Service history
Upon commissioning, I-368 was assigned to Submarine Squadron 11 for workups. [2] On 2 November 1944 she was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 7. [2]
In January 1945, I-368 was converted from a transport submarine into a kaiten suicide attack torpedo carrier, the conversion involving the removal of her 140-millimeter (5.5 in) deck gun and Daihatsu-class landing craft and their replacement with fittings allowing her to carry five kaitens on her deck, [2] [3] On 10 January 1945, she and the submarine I-370 took part in simulated kaiten attacks against towed targets in the Seto Inland Sea that lasted 15 days. [2]
The Battle of Iwo Jima began on 19 February 1945 when U.S. forces landed on Iwo Jima. [2] The landings had occurred sooner that the Japanese expected, so they ordered I-368 to cease kaiten training early and formed the ChihayaKaiten Group, made up of I-368, I-370, and the submarine I-44, with orders to proceed to the waters off Iwo Jima and attack American ships there. [2] On 20 February 1945, I-368 became the first kaiten carrier to get underway for Iwo Jima, departing the kaiten base at Hikari. [2]
I-368 was dead in the water on the surface 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) west of Iwo Jima at 03:05 on 26 February 1945 when a United States Navy Grumman TBM-1C Avenger torpedo bomber of Composite Squadron 82 (VC-82) operating from the escort aircraft carrier USS Anzio (CVE-57) detected her on radar. [2] The Avenger overshot I-368 on its first pass, and she submerged. [2] The Avenger returned and dropped a float light marker and sonobuoys, followed by a Mark 24 "Fido" acoustic homing torpedo. [2] At 03:38, I-368′s conning tower briefly broke the surface near the float light marker, but she quickly dived again. [2] Another Avenger arrived on the scene and dropped more sonobuoys and another Fido, which sank I-368 at 24°43′N140°37′E / 24.717°N 140.617°E / 24.717; 140.617 (I-370) . [2] All 86 men on board were lost. [2]
On 6 March 1945, the Japanese ordered I-368 to return to Japan, but she never acknowledged the order. [2] On 14 March 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared I-368 to be presumed lost with all hands off Iwo Jima, [2] although she nonetheless was officially transferred from Submarine Squadron 7 to Submarine Division 15 when Submarine Squadron 7 was deactivated on 20 March 1945. [2] She was stricken from the Navy list on 10 April 1945. [2]
Ro-45 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in January 1944, she served in the central Pacific Ocean during World War II and was sunk in April 1944 during her first combat sortie.
I-370 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type D1 transport submarine. Completed and commissioned in September 1944, she served in World War II and was converted into a kaiten suicide attack torpedo carrier in January 1945. She was sunk in February 1945 while operating during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
I-13 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type AM submarine that served during World War II. Designed as a submarine aircraft carrier, she was commissioned in December 1944 and sunk in July 1945.
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-55, later renumbered I-155, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD3A sub-class commissioned in 1927. Early in World War II, she supported Japanese forces in the invasion of Malaya and the Dutch East Indies campaign before assuming training duties in Japan, interrupted briefly in 1943 by her participation in the Aleutian Islands campaign. She became a kaiten manned suicide attack torpedo carrier in 1945 before surrendering at the end of the war. She 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.
The Yanagi missions, or more formally the Submarine Missions to Germany, were a series of submarine voyages undertaken by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Second World War, to exchange technology, skills and materials with Japan's Axis partners, principally Nazi Germany. These voyages had to run the gauntlet of the Western Allies naval superiority in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans; of the five westbound voyages, three arrived safely, with two submarines sunk en route, while of the three successful vessels only one completed her return voyage, with two sunk before reaching home.
I-48 was the last of three Type C cruiser submarines of the C2 sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Commissioned in September 1944, she operated as a kaiten manned suicide attack torpedo carrier during World War II and was sunk in January 1945.
I-36 was an Imperial Japanese Navy B1 type submarine. Completed and commissioned in 1942, she served in World War II, operating in the Guadalcanal campaign, New Guinea campaign, Aleutian Islands campaign, and the Marshall Islands. She finished the war as a kaiten manned suicide attack torpedo carrier, operating against Allied ships at Ulithi Atoll and in the Philippine Sea. The only submarine of her class to survive the war, she surrendered to the Allies in September 1945 after the end of the war and was scuttled by the United States Navy in 1946.
I-44 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type B2 submarine. Completed and commissioned in January 1944, she served in the late stages of World War II, she conducted war patrols in the Pacific Ocean as a conventional submarine before she was converted into a kaiten suicide attack torpedo carrier. She then conducted kaiten operations during the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa before she was sunk in April 1945.
I-361 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type D1 transport submarine. Completed and commissioned in May 1944, she served in World War II and conducted transport missions between Japan and Wake Island until she was converted into a kaiten suicide attack torpedo carrier 1945. She was sunk during her first kaiten mission in May 1945.
I-363 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type D1 transport submarine. Completed and commissioned in July 1944, she served in World War II and conducted transport missions between Japan and outlying islands until she was converted into a kaiten suicide attack torpedo carrier. She survived the war, but sank after striking a mine in the weeks immediately following its conclusion.
I-366 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type D1 transport submarine. Completed and commissioned in August 1944, she served in World War II and conducted transport missions between Japan and outlying islands until she was converted into a kaiten suicide attack torpedo carrier. She survived the war, surrendered to Allied forces in 1945, and was scuttled in 1946.
I-367 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type D1 transport submarine. Completed and commissioned in August 1944, she served in World War II and conducted transport missions between Japan and outlying islands until she was converted into a kaiten suicide attack torpedo carrier. She survived the war, surrendered to Allied forces in 1945, and was scuttled in 1946.
I-372 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type D1 transport submarine. Completed and commissioned in November 1944, she served in World War II and was sunk in July 1945.
Ro-43 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in December 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk in February 1945 during her fifth war patrol.
Ro-46 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in February 1944, she served in World War II, including operations related to the Marianas campaign, the Philippines campaign, and the Battle of Okinawa. She disappeared in April 1945 during her fifth war patrol.
Ro-105 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in March 1943, she served in World War II, operating in the Aleutian Islands campaign, New Guinea campaign, and Solomon Islands campaign and in the vicinity of Truk, Rabaul, and the Admiralty Islands before she was sunk in May 1944 during her fourth war patrol.
Ro-108 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in April 1943, she served in World War II, operating in the Solomon Islands campaign, the New Guinea campaign — during which she sank the United States Navy destroyer USS Henley (DD-391) — and off the Admiralty Islands. She was sunk in May 1944 during her fifth war patrol.
Ro-116 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in January 1944, she served in World War II and was sunk in May 1944 during her second war patrol.
Japan
