Japanese submarine I-1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Career (Japan) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | I-1 |
| Builder: | Kawasaki, Kobe |
| Commissioned: | 10 Mar 1926 |
| Fate: | wrecked 29 Jan 1943 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | J1 type submarine |
| Displacement: | 2135 tons (surfaced) 2,791 tons(submerged) |
| 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 knots (surface) 8 knots (submerged) |
| Range: | 24,400 nm at 10 knots |
| Complement: | 68 officers and men |
| Armament: |
two 140 mm (5.5 inch) guns, fore and aft (in January 1943 the aft gun was replaced with a 46 foot Daihatsu barge) |
| Notes: | max depth 80 m (260 feet) |
The Japanese submarine I-1 was a J1 type submarine built by Kawasaki, Kobe, for the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was a large cruiser submarine displacing 2,135 tons and was the lead of four boats built in the class.
She was commissioned on 10 Mar 1926 and served in the second world war. On 29 Jan 1943 the New Zealand naval trawlers, Kiwi and Moa, intercepted and wrecked her at Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal.
Contents |
[edit] Her war activity
- 7 Dec 1941: during the attack on Pearl Harbor she was stationed in Kauai Channel to reconnoiter and attack any ships that sortied from the harbour.
- 15 Dec 1941: bombarded Kahului, Maui.
- 31 Dec 1941: shelled the harbor at Hilo, Hawaii.
- 3 Mar 1942: Sinks the 8,806-ton Dutch steamer Siantar enroute to Australia from Java.
- 18 Apr 1942: witnessed the Doolittle raid on Tokyo
- 11 Jun 1942: sets out to patrol the Aleutians.
- 1 Aug 1942: is adapted to a cargo role. Her aft 140 mm (5.5 inch) gun is removed to make room for a 46 foot Daihatsu barge.
- 26 Oct 1942: New Guinea, evacuates Japanese troops from Goodenough Island to Rabaul.
- 10 Jan 1943: receives her Daihatsu barge.
- 20 Jan 1943: Arrives at Rabaul and loads rice, bean paste, curry, ham and sausages, all in rubber containers, into the Daihatsu barge. The three-man crew of the barge is also embarked.
- 24 Jan 1943: The I-1 departs Rabaul for Buin to pick up supplies for a resupply mission to Guadalcanal.
[edit] Her wrecking
Extracts from the Record of Movement for HIJMS Submarine I-1 [1]
|
|
On 29 Jan 1943 she encounted the New Zealand naval trawlers, Kiwi and Moa, who in an epic duel rammed and wrecked her in shallow water at Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal. The wreck partially protrudes from the water.
Critical codes remained on board and the Japanese command tried unsuccessfully to destroy the boat with air and submarine attacks. The US Navy salvaged 200,000 pages of intelligence: code books, charts, manuals, and the ship's log.[2]
[edit] Postscript
Circa 1970: An Australian treasure hunter in search of valuable metals blew up the bow section of the I-1. This caused much damage since live torpedoes were still inside. The bow section of the sub is still there, but split open. The front one-third of the submarine is destroyed but the remaining section is still intact. The I-1 lies with her bow in 45 feet and her stern in 90 feet of water.
[edit] Notes
- ^ HIJMS Submarine I-1 Tabular Record of Movement
- ^ Submarine Type J-1
[edit] References
- HIJMS Submarine I-1 Tabular Record of Movement
