IJN Submarines All Classes

[Brian James]

Launch day for Type L, L4 Subclass Submarine No 73 (re-named Ro-62 on November 1st 1924), pictured at Mitsubishi Shipyards, Kobe on September 19th 1923....She was in commission at various times from 1923 to 1934, and was recommissioned in 1938. Before WWII, she served in the waters of Japan. During World War II, she took part in the Battle of Wake Island and the Aleutian Islands campaign, then was relegated to a training role in late 1942. After the war ended in 1945, she surrendered to the Allies and was scuttled in the Seto Inland Sea in 1946.

[Brian James]

Kaichū-Type, Kaichū II Subclass Submarine No 23 (re-named Ro-13 on November 1st 1924), pictured fitting out at Kure Naval Arsenal in September 1920. She was commissioned in 1920 and operated in the waters of Japan. She was stricken on April 1st 1932.

[Brian James]

I-121 Class Submarine I-122 pictured on completion at Kobe Naval Arsenal on October 28th 1927...She served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. During the latter conflict, she conducted operations in support of the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, the bombing of Darwin, the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and the New Guinea campaign. From mid-1943 she served as a Training Ship in Japanese waters. On June 9th 1945, I-122 got underway from Maizuru for a training cruise in Nanao Bay in the Sea of Japan. On June 10th 1945, as I-122 zigzagged on the surface in Nanao Bay at 15 knots while returning to her base at Nanao, Balao Class Submarine USS Skate (SS-305) sighted her at 11:20. At 11:44, Skate fired four torpedoes at a range of 800 yards. Two of them hit I-122 amidships, and she sank quickly 6 nautical miles southeast of Rokugo Misaki Lighthouse, there were no survivors. Observers at the lighthouse witnessed the sinking of I-122, but the Japanese did not realize that American Submarines had penetrated the defenses of the Sea of Japan and attributed her loss to the on-board explosion of her own torpedoes.

[Brian James]

Kaichū-Type Submarine, Kaichū III Subclass Submarine No 39 (Renamed Ro-21 on November 1st 1924), pictured testing her electric motors off Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on October 28th 1921.She was commissioned on February 1st 1922 and operated in the waters of Japan. She was stricken in 1934.

[Brian James]

Launch day pictured for Type C, C1 Subclass Cruiser Submarine I-18 at Sasebo Naval Arsenal on July 19th 1939. She operated as the Mother Ship for a Midget Submarine during the attack on Pearl Harbor and the attack of Diego-Suarez, conducted a war patrol in the Indian Ocean, and served in the Guadalcanal campaign. On February 11th 1943, I-18 reported sighting an American task force in the Coral Sea 200 nautical miles south of San Cristobal. An OS2U Kingfisher floatplane of Cruiser Scouting Squadron 9 (VCS-9) from the Light Cruiser USS Helena sighted her about 9 nautical miles from the task force, dropped a smoke marker to indicate her location, and summoned the destroyer USS Fletcher. Fletcher gained sonar contact on I-18 directly ahead at a range of 2,900 yards and dropped depth charges at 15:27. At 15:39, she saw a large bubble of oil and air reach the surface, and she heard a heavy explosion at 15:43. She dropped three more depth charges in the center of the oil slick. After 15:46, she saw cork, wood, and other wreckage rise to the surface in what had become a very large oil slick. It marked the end of I-18, sunk with the loss of all 102 men on board.

[Brian James]

Kaidai Class Cruiser Submarine, KD3A Subclass I-58 pictured on sea trials off Tateyama on November 14th 1927...She supported Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya in December 1941 and was instrumental in tracking Force Z, the two British capital ships that attempted to intercept the Japanese invasion forces, so they could be sunk by torpedo bombers. She sank four Dutch merchant ships in early 1942 during the Dutch East Indies campaign and then was transferred to the Central Pacific in May 1942 to support the fleet during the Battle of Midway in early June 1942. Upon her return to Japan in July 1942, she became a Training Ship until early 1945 when she was modified to serve as a Carrier for Kaiten manned suicide attack torpedoes. She surrendered to the Allies at the end of the war and was scuttled in 1946.

[Brian James]

Kaichū-Type, Kaichū III Subclass Submarine No 38 (Re-named Ro-20 on November 1st 1924), pictured on full power trials in Tokyo Bay on November 17th 1921..She was commissioned in 1922 and operated in Japanese waters, she was stricken in 1934.

[Brian James]

Submarine Tender USS Euryale pictured with captured I-400 Class Submarines I-401 (inboard) and I-400 (outboard) with I-13 Class Submarine 1-14 (centre), at Sasebo Naval Arsenal in November 1945.

[Brian James]

J-1 Type Cruiser Submarine I-4 pictured on completion off Kawasaki Shipyard, Kobe on December 24th 1929...She served in the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. During the latter conflict she operated in support of the attack on Pearl Harbor, conducted anti-shipping patrols in the Indian Ocean, supported the Indian Ocean raid, and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign, Guadalcanal campaign, and New Guinea campaign.....On December 21st 1942 Sargo Class Submarine USS Seadragon, alerted to I-4′s presence by Ultra intelligence information, sighted I-4 at the southern entrance to St. George's Channel off New Ireland about 20 nautical miles from Rabaul, heading north on the surface at 14 knots, at 06:21 on December 21st 1942, misidentifying I-4 as an I-168 Class Submarine, Seadragon described her as painted black and with the number "4" painted on her conning tower. At 06:37, Seadragon fired three Mark 10 Mod 3 torpedoes at a range of 850 yards I-4′s lookouts apparently sighted the approaching torpedoes because I-4 turned in an apparent attempt to comb their wakes. Seadragon′s first torpedo suffered a gyroscope failure and missed ahead and her second torpedo detonated prematurely after running for only 18 seconds. Her third torpedo struck I-4′s stern, resulting in a ball of flames and much smoke. Seadragon saw I-4′s bow rise vertically as she sank by the stern with the loss of all 90 men on board.

[Brian James]

Type C, C1 Subclass Cruiser Submarine I-16 pictured undergoing repairs at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on January 5th 1944....Commissioned at Mitsubishi Shipyards at Kobe in 1940, she deployed a Midget Submarine for the attack on Pearl Harbor and for an attack on ships at Diego-Suarez in Madagascar, conducted an anti-shipping patrol in the Indian Ocean, and took part in the Guadalcanal campaign, New Guinea campaign, and Bougainville campaign...an American patrol plane sighted her on the surface 140 nautical miles northeast of Cape Alexander on Choiseul on May 19th 1944 and alerted the three Destroyer Escorts. England, George, and Raby began a line-abreast sonar sweep, and at 13:35 England detected I-16 on sonar. England attacked I-16 at 13:41 with the first of five 'Hedgehog' spigot mortar barrages. After the last attack, a huge underwater explosion at an estimated depth of 500 feet or more lifted England′s stern 6 inches out of the water, marking the sinking of I-16. The first debris reached the surface 20 minutes later and included shreds of cork, deck planking, pieces of cabinetry, other objects, and finally a sealed rubber container with a bag of rice inside. Almost an hour later, a small oil slick appeared, and by May 20th 1944 it was 6 nautical miles long and 3 nautical miles wide.