History | |
---|---|
Japan | |
Name | I-23 |
Builder | Kure Naval Arsenal |
Laid down | Yokosuka Navy Yard as Submarine No. 41, 8 December 1938 |
Launched | 24 November 1939 |
Commissioned | 27 September 1941 |
Fate | Presumed lost with all 96 hands off Hawaii, 28 February 1942 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type B1 submarine |
Displacement |
|
Length | 108.6 m (356 ft) |
Beam | 9.3 m (31 ft) |
Draft | 5.14 m (16.9 ft) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
|
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | 1 x Watanabe E9W1 Type 96 "Slim" floatplane |
I-23 was a Type B1 submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. After a raid on the West Coast of California she participated in an attempt at a second attack upon Pearl Harbor. After surviving an American air attack on Kwajalein I-23 was lost in early 1942 with all hands somewhere off the Oahu coast of Hawaii. [2]
The submarine was laid down at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 8 December 1938, as Submarine No. 41. She was launched on 24 November 1939 with Shibata Genichi as Chief Equipping Officer, and Commander Shibata as Commanding Officer. She was then assigned to Rear Admiral Sato Tsutomu's SubRon 1 Division, along with I-21 and I-22. [3]
On 9 December 1941 I-6 reported sighting a Lexington-class aircraft carrier, as well as two cruisers, off Oahu. Vice Admiral Shimizu in Katori ordered all of SubRon 1's boats, except the Special Attack Force, to pursue and sink the carrier. By the next day, while proceeding surfaced, I-23's lookouts reported sighting an American patrol plane. While crash diving, I-23 accidentally descended to the depth of 120 m (390 ft). [3]
On 11 December 1941 I-23 was redirected to the West Coast of the United States to raid American shipping in the Monterey Bay area, arriving within 100 miles of its destination on 18 December. [3]
20 miles off Cypress Point, Monterey Peninsula, California. After 1415, I-23 battle-surfaced on the Richfield Oil Company's 6,771-ton tanker SS Agwiworld at 37N, 122W, firing a total of 14 shells, but missed the zigzagging target in rough seas. The Agwiworld then escaped to safety. [3]
On December 24, 1941 I-23 attacked the SS Dorothy Phillips, a cargo ship, off Monterey. The attack damaged the rudder and Dorothy Phillips ran aground. [4]
On 25 December I-23 departed from the West Coast for the Palmyra Island area.
In January, 1942, the IJN General Staff began to develop a plan to raid Pearl Harbor a second time. The objective of the attack was to disrupt ship repair activities.
At Kwajalein, five submarines were selected to participate in Operation K-1, the planned second air attack on Pearl Harbor. The objective of the attack was to bomb the Ten-Ten Dock and disrupt ship repair activities. The plan called for the airplanes to depart from the Marshall Islands and fly to French Frigate Shoals in the Hawaiian Islands (500 miles WNW of Pearl Harbor) where they were to be refueled by I-class submarines. [3] I-9 was assigned to take up station midway between Wotje and the Shoal and act as a radio beacon for two Kawanishi H8K1 "Emily" flying boat bombers. I-19, I-15 and I-26 were to refuel the flying boats at the Shoal. I-23 was then to standby 10 miles south of Pearl Harbor, providing weather reports and acting in an air-sea rescue capacity. [3]
As part of the mission, after sundown on 1 January, I-23 attempted to conduct periscope reconnaissance off Palmyra Island, but came under gunfire. Cdr Shibata decided to withdraw the I-23 and make another try next evening. On 3 January the I-23 arrived at the Hawaiian islands, two days later departing for Kwajalein. [3]
On 1 February 1942 Vice Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.'s Task Force 8, which include the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, began an air raid on Kwajalein and Wotje in the Marshall Islands. Enterprise's airplanes sank a transport and damaged a light cruiser, Katori , flagship of the Sixth Sensuikan Fleet. The submarine depot ship, Yasukuni Maru , and several other important ships were also damaged during the raid. [3]
At the time, I-23 was taking on supplies while anchored between tender, the Yasukuni Maru, and I-26. She returned fire while attempting to dump her deck cargo into the sea. After the Yasukuni Maru received a bomb hit, one of her 25-mm AA gunners was injured by bomb fragments. Her floatplane avgas tank ignited, causing a small fire. By the time the Dauntlesses of VS-6 and VB-6 arrived, all of the submarines had submerged. After the attack I-23 briefly participated in an unsuccessful pursuit and hunt of Halsey's Task Force, but later returned. [3]
On 24 February 1942, at 23:30 I-23 transmitted her last report from the Hawaii area. Presumed lost with all of her ninety-six sailors somewhere off the Oahu coast of Hawaii, including the Combined Fleet staff officer LtCdr Konishi Masayoshi, she was removed from the Navy List on 30 April 1942. [5]
USS Grampus (SS-207) was the eighth Tambor-class submarine to be commissioned in the United States Navy in the years leading up to the country's December 1941 entry into World War II. She was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Grampus griseus, also known as Risso's dolphin, a member of the dolphin family Delphinidae. Her World War II service was in the Pacific Ocean. She completed five war patrols in the following 14 months, and is credited with sinking over 45,000 tons of Japanese merchant shipping and warships. She was declared lost with all hands in March 1943; of the twelve Tambor-class submarines, only five survived the war. She received three battle stars for her World War II service.
USS Spearfish (SS-190), a Sargo-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the spearfish, any of several large, powerful, pelagic fishes of the genus Tetrapturus allied to the marlins and sailfishes.
USS Pollack (SS-180), a Porpoise-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pollack, a food fish resembling the true cod, but with the lower jaw projecting and without the barbel.
The third USS Macdonough (DD-351) was a Farragut-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Thomas Macdonough.
Operation K was a Japanese naval operation in World War II, intended as reconnaissance of Pearl Harbor and disruption of repair and salvage operations following the surprise attack on 7 December 1941. It culminated on 4 March 1942, with an unsuccessful attack carried out by two Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boats. This was the longest distance ever undertaken by a two-plane bombing mission, and one of the longest bombing sorties ever planned without fighter escort.
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.
Katori (香取) was the lead ship of the Katori class of three light cruisers which served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The ship was named after the noted Shinto Katori Shrine in Chiba prefecture, Japan.
The 6th Fleet was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) that during World War II, had primary responsibility for the command of submarine operations.
I-15 was an Imperial Japanese Navy B1 type submarine commissioned in 1940 that served during World War II. She supported the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, operated off the United States West Coast, and took part in Operation K-1, the Aleutian Islands campaign, and the Guadalcanal campaign, including the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, before she was sunk in November 1942 during her fourth war patrol.
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-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-75, later I-175, 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 Aleutian Islands campaign, and the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign and operated off Australia, before she was sunk in 1944 during her tenth war patrol. She is best known for sinking the United States Navy escort carrier USS Liscome Bay on 24 November 1943.
Suwa Maru (諏訪丸) was a Japanese passenger/cargo ship owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). The ship was launched in 1914 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan. The ship was named for the Suwa Jinja, a noted Shinto shrine located in Suwa, Nagano. In July 1941 the ship was taken into military service, and after being struck by torpedoes was beached on Wake island in the Pacific in 1943. Since it was able to beach there was not much loss of life, though the ship was later struck again a few months later and the wreck visible for many years after the war.
I-70 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-type cruiser submarine commissioned in 1935. While supporting the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor at the beginning of the Pacific campaign of World War II in December 1941, she was sunk on the third day of the war, the first fleet submarine lost in the Pacific during the war.
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-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.
The SS Agwiworld was a tanker ship that was able to evade an attack off the coast of California in the early days of World War II. Agwiworld was built by Sun Shipbuilding in Chester, Pennsylvania on the Delaware River. Agwiworld's keel was laid down on July 28, 1920. The vessel was launched on December 22, 1920, and delivered on January 19, 1921. Agwiworld was owned and operated by Richfield Oil Company and homeport was Los Angeles, California.
Naval Base Hawaii was a number of United States Navy bases in the Territory of Hawaii during World War II. At the start of the war, much of the Hawaiian Islands was converted from tourism to a United States Armed Forces base. With the loss of US Naval Base Philippines in Philippines campaign of 1941 and 1942, Hawaii became the US Navy's main base for the early part of the island-hopping Pacific War against Empire of Japan. Naval Station Pearl Harbor was founded in 1899 with the annexation of Hawaii.