Japanese submarine I-201
I-201 off Sasebo, Japan, on 9 November 1945.
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History | |
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Empire of Japan | |
Name | I-201 |
Builder | Kure Naval Arsenal, Kure, Japan |
Laid down | 1 March 1944 |
Launched | 22 July 1944 |
Completed | 2 February 1945 |
Commissioned | 2 February 1945 |
Fate |
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General characteristics | |
Class and type | I-201-class submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 79 m (259 ft 2 in) |
Beam | 5.8 m (19 ft 0 in) |
Draft | 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 110 m (360 ft) |
Complement | 31 |
Armament |
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I-201 was the
Design and description
The I-201-class submarines were derived from the experimental high-speed Submarine No.71. They displaced 1,291 long tons (1,312 t) surfaced and 1,450 long tons (1,473 t) submerged. The submarines were 79 meters (259 ft 2 in) long, had a beam of 5.8 meters (19 ft 0 in) and a draft of 5.4 meters (17 ft 9 in). They were the deepest-diving Japanese submarines of the World War II, with a diving depth of 110 m (360 ft).[1]
For surface running, the submarines were powered by two 1,375-
The submarines were armed with four internal bow 53.3 cm (21.0 in)
Construction and commissioning
Ordered as Submarine No. 4501,
Service history
World War II
Upon commissioning, I-201 was attached to the Kure Naval District[4] and assigned to Submarine Division 33 in the Kure Submarine Squadron[4][5] for performance tests.[5] She was reassigned on 15 April 1945 to Submarine Squadron 11 in the 6th Fleet[4][5] and on 15 June 1945 to Submarine Division 34 in the 6th Fleet.[4][5]
On 15 August 1945, I-201 was at Maizuru, Japan, with her sister ships I-202 and I-203 when she was reassigned to Submarine Division 15 in the 6th Fleet.[4][5] The same day, hostilities between Japan and the Allies came to an end.[5] Japan formally surrendered in a ceremony aboard the United States Navy battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945,[5] and I-201 surrendered to the Allies[4][5] at Maizuru that day.[4]
Postwar
In November 1945, I-201 departed Maizuru bound for
At 07:30 on 13 January 1946, I-201 and I-203 got underway from Sasebo in company with Euryale and the
The vessels departed Guam on 25 January 1946 on the next leg of their voyage.[5] I-201 again suffered engine failure at 09:00 on 26 January, so Current took her in tow,[5] and the vessels reached Eniwetok on 31 January 1946.[5] The formation commander decided to skip the planned stop at Johnston Atoll and proceed directly from Eniwetok to Pearl Harbor.[5] A direct trip from Eniwetok to Pearl Harbor exceeded I-201′s and I-203′s range, so he ordered the two submarines to be towed.[5] At 07:00 on 2 February 1946, the vessels left Eniwetok, with Euryalus towing I-201.[5] The formation arrived at Pearl Harbor on 13 February 1946, and I-201 and I-203 entered a caretaker status there with skeleton crews while the U.S. Navy studied their design.[5]
Disposal
With postwar relations with the Soviet Union deteriorating rapidly and concerns growing in the United States that under postwar agreements the Soviets would demand access to the captured Japanese submarines that would provide the Soviet Navy with valuable information about advanced Japanese submarine designs,[5][6] the U.S. Navy issued orders on 26 March 1946 to sink all captured Japanese submarines.[5] Accordingly, the U.S. Navy sank I-201 as a target in tests of the Mark 9 exploder off Pearl Harbor on 23 May 1946.[5] She sank at 10:58 at 21°13′N 158°08′W / 21.217°N 158.133°W after the submarine USS Queenfish (SS-393) hit her with a Mark 18 Mod 2 torpedo.[5]
Discovery of wreck
During a search sponsored by the
The submersibles returned to the sea bottom on 17 February 2009 to carry out an extensive survey of both wrecks.[5] Their crews found both submarines broken into two pieces, with I-14′s bow lying equidistant from her main hull section and I-201′s bow,[5] and I-201′s main hull section about an equal distance from I-201′s bow.[5] The submersibles found I-201′s bow lying on its port side and neatly sheared off from the main hull section, which sat at a 45-degree angle.[5] The aft retractable deck gun was bent but visible, and the submersible crews could see the forward retractable deck gun through its opening in the deck.[5] Unusually, much of the wood planking on the top deck — largely or totally absent in other Japanese submarine wrecks in the area — still existed.[5]
Researchers announced the discovery of the wrecks of I-14 and I-201 on 12 November 2009.
In November 2023 EV Nautilus surveyed the wreck, providing photos of the wreck itself and of a dud torpedo nearby the wreck. [citation needed]
Notes
- ^ Carpenter & Dorr, p. 116
- ^ Chesneau, p. 202
- ^ Bagnasco, p. 195
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "I-201 ex No-4501". iijnsubsite.info. 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ 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 (2011). "IJN Submarine I-201: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d Fountain, Henry (November 12, 2009). "2 Japanese Subs Are Found in Waters Off Hawaii". New York Times. New York. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
References
- 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 (2012). "IJN Submarine I-201: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
External links