943, she unloaded her cargo, embarked 18 sailors and 24 other personnel, and got back underway at 00:55 on 4 June 1943 bound for Paramushiro.[3] She reached Kataoka Bay at Paramushiro at 19:55 on 8 June 1943.[3] She put back to sea at 14:00 on 11 June with a cargo of antiaircraft ammunition, mail, and six tons of food, beginning a far more eventful voyage to Kiska.[3] On 16 June 1943, while proceeding north on the surface at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) in dense fog after losing her bearings, she nearly ran aground on Buldir Reef, and on 17 June, while she again was on the surface, a radar-equipped Allied surface warship surprised her and opened gunfire on her, scoring a hit in her port boat storage space which, fortunately for I-2, was a dud.[3] I-2 crash-dived and finally escaped after being pursued for seven hours, also quickly controlling a leak that began in her engine room.[3] She arrived at Kiska at 20:05 on 17 June, discharged her cargo, embarked 31 sailors and nine other passengers, and got back underway at 20:45.[3] She made Kataoka Bay at Paramushiro on 22 June 1943.[3]
I-2 departed Paramushiro again at 16:00 on 29 June 1943 in company with the submarines
While undergoing repairs at Yokosuka, I-2 suffered a mishap on 10 September 1943 when she collided with a
New Guinea campaign
On 1 February 1944, I-2′s division, Submarine Division 7, was resubordinated directly to 6th Fleet headquarters.[3] Assigned to support the supply of Japanese forces fighting on New Guinea and nearby islands in the New Guinea campaign, she departed Yokosuka on 10 March 1944 and arrived on 19 March 1944 at Truk, where Fuyo Maru and the submarine chaser CH-20 escorted I-2 and the submarine I-38 into the lagoon.[3] On 26 March 1944, I-2 departed for New Britain, where she arrived at Kimbe Bay on 2 April 1944, unloaded her cargo, and got back underway the same day.[3] She arrived at Rabaul on 4 April 1944, then departed later that day bound for Truk, where she was scheduled to arrive by 11 April 1944.[3]
Loss
I-2 was submerged in the Bismarck Sea 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) west-northwest of New Hanover Island en route Truk when the destroyer USS Saufley (DD-465) detected her on sonar at 06:30 on 7 April 1944.[3] At 06:45 Saufley dropped a pattern of nine depth charges, followed by another pattern of nine at 07:15.[3] Saufley′s sound operator heard two underwater explosions after the second depth charge attack,[3] and Saufley′s crew observed an oil slick on the surface at 07:23.[3] It marked the end of I-2, which sank at 02°17′S 149°14′E / 2.283°S 149.233°E with the loss of her entire crew of 111 men.[3]
On 4 May 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy officially declared I-2 to be presumed lost off New Ireland.[3] She was stricken from the Navy list on 10 June 1944.[3]
References
Footnotes
- ISBN 0-87021-459-4p.191
- ^ 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 I-2 ijnsubsite.com 15 April 2018 Accessed 28 January 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 cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2013). "IJN Submarine I-2: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d I-1 ijnsubsite.com 1 July 2020 Accessed 28 January 2022
- ^ a b c d I-3 ijnsubsite.com 3 May 2018 Accessed 27 January 2022
- ^ a b c d I-4 ijnsubsite.com 18 May 2018 Accessed 27 January 2022
- ^ a b c d I-5 ijnsubsite.com 18 May 2018 Accessed 27 January 2022
- ^ a b c d I-6 ijnsubsite.com 18 September 2019 Accessed 27 January 2022
- ^ a b c d e f g Boyd and Yoshida, p. 54.
- ^ a b Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2012). "IJN Submarine I-3: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2016). "IJN Submarine I-1: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 8 August 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.