Japanese submarine I-70
![]() I-65, similar to I-70, in 1932.
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History | |
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Name | I-70 |
Builder | Sasebo Naval Arsenal, Sasebo, Japan |
Laid down | 25 January 1933 |
Launched | 14 June 1934 |
Completed | 9 November 1935 |
Commissioned | 9 November 1935 |
Decommissioned | 15 December 1938 |
Recommissioned | by early 1940 |
Homeport | Kure, Japan |
Fate | Sunk 10 December 1941 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | KD6 Type, Kadai type submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 322 ft 10 in (98.4 m) |
Beam | 26 ft 11 in (8.2 m) |
Draught | 15 ft 0 in (4.6 m) |
Propulsion | Twin shaft Kampon 9,000 bhp (6,711 kW)/two stroke diesels |
Speed | |
Range | 14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi)[1] |
Test depth | 230 ft (70 m) |
Complement | 60–84 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
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I-70 was an
Construction and commissioning
I-70 was
Service history
Pre-World War II
On the day of her commissioning, I-70 was attached to the
On 15 December 1938, I-70 was
With her refit complete, I-70 was recommissioned in time to join I-68, I-69, and the submarines
I-69 relieved I-70 as Submarine Division 12 flagship on 26 January 1941, but I-70 resumed her role as division flagship on 30 March 1941.
By 11 November 1941, Submarine Squadron 3 had been assigned to the 6th Fleet′s Advance Force.
As Japanese military forces began to deploy for the opening Japanese offensive of the war, I-70 departed Saeki Bay on the coast of
World War II
First war patrol
Along with the rest of Submarine Squadron 3, I-70 was part of a group of submarines ordered to patrol south of Oahu during the attack on Pearl Harbor, with orders to attack American ships attempting to sortie from Pearl Harbor.[3] The three submarines of Submarine Division 12 were ordered to patrol an area between 25 and 50 nautical miles (46 and 93 km; 29 and 58 mi) south of Oahu, and on 7 December I-70 was operating about 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) off the entrance to Pearl Harbor.[3] The 6th Fleet′s headquarters aboard Katori at Kwajalein attempted to contact her at midnight that night, but she did not respond.[3]
At 01:30 on 9 December 1941, I-70 reported that she was 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) southwest of Diamond Head and had sighted the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) arriving at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.[3] The Japanese never heard from her again.[3]
Loss
At 08:40 on 9 December 1941, the Japanese submarine
After 06:00 on 10 December, an SBD-2 Dauntless dive bomber of U.S. Navy Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6) from Enterprise sighted I-70 on the surface 121 nautical miles (224 km; 139 mi) northeast of Cape Halawa on the eastern end of Molokai and attacked with a 1,000-pound (454 kg) bomb, scoring a near-miss that inflicted damage on I-70 that prevented her from diving.[3] During the afternoon, another VS-6 SBD sighted I-70 on the surface in the same area.[3] While the dive bomber climbed to 5,000 feet (1,524 m) to gain altitude for an attack, I-70 began a slow starboard turn and opened fire on the Dauntless with her 13.2-millimeter machine gun;[3] the Dauntless pilot later incorrectly reported that the submarine fired at his aircraft with two deck guns, although I-70 had only one such gun.[3] The dive bomber attacked, its bomb landing alongside I-70 amidships and blowing several of her crew overboard.[3] I-70 went dead in the water and sank on an even keel at 23°45′N 155°35′W / 23.750°N 155.583°W 45 seconds after the bomb exploded.[3] The Dauntless′s crew observed four men struggling in the water and saw a bubble of oil and foamy water appear on the surface, followed by two more bubbles containing oil and debris.[3]
The 6th Fleet's headquarters was unable to contact I-70, although it continued to try even after the other two submarines of her division returned to Kwajalein.
References
- ^ a b c Jentschura p. 172
- ^ a b c d e f g h i I-70 ijnsubsite.com September 16, 2018 Accessed 11 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 Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (1 April 2016). "IJN Submarine I-70: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ a b I-168 ijnsubsite.com November 16, 2018 Accessed 11 January 2022
- ^ a b I-169 ijnsubsite.com November 16, 2018 Accessed 11 January 2022
- ^ I-168 ijnsubsite.com November 16, 2018 Accessed 4 May 2022
- ^ I-169 ijnsubsite.com September 16, 2018 Accessed 4 May 2022
- ^ I-73 ijnsubsite.com November 5, 2018 Accessed 4 May 2022
- ^ I-174 ijnsubsite.com November 24, 2018 Accessed 4 May 2022
- ^ I-175 ijnsubsite.com November 25, 2018 Accessed 4 May 2022
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (1 April 2016). "IJN Submarine I-73: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2012). "IJN Submarine I-6: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 12 August 2020.