The submarines of the KD6B sub-class were very similar to the preceding KD6A sub-class. They displaced1,814 tonnes (1,785 long tons) surfaced and 2,605 tonnes (2,564 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 105 meters (344ft 6in) long and had a beam of 8.2 meters (26ft 11in) and a draft of 4.57 meters (15ft 0in). They had a diving depth of 75m (246ft)[1]
For surface running, the submarines were powered by two 4,500-brake-horsepower (3,356kW)diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 900-horsepower (671kW)electric motor. They could reach 23 knots (43km/h; 26mph) on the surface and 8 knots (15km/h; 9.2mph) underwater.[2] On the surface, the KD3Bs had a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000km; 12,000mi) at 16 knots (30km/h; 18mph); submerged, they had a range of 65nmi (120km; 75mi) at 3 knots (5.6km/h; 3.5mph).[3]
On the day of her commissioning, I-75 was attached to the Kure Naval District and assigned to Submarine Division 11 in Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet.[4] On 15 November 1939, her division was transferred to Submarine Squadron 3, also in the 2nd Fleet.[4]I-75 departed Okinawa on 27 March 1940 in company with the submarines I-68, I-69, I-70, I-73, and I-74 for a training cruise in southern Chinese waters, completing it when the six submarines arrived at Takao, Formosa, on 2 April 1940.[4][6][7][8][9][10] On 11 October 1940, I-75 was one of 98 Imperial Japanese Navy ships that gathered along with more than 500 aircraft on the Japanese coast at Yokohama Bay for an Imperial fleet review — the largest fleet review in Japanese history — in honor of the 2,600th anniversary of the enthronement of the Emperor Jimmu, Japan's legendary first emperor.[4][11][12] On 15 November 1940, Submarine Squadron 3 was reassigned to the 6th Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet.[4]
As Japanese military forces began to deploy for the opening Japanese offensive of the war, I-75 was assigned to the Submarine Advance Force on 11 November 1941 and departed Saeki Bay on the coast of Kyushu that day in company with I-74 bound for Kwajalein Atoll, which the two submarines reached on 20 November 1941.[4][5][13] Assigned to support Operation Z, I-75 got underway from Kwajalein on 23 November 1941 and set course for the Hawaiian Islands.[4][5] While she was en route, she received the message "Climb Mount Niitaka 1208" (Japanese: Niitakayama nobore 1208) from the Combined Fleet on 2 December 1941, indicating that war with the Allies would commence on 8 December 1941 Japan time, which was on 7 December 1941 on the other side of the International Date Line in Hawaii.[5]
World War II
First war patrol
When the attack on Pearl Harbor took place on the morning of 7 December 1941, the submarines of Submarine Squadron 3 were deployed south of Oahu, with orders to reconnoiter the area and attack any ships that sortied from Pear Harbor.[5]I-75′s patrol area was 25 to 50 nautical miles (46 to 93km; 29 to 58mi) southwest of Oahu.[5]
I-75′s stay in Japan ended on 15 April 1942, when she began her second war patrol, departing Kure in company with I-74 to form a patrol line[5] east of Japan.[4] While she was at sea, 16 United States Army Air ForcesB-25 Mitchellbombers launched by the aircraft carrier USSHornet(CV-8) struck targets on Honshu in the Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942,[13] but I-75 made no contact with enemy forces.[13]I-75 and I-74 concluded their patrol with their arrival at Kwajalein on 10 May 1942.[4][5][10][13]
Third war patrol: Midway operation
On 20 May 1942, I-75 was renumbered I-175[4][5] and I-74 became I-174.[10][13] The two submarines departed Kwajalein in company that day to participate in Operation MI, the planned Japanese invasion of Midway Atoll.[5][13] Plans called for them first to support a preliminary phase of the Midway operation, Operation K-2, which called for the Japanese submarines I-121 and I-123 to refuel two Kawanishi H8K (Allied reporting name "Emily") flying boats at the French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands so that the two aircraft could conduct a reconnaissance flight over Pearl Harbor,[14] while I-175 patrolled 80 nautical miles (150km; 92mi) southwest of Oahu to provide weather reports in support of the operation.[5] The aircraft were scheduled to arrive at the French Frigate Shoals on 30 May 1942 and make their Pearl Harbor flight on 31 May.[15] When I-123 arrived off the French Frigate Shoals on 29 May 1942, however, she found the U.S. Navy seaplane tendersUSSBallard(AVD-10) and USSThornton(AVD-11) already operating flying boats there.[14][15] She radioed her news of this sighting after she surfaced that night, and the reconnaissance flight was postponed for a day.[14] When I-123 again observed the French Frigate Shoals on 31 May, she found the American ships still there and noted U.S. Navy flying boats landing in the lagoon, and this news resulted in the Japanese concluding that the U.S. Navy was using the atoll as a base.[15] The Japanese decided to cancel the reconnaissance flights entirely.[14][15]
With their supporting mission for the aircraft cancelled, I-175 and I-174 took patrol stations in support of the scheduled invasion of Midway. The Battle of Midway began on 4 June 1942, and it ended on 7 June 1942 in a decisive Japanese defeat. The Japanese cancelled the invasion of Midway. I-175 made no contact with enemy forces during the battle and concluded her patrol with her arrival at Kwajalein on 20 June 1942.[4][5]
Fourth war patrol
On 8 July 1942, I-175 set out from Kwajalein on her fourth war patrol, assigned a patrol area in the Tasman Sea off the eastern coast of Australia between Sydney and 35 degrees South.[4][5] She arrived off Sydney on 20 July 1942.[5] She was on the surface 20 nautical miles (37km; 23mi) off Newcastle, New South Wales, on 23 July 1942 when she hit the Australian 3,279-gross register ton armed merchant ship Allara with a single torpedo at 33°03′S152°22′E / 33.050°S 152.367°E / -33.050; 152.367.[4][5] As Allara — which was on a voyage from Cairns, Queensland, to Sydney with a cargo of sugar — began to settle by the stern, her crew abandoned ship.[5] She did not sink, however, and eventually she was reboarded and towed to Newcastle.[5]
On 24 July 1942, I-175 torpedoed and damaged the 3,345-gross register ton Australian merchant ship Murada off Crowdy Head, 82 nautical miles (152km; 94mi) northeast of Newcastle.[5] On 26 July 1942, she survived a depth-charge attack by the Royal Australian NavycorvetteHMASCairns, then moved southward.[5] She torpedoed and sank the French 2,795-gross register ton merchant ship Cagou, which was carrying a cargo of nickelore, 160 nautical miles (300km; 180mi) northeast of Newcastle on 28 July 1942.[4][5]
During the predawn hours of 3 August 1942, I-175 was on the surface when she encountered the Australian 233-gross register ton steamtrawlerDureenbee off Moruya, New South Wales, at 35°55′S150°33′E / 35.917°S 150.550°E / -35.917; 150.550 (Dureenbee).[4][5][16] At 01:30, she fired a 120-millimeter (4.7in) round which missed but prompted the surprised Dureenbee to transmit a distress signal.[16] She then opened fire with machine guns, destroying Dureenbee′s radio room and badly wounding her radio operator.[16]I-175′s next two 120-millimeter (4.7in) shells hit Dureenbee, destroying her wheel house and crippling her steam engine, causing her to go dead in the water.[16]I-175 circled Dureenbee for the next 45 minutes, firing her deck gun, before submerging.[16] She resurfaced six minutes later and departed to seaward,[16] leaving the crippled Dureenbee with one crewman dead and two others seriously wounded, both of whom later died of their injuries.[16] A Royal Australian Air Force aircraft sighted Dureenbee at 06:20, and the Australian fishing trawler Mirrabooka with embarked members of the Australian Volunteer Defence Corps later arrived and took off Dureenbee′s crew.[16] On 4 August 1942, Mirrabooka found the abandoned Dureenbee aground on rocks on the coast of New South Wales off the North Head of Batemans Bay, but attempts to tow her off failed and salvage attempts were abandoned.[16] During and after World War II, some authors described I-175′s attack on the unarmed Dureenbee as a war crime, but in fact Allied submarines made similar attacks on Japanese fishing vessels throughout the war as a way of attacking Japan's war economy[17] and because such vessels sometimes served as early-warning pickets for Japanese military forces.
I-175 departed Rabaul for to begin her fifth war patrol on 22 August 1942, assigned a patrol area southeast of Guadalcanal extending from the Rennell Island area eastward to the waters southeast of San Cristobal.[4][5] She reconnoitered the anchorage at Lungga Roads off Lungga Point on the north coast of Guadalcanal on 11 September 1942.[5] The patrol otherwise was uneventful, and she concluded it with her arrival at Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands on 21 September 1942.[4][5]
Sixth war patrol
On 16 October 1942, I-175 got underway from Truk for her sixth war patrol,[4][5] ordered to form a patrol line with I-174[5] and patrol an area in the Solomon Islands southeast of the Indispensable Reefs and Shortland Islands.[4]I-175 and I-174 later were ordered to leave their patrol areas and join the submarines I-172 and Ro-34 in an attempt to intercept an American convoy,[5] but I-175 did not encounter enemy ships. She returned to Truk on 19 November 1942[4][5] and was assigned that day to the B Patrol Unit with I-174 and the submarines I-9, I-15, I-21, and I-24.[5]
November 1942–May 1943
On 20 November 1942, I-175 suffered damage in an anchorage in Truk Lagoon south of Eten Island (known to the Japanese as "Takeshima") in a collision with the 16,764-gross register ton oilerNisshin Maru[4][5] and was run aground to prevent her from sinking.[18] After she was refloated, I-175 departed Truk on 27 November 1942 bound for Kure, Japan,[4][5] which she reached on 4 December 1942.[4] She moved to Yokosuka, Japan, on 5 December 1942 for repairs.[4][5] During her stay in Yokosuka, Submarine Division 11 was disbanded on 15 March 1943 and she was reassigned to Submarine Division 12, also in Submarine Squadron 3.[4][5]
Aleutian Islands campaign
As I-175′s repairs were being completed, Japan's fortunes in the Aleutian Islands campaign waned as United States Army forces landed on Attu in the Aleutian Islands on 11 May 1943,[5] beginning the Battle of Attu. As the fighting on Attu raged, I-175 put to sea from Kure on 17 May 1943[4][5] to support Japanese forces in the Aleutians. On 21 May 1943, the Japanese Imperial General Staff decided to evacuate the Japanese garrison on Kiska, but on 24 May I-175 and the submarines I-169 and I-171 received orders to operate in an area 200 nautical miles (370km; 230mi) south of Kiska to support a planned Japanese counter-landing on Attu.[5] The Battle of Attu concluded on 30 May 1943 with the annihilation of the Japanese garrison before the counter-landing could take place. I-175 proceeded to Paramushiro in the northern Kurile Islands.[4]
On 5 June 1943,[4]I-175 departed Paramushiro on a supply run to Kiska, where she unloaded one ton of ammunition and 15 tons of food and embarked 60 passengers.[4][5] She then returned to Paramushiro, where she arrived on 10 June 1943[4][5] and refueled from the oiler Teiyō Maru on 11 June 1943.[5] On 13 June 1943 she began another run to Kiska, calling there on 17 June to deliver 16 tons of supplies and embark 70 passengers, and returning to Paramushiro on 20 June 1943.[4][5]
I-175 departed Paramushiro on 24 June 1943 to begin her eighth war patrol, ordered to attack Allied shipping in the North Pacific Ocean in an area 200 nautical miles (370km; 230mi) south of Amchitka with I-171.[4][5] While she was on patrol, the Japanese evacuated their garrison on Kiska on 28 July 1943. She made no contact with enemy forces and concluded the patrol by heading back to Japan, arriving at Kure on 10 August 1943.[4][5]
Ninth war patrol: USS Liscome Bay
I-175 got underway from Kure on 19 September 1943 and arrived at Truk on 25 September.[5] She departed Truk on 16 October 1943 to begin her ninth war patrol, assigned a patrol area in the vicinity of Wake Island.[5] On 20 October 1943, the submarine I-36 reported a large Allied convoy south of the Hawaiian Islands heading west, and I-175 and the submarines I-19, I-35, and I-169 received orders to intercept the convoy, but I-175 failed to make contact.[5]
I-175 was heading back to Truk on 20 November 1943 when the U.S. offensive phase of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign began on 20 November 1943 with the U.S. landings on Tarawa, beginning the Battle of Tarawa, and on Butaritari (erroneously referred to as "Makin Atoll" by U.S. forces), beginning the Battle of Makin,[5] and she received orders to make for Butaritari at flank speed.[5] She arrived off Butaritari on 24 November 1943 as U.S. Navy forces began their withdrawal after the U.S. seizure of the atoll, and as she approached a U.S. Navy task force that day was 20 nautical miles (37km; 23mi) off Butaritari when the U.S. Navy battleshipUSSNew Mexico(BB-40) detected her on radar at dawn.[5] She submerged and avoided an attack by U.S. forces.[5] She continued her approach, and at 05:10 fired four torpedoes at the task force. Two of them missed the escort carrierUSSCoral Sea(CVE-57), but one hit the escort carrier USSLiscome Bay, which was making 15 knots (28km/h; 17mph) and preparing to launch aircraft.[5] It struck Liscome Bay on her starboard aft of her after engine room, detonating her bomb storage magazine.[5]Liscome Bay′s stern disintegrated in a tremendous explosion and some debris and body parts struck New Mexico, which was steaming 1 nautical mile (1.9km; 1.2mi) away.[5] At 05:24, the destroyer USSKimberly(DD-521) gained sound contact on I-175 and attacked her with depth charges at 05:34.[5]
On 26 November 1943, I-175 transmitted a report that she had survived a six-hour counterattack on 24 November by two destroyers which had dropped 34 depth charges, six of which had detonated close aboard.[5] She claimed three Type 95 torpedo hits on an aircraft carrier which probably had sunk.[5] On 27 November 1943, she reported that the depth charges had inflicted damage that limited her diving depth.[5] After calling at Kwajalein overnight on 27–28 November 1943 to refuel,[4][5] she proceeded to Truk, which she reached on 1 December 1943.[4][5] Her commanding officer Nao Tobata (田畑直)[ja] received a personal citation on 8 January 1944 from the commander of the 6th Fleet, Vice AdmiralTakeo Takagi.[5]
Tenth war patrol
I-175 got underway from Truk on 27 January 1944 with the commander of Submarine Division 12 embarked to begin her tenth war patrol, making for a patrol area northeast of the Marshall Islands.[4][5] While she was at sea, the next phase of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign began when U.S. forces landed on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur (beginning the Battle of Kwajalein) and on Majuro.[5] The same day, I-175 and the submarine Ro-39 received orders to proceed to Wotje Atoll in the Marshalls at flank speed.[5] On 3 February 1944, I-175 reconnoitered Wotje Atoll.[5]
Loss
The battleship USSNew Jersey(BB-62) detected a vessel on radar east of Wotje at 22:03 on 3 February at a range of 21 nautical miles (39km; 24mi).[5] Ordered to detach from the screen and investigate, the destroyer USSCharrette(DD-581) closed with the contact.[5] At a range of 10,300 yards (9,400m), the contact disappeared from Charrette′s radar, indicating a submerging submarine.[5]Charrette achieved sonar contact on the submarine and at 00:03 on 4 February 1944 dropped eight depth charges before losing contact.[5] Ordered to assist Charrette, the destroyer escortUSSFair(DE-35) arrived on the scene and at 00:40 fired a salvo of 10 Hedgehog projectiles.[5]Charrette and Fair heard and felt four explosions, which sank the submarine — probably I-175 — 100 nautical miles (190km; 120mi) northwest of Jaluit Atoll at 06°48′N168°08′E / 6.800°N 168.133°E / 6.800; 168.133 (I-175).[4][5]
On 26 March 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared I-175 to be presumed lost with all 100 hands in the Kwajalein area.[4][5] The Japanese struck her from the Navy List on 10 July 1944.[4][5]
I-68, later renumbered I-168, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai–type cruiser submarine of the KD6 sub-class commissioned in 1934. She served in World War II, operating in support of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and taking part in the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, and the Aleutian Islands campaign before she was sunk in 1943. She is best known for her achievements during the Battle of Midway when, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Yahachi Tanabe, she sank the only United States Navy warships lost in the battle: the already badly damaged aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) and the destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412).
I-26 was an Imperial Japanese Navy B1 type submarine commissioned in 1941. She saw service in the Pacific War theatre of World War II, patrolling off the West Coast of Canada and the United States, the east coast of Australia, and Fiji and in the Indian Ocean and taking part in Operation K, preparatory operations for the Aleutian Islands campaign, and the Guadalcanal campaign, the Marianas campaign, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. She was the first Japanese submarine to sink an American merchant ship in the war, sank the first ship lost off the coast of State of Washington during the war, damaged the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3), sank the light cruiser USS Juneau (CLAA-52), and was the third-highest-scoring Japanese submarine of World War II in terms of shipping tonnage sunk. Her bombardment of Vancouver Island in 1942 was the first foreign attack on Canadian soil since 1870. In 1944, I-26′s crew committed war crimes in attacking the survivors of a ship she sank. She was sunk in November 1944 during her ninth war patrol.
The second I-24 was one of five Type C cruiser submarines of the C1 sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. During World War II, she operated as the mother ship for a midget submarine during the attack on Pearl Harbor and the attack on Sydney Harbour, supported Japanese forces during the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, and served in the Guadalcanal campaign, New Guinea campaign, and Aleutian Islands campaign. She was sunk in June 1943.
I-74, later I-174, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai type cruiser submarine of the KD6B sub-class commissioned in 1938. During World War II, she took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, the New Guinea campaign, and the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign and operated off Australia before she was sunk during her ninth war patrol in 1944.
I-9 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type A1 submarine commissioned in 1941. She saw service during World War II, including operations related to the attack on Pearl Harbor, a patrol off the United States West Coast, and in Operation K. She also took part in the Aleutians campaign and the Guadalcanal campaign before she was sunk in June 1943.
I-10 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type A1 submarine that served during World War II. Designed as a submarine aircraft carrier, she was commissioned in 1941 and supported the attack on Pearl Harbor, operated in the Indian Ocean — including support for the 1942 midget submarine attack on Diego Suarez — and in the New Caledonia and New Zealand areas, and took part in the Guadalcanal campaign and Marianas campaign before she was sunk in 1944 during her seventh war patrol.
I-11 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type A1 submarine that served during World War II. Designed as a submarine aircraft carrier and submarine squadron flagship, she was commissioned in 1942. She participated in the Guadalcanal campaign and patrolled off Australia, New Caledonia, and the Ellice Islands before she disappeared in 1944 during her sixth war patrol. She badly damaged the Royal Australian Navy light cruiser HMAS Hobart in 1943.
I-73 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai type cruiser submarine of the KD6A sub-class commissioned in 1937 that served during World War II. One month after participating in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she was sunk by the United States Navy submarine USS Gudgeon (SS-211) in January 1942.
I-159, originally I-59, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD3B sub-class in commission from 1930 to 1945. During World War II, she made two war patrols in the Indian Ocean, took part in the Battle of Midway, and served as a training submarine before ending the war as a kaiten suicide attack torpedo carrier. She surrendered at the end of the war and was scuttled in 1946.
I-56, later I-156, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD3B sub-class commissioned in 1929. During World War II, she supported Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya in December 1941, the Dutch East Indies campaign in early 1942, and the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Except for brief service in the Aleutian Islands campaign in 1943, she subsequently served on training duties until selected for use as a kaiten manned suicide torpedo carrier in 1945. She surrendered to the Allies in 1945 after the end of the war and was scuttled in 1946.
I-57, later I-157, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-class cruiser submarine commissioned in 1929. During World War II, she supported Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya in December 1941, the Dutch East Indies campaign in early 1942, and the Battle of Midway in June 1942. She then served on training duties — except for a brief period of participation in the Aleutian Islands campaign in 1943 — until she was converted into a kaiten manned suicide attack torpedo carrier in 1945. She surrendered to the Allies at the end of the war in 1945 and was scuttled in 1946.
I-69, later I-169, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD6 sub-class commissioned in 1935. She served in World War II, during which she conducted six war patrols and took part in operations supporting the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, the Aleutians campaign, and the defense of the Gilbert Islands. She sank in a diving accident in April 1944.
I-71, later I-171, was a Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD6 sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the 1930s. She served in World War II, and took part in operations supporting the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, and the Aleutian Islands campaign. She was sunk on1 February 1944 after being detected on the surface by U.S. Navy destroyers off Buka Island.
I-123, originally named Submarine No. 50 then renamed I-23 from before her construction began until June 1938, was an I-121-class submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy that 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 the Philippines, the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, and the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. She was sunk in 1942.
I-6 was an Imperial Japanese Navy J2 type submarine commissioned in 1935. She was a large cruiser submarine that 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, torpedoed the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3), conducted anti-shipping patrols in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign and New Guinea campaign before she was sunk in June 1944.
I-18 was one of five Type C cruiser submarines of the C1 sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. During World War II, 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 before she was sunk in February 1943.
Ro-36 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in May 1943, she served in World War II, conducting four war patrols in the Pacific Ocean before she was sunk in June 1944.
Ro-37 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in June 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk during her second war patrol in January 1944.
Ro-40 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in September 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk in February 1944 during her first war patrol.
Ro-42 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in August 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk in June 1944 during her third war patrol.
Sturma, Michael (2011). Surface and Destroy: The Submarine Gun War in the Pacific. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN978-0-8131-2996-9.
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