Japanese submarine I-6
I-6 in 1935 or 1936.
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History | |
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Imperial Japanese Navy | |
Name | I-6 |
Builder | Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation, Kobe, Japan |
Laid down | 14 October 1932 |
Launched | 31 March 1934 |
Completed | 15 May 1935 |
Commissioned | 15 May 1935 |
Decommissioned | 15 December 1938 |
Recommissioned | by 1 April 1939 |
Fate | Sunk 16 June 1944 (see text) |
Stricken | 10 September 1944 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | J2 type submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 98.50 m (323 ft 2 in) |
Beam | 9.06 m (29 ft 9 in) |
Draft | 5.31 m (17 ft 5 in) |
Depth | 7.58 m (24 ft 10 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 80 m (262 ft) |
Boats & landing craft carried | 1 x Daihatsu (added August 1942–February 1943) |
Complement | 80 officers and men |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 1 x Yokosuka E6Y1 (until mid-1940) |
Aviation facilities | Hangar, catapult (both removed mid-1940) |
I-6 was an
Design
I-6 was the only Junsen II- (or "J2"-) type submarine. After the four Junsen I-type submarines (I-1, I-2, I-3, and I-4), the Japanese had built I-5 as a modified Junsen I, introducing an aviation capability to the Junsen type with the inclusion of a hangar that allowed I-5 to carry and operate a floatplane. I-6 represented the next step in the evolution of this aviation capability, as she had both a hangar and a catapult for a floatplane. The next and last Junsen-type submarines, I-7 and I-8, the only Junsen III-type submarines, also each had a hangar and catapult for a floatplane.
Construction and commissioning
Built by
Service history
1935–1937
Upon commissioning, I-6 was attached to the
On 1 December 1936, I-6 returned to duty in Submarine Division 8 in Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet.
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.[8] In an effort to reduce international tensions over the conflict in China, Japan withdrew its submarines from Chinese waters in December 1938.[8]
1938–1941
Remaining a unit of Submarine Division 8, I-6 was placed in Second Reserve in the Yokosuka Naval District on 15 December 1938,[1] then on 1 April 1939 began an assignment at the Torpedo School in the Yokosuka Naval District at Yokosuka.[1] In mid-1940, her hangar and catapult were removed,[2] and thereafter she did not operate aircraft. Submarine Squadron 2, including I-6, was resubordinated to the 6th Fleet on 15 November 1940.[1][2]
On 10 November 1941 — by which time I-4, I-5, I-6, and the submarine
World War II
First war patrol
On 7 December 1941, the submarines of Submarine Squadron 2 took up patrol stations across a stretch of the
On 9 January 1942, the submarine
On 12 January 1942, I-6 departed her patrol area bound for
Second war patrol
While I-6 was at Yokosuka, Submarine Squadron 2 — consisting of I-1, I-2, I-3, I-4, I-6, and the squadron flagship, I-7 — was assigned to the
Third war patrol
Orders arrived from the
At 16:35 on 31 March 1942, I-6 was in the Indian Ocean off
While on the surface at around 16:00 on 7 April 1942, I-6 encountered the British 5,424-ton merchant ship Bahadur — bound from Bombay to Basra, Iraq, with a cargo of 5,100 tons of government stores and ammunition — in the Arabian Sea 170 nautical miles (310 km; 200 mi) northwest of Bombay.[1][2] I-6 submerged and fired torpedoes, but Bahadur′s crew spotted them and Bahadur made a hard turn to starboard, evaded the torpedoes, and attempted to open the range at top speed.[2] I-6 fired two torpedoes from her stern torpedo tubes, but they also missed.[2] She then surfaced and pursued Bahadur, opening fire with her 127-millimeter (5 in) deck gun at a range of 6,570 yards (6,010 m).[2] The gun jammed after firing only one round, and I-6 submerged and gave up the chase.[2] Bahadur suddenly stopped, however, and lowered her lifeboats.[2] I-6 closed and fired two more torpedoes from a position on Bahadur′s port beam.[2] Bahadur sank by the stern at 19:20 at 19°44′N 068°28′E / 19.733°N 68.467°E.[1][2]
I-6 surfaced in the Arabian Sea 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) southwest of Bombay after 08:15 on 10 April 1942 to attack two 150-ton dhows with her deck gun, claiming both of them sunk.[1][2] Her patrol ended with her arrival at Seletar, Singapore, on 17 April 1942.[2] She departed Singapore on 21 April 1942 in company with I-5 to head for Yokosuka, which she reached on 1 May 1942.[2] She underwent repairs there until 6 June 1942.[2]
Fourth war patrol
While I-6 was at Yokosuka, the
On 29 July 1942, an Imperial Japanese Navy
On 15 August 1942, I-6 received orders to return to Japan, and she got underway from Kiska the same day.[2] While she was at sea, both Submarine Squadron 2 and Submarine Division 8 were disbanded, and she and I-5 were reassigned to Submarine Division 7.[2] She arrived at Yokosuka on 23 August 1942 and began an overhaul.[2]
August 1942–February 1943
While I-6 was at Kiska, the six-month
With her overhaul complete, I-6 departed Yokosuka at 10:00 on 16 February 1943 carrying a Daihatsu.[2] She arrived at Truk at 10:15 on 23 February 1943, and later that day the commander of Submarine Squadron 7 came aboard to inspect her.[2] On 26 February 1943 she debarked her Daihatsu and took on fuel, supplies, and ammunition from Hie Maru.[2] She departed her anchorage at 08:00 on 28 February 1943, made a test cruise off Uman Island, and returned at 15:00.[2]
Fifth war patrol
On 2 March 1943, I-6 got underway from Truk for her fifth war patrol, tasked with laying nine German-made TMC
By 12:00 on 11 March 1943, I-6 was 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) northeast of Brisbane.
FRUMEL's reporting prompted instructions to
I-6 was off Cape Byron on 21 March 1943 when she received orders to depart her patrol area and proceed to Rabaul.[2] She sent a situation report at 19:33 that evening which FRUMEL partially decrypted.[2] The Allied interception of I-6′s enciphered communications had led the U.S. Navy to order three submarines — USS Stingray (SS-186), USS Halibut (SS-232), and USS Trigger (SS-237) — to lie in wait for I-6 during her patrol, but none of them sighted her,[11] and she arrived at Rabaul at 07:30 on 27 March 1943.[2]
Unfortunately for the Japanese, I-6′s commanding officer lacked adequate intelligence on Allied shipping patterns when I-6 laid her mines, which were planted in an area rarely visited by Allied ships.
New Guinea campaign
While I-6 was on patrol, a Japanese attempt to carry supplies and reinforcements to
I-6 next called at Lae on 11 April 1943, unloading 26 passengers and 77 supply drums containing 4.4 tons of weapons and ammunition, 19 tons of clothing, and food and embarking 42 passengers for Rabaul.[2] On her third supply run, she visited Lae on 17 April 1943, discharging 28 passengers and 77 supply drums containing four tons of weapons and ammunition and 17 tons of clothing.[2] After embarking 39 passengers, she got back underway for Rabaul.[2] She sighted Allied motor torpedo boats near the Tami Islands during the return trip, but submerged and avoided them.[2] While at Rabaul, she was reassigned on 21 April 1943 to the Northern District Force in the 5th Fleet to support the supply and reinforcement of the Japanese garrisons on Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Islands.[2]
I-6′s redeployment to the North Pacific was deferred, and for the time being she continued her supply runs between Rabaul and Lae. On her fourth run, she delivered 20 passengers and supply drums containing one ton of ammunition, 16 tons of clothing, and 16 tons of food on 24 April 1943 and left for Rabaul with 42 passengers aboard.[2] She visited Lae on her fifth run on 30 April 1943 and dropped off 30 passengers and supply drums holding three tons of weapons and ammunition, 19 tons of clothing, and one ton of food.[2] She embarked 41 passengers and put back to sea.[2] At dawn she sighted Allied motor torpedo boats and spent an hour evading them, but she arrived safely at Rabaul.[2] On her sixth run, she called at Lae on 7 May 1943 to deliver 10 passengers and 77 supply drums carrying 2.8 tons of weapons, four tons of artillery shells, and 13 tons of clothing and pick up 12 passengers.[2]
I-6′s seventh run was more eventful. She arrived at Lae on 13 May 1943, unloaded 10 passengers and supply drums containing 11.5 tons of weapons, five tons of ammunition, and nine tons of food.
On her eighth run, I-6 called at Lae on 21 May 1943 to deliver 5.1 tons of weapons, 5.4 tons of ammunition, 4.6 tons of food, and 31 passengers.[2] She departed for Rabaul after embarking 40 passengers.[2] On her ninth and final run, she visited Lae on 28 May 1943 and dropped off 18 tons of food, 4.3 tons of weapons and medicine, two tons of clothes, a Daihatsu, and 23 passengers.[2] Not scheduled to return to Rabaul, she did not embark passengers.[2] She instead got back underway bound directly for Truk.[2] Reassigned along with I-5 to the 6th Fleet while at sea on 31 May 1943, she stopped at Truk from 1 to 2 June 1943, then proceeded to Yokosuka, which she reached on 8 June 1943.[2] She underwent repairs there.[2]
Sixth and seventh war patrols
In the Aleutian Islands, the Japanese garrison on Attu had been annihilated by invading U.S. forces in the
I-6 departed Paramushiro on 16 August 1943 for her seventh war patrol, assigned a patrol area off Kiska.[2] The patrol was uneventful, and she returned to Paramushiro on 3 September 1943.[2] She got back underway on 5 September 1943 and arrived on 10 September at Yokosuka, where she underwent repairs.[2]
New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago
On 25 October 1943, I-6 was reassigned to the Southeast Area Fleet to resume duties on supply runs to New Guinea and in the Bismarck Archipelago.[2] On 30 October, she departed Yokosuka bound for Rabaul.[2] From Rabaul, she began supply runs to Sio on the Huon Peninsula in New Guinea, calling at Sio on 16 November and 4 December 1943 without incident but coming under attack by Allied aircraft during her third visit on 18 December 1943 while unloading cargo; the attack forced her to depart before she could completely unload, and she returned to Rabaul with some cargo still aboard.[2] She visited Sio for the fourth and final time on 27 December 1943 and early in the morning, just after she began her return voyage to Rabaul, she encountered Allied motor torpedo boats, which depth-charged her.[2] Later that day, Allied aircraft attacked her.[2] She emerged from both attacks unscathed, and on the same day received orders to intercept an Allied convoy.[2] With only two torpedoes aboard, she patrolled in the Dampier Strait from 28 December 1943 to 1 January 1944, but did not find the Allied ships.[2]
On 4 January 1944, I-6 began a new series of supply runs, shuttling between Rabaul and Iboki, New Guinea.[2] Her first and second round trips — from 4 to 10 January 1944, calling at Iboki on 6 January, and from 17 to 21 January 1944, calling at Iboki on 19 January — involved the delivery of supplies.[2] On her third run, in which she departed Rabaul on 28 January 1944, she carried only troops, which she disembarked at Iboki on 30 January 1944, damaging her screws on an uncharted reef in the process.[2] She returned to Rabaul on 1 February 1944, and on that day Submarine Division 7 was attached directly to 6th Fleet headquarters.[2] Her next supply trip saw her depart Rabaul on 3 February 1944 to deliver supplies to Sarmi, New Guinea.[2] She received orders on 5 February 1944 to return to Yokosuka.[2] She got underway from Rabaul on 13 February 1944, called at Lorengau on Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands on 17 February 1944 to deliver a cargo of 12 heavy machine guns and their ammunition, then departed the same day for Yokosuka, which she reached on 29 February 1944 to begin an overhaul.[2]
Loss
On 15 June 1944, the
On 1 July 1944, the Japanese ordered I-6 to rescue Takagi and his staff from their headquarters on Saipan, which was threatened by advancing American forces.[2] When I-6 did not acknowledge receipt of the message, the Japanese declared her missing.[2] Sixth Fleet headquarters made a final attempt to contact her on 3 July 1944.[2]
Alternative accounts of the loss of I-6 claim that Toyokawa Maru sank her off Saipan on 30 June 1944,[10] or that the destroyer escort USS William C. Miller (DE-259) and high-speed transport USS Gilmer (APD-11) sank her 70 nautical miles (130 km; 81 mi) west of Tinian at 15°18′N 144°26′E / 15.300°N 144.433°E on 19 July 1944.[10]
I-6 was stricken from the Navy list on 10 September 1944.[2]
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s I-6 ijnsubsite.com 18 September 2018 Accessed 29 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 er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi fj fk fl fm fn fo fp fq fr Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (6 October 2012). "IJN Submarine I-6: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ a b I-1 ijnsubsite.com 1 July 2020 Accessed 27 January 2022
- ^ a b I-2 ijnsubsite.com 15 April 2018 Accessed 28 January 2022
- ^ a b I-3 ijnsubsite.com 3 May 2018 Accessed 29 January 2022
- ^ a b I-4 ijnsubsite.com 18 May 2018 Accessed 29 January 2022
- ^ a b I-5 ijnsubsite.com 18 May 2018 Accessed 27 January 2022
- ^ a b c d e f g Boyd and Yoshida, p. 54.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Powell, p. 12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Powell, p. 13.
- ^ Boyd and Yoshida, pp. 113–114.
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.
- Powell, Arthur. "War Comes to the Brisbane Sea Approaches, March 1943: Via the IJN Submarine I-6." Boat Talk. February–March 2012.