Japanese submarine I-55 (1943)

Last updated
History
Naval Ensign of Japan.svg Empire of Japan
NameSubmarine No. 628
Builder Kure Navy Yard, Kure, Hiroshima
Laid down15 June 1942
RenamedI-55 on 1 November 1942
Launched20 April 1943
Completed20 April 1944
Commissioned20 April 1944
FateMissing after 13 July 1944 (see text)
Stricken10 October 1944
General characteristics
Class and type Type C3 submarine
Displacement
  • 2,605 tonnes (2,564 long tons) surfaced
  • 3,702 tonnes (3,644 long tons) submerged
Length108.7 m (356 ft 8 in) overall
Beam9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
Draft5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced
  • 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph) submerged
Range
  • 27,000  nmi (50,000 km; 31,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced
  • 105 nmi (194 km; 121 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged
Test depth100 m (330 ft)
Crew94
Armament

The second I-55 was one of three Type C cruiser submarines of the C3 sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Commissioned in April 1944, she was lost in July 1944 while taking part in the Marianas campaign during World War II.

Contents

Design and description

The Type C3 submarines were derived from the earlier C2 sub-class although with fewer torpedo tubes, an additional deck gun, and less-powerful engines to extend their range. They displaced 2,605 tonnes (2,564 long tons) surfaced and 3,702 tonnes (3,644 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 108.7 meters (356 ft 8 in) long, had a beam of 9.3 meters (30 ft 6 in) and a draft of 5.1 meters (16 ft 9 in). They had a diving depth of 100 meters (330 ft). [1]

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 2,350- brake-horsepower (1,752 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 600-horsepower (447 kW) electric motor. They could reach 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) on the surface and 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph) underwater. [2] On the surface, the C3s had a range of 27,000 nautical miles (50,000 km; 31,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph); submerged, they had a range of 105 nmi (194 km; 121 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph). [3]

The boats were armed with six internal bow 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes and carried a total of 19 torpedoes. They were also armed with two 140 mm (5.5 in)/40 deck guns and one twin mount for 25 mm (1 in) Type 96 anti-aircraft guns. [3]

Construction and commissioning

Ordered under the Additional Naval Armaments Supplement Programme and built at the Kure Naval Arsenal at Kure, Japan, I-55 was laid down on 15 June 1942 with the name Submarine No. 628. [4] On 1 November 1942, she was provisionally attached to the Kure Naval District and numbered I-55; [4] she was the second Japanese submarine of that number, the first I-55 having been renumbered I-155 on 20 May 1942. [5] Launched on 20 April 1943, [4] she was completed and commissioned one year later, on 20 April 1944. [4]

Service history

Upon commissioning, I-55 was based in the Kure Naval District and assigned to Submarine Squadron 11 in the 6th Fleet. [4] In late June 1944, she was selected for conversion to carry Special Naval Weapon No. 8, a version of the Fu-Go balloon bomb that could be launched at sea, the conversion involving the installation of hydrogen and balloon-launching equipment. [4] Meanwhile, however, the Combined Fleet had activated Operation A-Go for the defense of the Mariana Islands on 13 June 1944, and the Marianas campaign had begun with the U.S. invasion of Saipan on 15 June. [4] Before her conversion could begin, I-55 got underway from Kure on 30 June 1944, [4] called at Yokosuka from 1 to 6 July 1944, [4] and then departed for Guam towing an Unpoto gun container, [4] a 70-foot (21.3 m) sled that could carry up to 15 tons of cargo, usually in the form of three Type 96 15-centimeter (5.9 in) howitzers and ammunition for them. [6]

While she was at sea on 10 July 1944, I-55 was reassigned to Submarine Division 15 in the Advance Force, [4] and on 13 July she received orders to abort her supply mission to Guam and proceed to Tinian to rescue the staff of the 1st Air Fleet there. [4] She cast the Unpoto container adrift [4] and headed for Tinian. At 00:40 Japan Standard Time on 13 July, she transmitted a message to 6th Fleet Headquarters estimating that she would arrive off Tinian on 15 July. [4] The Japanese never heard from her again.

At 21:20 on 13 July 1944, an American patrol plane spotted a Japanese submarine submerging in the Philippine Sea 78 nautical miles (144 km; 90 mi) off Saipan′s Rorogattan Point. [4] The submarine′s position was reported to a United States Navy hunter-killer group, which detached the high-speed transport USS Gilmer (APD-11) and destroyer escort USS William C. Miller (DE-259) to hunt it down. [4] The two ships arrived at the submarine′s last reported position at 00:22 on 14 July 1944 and began their search. [4] Seven hours later, William C. Miller picked up a sound contact at a range of 1,700 yards (1,600 m) and approached the contact at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). She began her attack at 07:26 by dropping a pattern of 13 depth charges, followed by a second pattern of 13 depth charges at 07:52. At 0804, her crew observed pieces of wood rising to the surface about 500 yards (460 m) ahead on William C. Miller′s starboard bow, then heard a heavy underwater explosion at 08:05 that shook the ship, followed by bubbles rising to the surface that made the water appear to boil. [4] William C. Miller dropped a third pattern of 13 depth charges at 0806, sinking the submarine. [4] An oil slick and debris covered the surface, and William C. Miller steamed into the slick and recovered pieces of cork insulating material, splintered wooden decking, and a seaman's cap at 15°18′N144°26′E / 15.300°N 144.433°E / 15.300; 144.433 . [4]

It remains a matter of dispute as to whether William C. Miller sank I-55 or the submarine Ro-48. [4] The destroyer escorts USS Wyman (DE-38) and USS Reynolds (DE-42) also have received credit for sinking I-55 in an antisubmarine action on 28 July 1944. [7] [8]

On 15 July 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared I-55 to be presumed lost with all 112 hands off Tinian. [4] She was stricken from the Navy list on 10 October 1944. [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Bagnasco, p. 192
  2. ↑ Chesneau, p. 201
  3. 1 2 Carpenter & Dorr, p. 110
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2013). "IJN Submarine I-55: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  5. ↑ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2015). "IJN Submarine I-155: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2017). "IJN Submarine I-38: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  7. ↑ Naval History and Heritage Command Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships USS Wyman
  8. ↑ Naval History and Heritage Command Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Reynolds II (DE-42)

Related Research Articles

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.

Ro-106 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in December 1942, she served in World War II, operating in the Solomon Islands campaign, New Guinea campaign, and central Pacific Ocean. She was sunk in May 1944 during her eleventh war patrol.

Japanese submarine <i>I-54</i> (1926)

I-54, later I-154, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD3A sub-class commissioned in 1927. During World War II, she condcuted three war patrols, supporting Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya in December 1941 and the Dutch East Indies campaign in early 1942, then was assigned to training duties until she was decommissioned in 1944. She was scuttled in 1946.

I-46 was the first of three Type C cruiser submarines of the C2 sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Commissioned in February 1944, she operated in World War II during the Battle of Leyte and Battle of Leyte Gulf before she was lost in October 1944.

Japanese submarine <i>I-48</i>

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-43 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type B2 submarine. Completed and commissioned in 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk during her first deployment in February 1944.

Japanese submarine <i>I-54</i> (1943)

The second I-54 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type B3 submarine. Completed and commissioned in March 1944, she served in World War II and took part in the Marianas campaign and the Philippines campaign before she was sunk in October 1944.

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-47 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in January 1944, she served in World War II in operations related to the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign. She was sunk in September 1944 during her second war patrol.

Ro-48 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in March 1944, she served in World War II and was sunk in July 1944 during her first war patrol.

Ro-49 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in May 1944, she served in World War II and patrolled off the Philippines and the Ryukyu Islands. She was lost during her third war patrol sometime in late March or April 1945.

The second Ro-55 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in September 1944, she served in World War II and was sunk during her first war patrol in February 1945.

Ro-104 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in February 1943, she served in World War II, operating in the Aleutian Islands campaign, New Guinea campaign, and Solomon Islands campaign before she was sunk in May 1944 during her tenth 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-114 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in November 1943, she served in World War II and was sunk in June 1944 during her first 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.

Ro-117 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 June 1944 during her second war patrol.

Japanese submarine <i>Ha-201</i> Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine

Ha-201 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ha-201-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in May 1945, she served during the final months of World War II. She surrendered at the end of the war in September 1945 and was scuttled in April 1946.

Japanese submarine <i>I-203</i>

The Japanese submarine I-203 was an I-201-class high-speed submarine built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. She was commissioned in May 1945, and the war ended before she could carry out an operational patrol. She surrendered to the United States Navy in 1945 and was sunk as a target in 1946.

References


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.