Upon commissioning, I-56 was attached formally to the Kure Naval District[1] and assigned to Submarine Squadron 11 in the 6th Fleet for workups.[1] With those completed, she was reassigned to Submarine Division 15 in Submarine Squadron 1 in the 6th Fleet on 20 September 1944.[1] In early October 1944, she began conversion to a kaitensuicide attacktorpedo carrier, in which her 140-millimeter (5.5in) deck gun was removed to make room on her afterdeck for fittings that allowed her to carry four kaitens.[1] By this time, she also had radar and a radar detector installed.[1]
The commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Soemu Toyoda, activated Operation Shō-Gō 1 for the defense of the Philippine Islands on 13 October 1944.[1] On 15 October, I-54 was assigned along with the submarines I-26, I-45, I-53, and I-54 to Submarine Group A under the direct command of the 6th Fleet.[1] She departed Kure that day with orders to attack Task Force 38, assigned to a patrol area in the Philippine Sea240 nautical miles (440km; 280mi) southeast of Formosa.[1]
On 18 October 1944, I-56 received orders to patrol east of Leyte in the Philippines, and was expected to arrive in that area on 24 October.[1] The Battle of Leyte began with the U.S. landings on Leyte on 20 October 1944, and the Japanese naval reaction to the landings resulted in the Battle of Leyte Gulf of 23–26 October 1944.[1]
On 25 October 1944, I-56 was in the Philippine Sea northeast of Mindanao when an escort of U.S. Navy Task Group 77.1 (call sign "Taffy 1") detected her at 22:32.[1] The task group′s escort aircraft carriers began a 90-degree emergency turn to avoid the submarine.[1] At 22:34, I-56 fired five torpedoes, and her crew heard three explosions 50 seconds later.[1] Although some sources credit I-56 with torpedoing the escort carrier USSSantee(CVE-29), Santee was off Samar and was not part of the task group I-56 attacked.[1] Shortly after the carriers began their turn, two torpedo wakes straddled the escort carrier USSPetrof Bay(CVE-80).[1] The destroyer escortUSSCoolbaugh(DE-217) counterattacked, causing several leaks aboard I-56, which dived to 460 feet (140m).[1]Coolbaugh claimed to have sunk a submarine at 09°52′N127°30′E / 9.867°N 127.500°E / 9.867; 127.500, but I-56 survived, and when she surfaced later she recovered an unexploded Mark 9 depth charge from her afterdeck.[1] She mistakenly reported sinking an aircraft carrier.[1] With only three torpedoes left aboard, one of them defective, I-56 was ordered back to Japan.[1] She arrived at Kure on 4 November 1944, and was credited with sinking an aircraft carrier, a destroyer, and three transports during her patrol, although in truth her only success had been damage to one tank landing ship.[1]
First kaiten mission
Conversion of I-56 to carry four kaitens on fittings on her afterdeck resumed upon her return to Kure.[1] She began kaiten launch drills on 12 November 1944.[1]
In December 1944, I-56 was assigned to the Kongo ("Steel") Kaiten Group along with the submarines I-36, I-47, I-48, I-53, and I-58 for an attack scheduled for dawn on 11 January 1945 on five different U.S. anchorages in widely separated locations; the date of the attack later was postponed to 12 January 1945.[1] At 13:00 on 22 December 1944, she got underway from the kaiten base at Otsujima bound for her target, the Allied anchorage in Seeadler Harbor at Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands in the Bismarck Sea.[1] While en route, she received a 6 January 1945 report from a Japanese reconnaissance plane reporting six cruisers and 28 transports anchored at Manus.[1]
The ammunition shipUSSMount Hood(AE-11) had exploded catastrophically at Manus for unknown reasons on 10 November 1944, and the Japanese propagandist Tokyo Rose had claimed in a radio broadcast that a Japanese midget submarine had sunk her.[1] As a result, the Allies had stepped up their antisubmarine patrols around Manus, and on 10 January 1945 I-56 began to experience the increased patrolling when Allied antisubmarine forces sighted her 60 nautical miles (110km; 69mi) west of Manus while she was attempting to get a fix on her position and pursued her for an hour before she broke contact.[1]
On 11 January 1945, I-56 surfaced 50 nautical miles (93km; 58mi) north of Seeadler Harbor at 23:00 to charge her batteries in preparation for a run in on the surface to launch her kaitens for the scheduled 12 January 1945 attack.[1] When she was 35 nautical miles (65km; 40mi) north of the harbor, her radar detector detected an approaching Allied aircraft.[1]I-56 dived, and shortly thereafter her sonar operator heard several ships searching the area for her.[1] Her commanding officer decided to postpone the attack, and I-56 retired to the north.[1]
After dark on 12 January 1945, I-56 surfaced 60 nautical miles (110km; 69mi) north of Seeadler Harbor and began another run in on the surface.[1] When she was still 40 nautical miles (74km; 46mi) out, her radar detector detected an Allied aircraft, and five minutes later she spotted an Allied ship on her radar and her radio operator reported hearing an Allied transmission in English ordering the launch of more aircraft.[1]I-56 flooded down to reduce her silhouette and continued her approach.[1] An Allied antisubmarine aircraft eventually attacked her, and she submerged at 02:30 on 13 January 1945.[1] After her sound operator heard the propeller noises of several ships ahead, she again aborted her attack and withdrew.[1]
On the evening of 13 January 1945, the 6th Fleet ordered I-56 to make one last attempt to launch her kaitens and then return to Japan.[1] She began another approach to Manus.[1] She was 55 nautical miles (102km; 63mi) west of Manus at 03:10 on 14 January 1945 when an Allied antisubmarine aircraft attacked her, and she again aborted her kaiten attack.[1] On 18 January 1945, she received orders to return to Japan with all four of her kaitens aboard so that the ability of kaitens to withstand lengthy sea voyages could be evaluated.[1] On 3 February 1945 she reached Otsujima, where she disembarked her four kaitens and their pilots.[1] She then continued on to Kure.[1]
Second kaiten mission
After her return to Kure, I-56 underwent a refit in which her aircraft hangar and catapult were removed from her foredeck and replaced by fittings that allowed her to carry two more kaitens, bringing her total kaiten load to six.[1] Between 26 and 29 March 1945, U.S. forces landed in the Kerama Islands southwest of Okinawa and captured advance bases in preparation for an invasion of Okinawa itself.[1] On 31 March 1945, I-56 was assigned to the TataraKaiten Unit, which also included the submarines I-44, I-47, and I-58, each carrying six kaitens, and that day she put to sea from Otsujima with six kaitens aboard, bound for an operating area northeast of Okinawa.[1] On 1 April 1945, the Battle of Okinawa began with U.S. landings on the island.[1]
Loss
I-56 was lost sometime in April, and the circumstances of her loss remain unknown.[1] Most Japanese historians credit the destroyer USSHudson(DD-475) with sinking her on 5 April 1945, but most of their Western counterparts have concluded that Hudson sank the submarine Ro-49.[1] Some Western historians credit I-56 with sinking the U.S. submarine USSSnook(SS-279) sometime after 8 April 1945, but Japanese sources do not confirm it.[1]
On 2 May 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared I-56 to be presumed lost in the Okinawa area with the loss of all 122 men aboard — 116 crewmen and six embarked kaiten pilots.[1] She was stricken from the Navy list on 10 June 1945.[1]
USS Picking (DD-685), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Sherwood Picking (1890–1941), a submarine commander during World War I.
USS England (DE-635), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Ensign John C. England (1920–1941), who was killed in action aboard the battleship Oklahoma during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Her sinking of six Japanese submarines in twelve days is a feat unparalleled in the history of antisubmarine warfare.
I-58 was a Japanese B3 type cruiser submarine that served in the final year of World War II. Her only significant wartime success came with a conventional torpedo attack upon USS Indianapolis on 30 July 1945. She was modified to carry Kaiten manned torpedoes, making several attacks that inflicted minor damage in exchange for every Kaiten launched being sunk. The submarine surrendered in September 1945, and was later scuttled by the United States Navy.
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.
I-47 was the second of three Type C cruiser submarines of the C2 sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Commissioned in July 1944, she operated as a kaiten manned suicide attack torpedo carrier during the final year of World War II. Surrendered at the end of the war, she was scuttled by the United States Navy in 1946.
The second I-53 was the second of three Type C cruiser submarines of the C3 sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Commissioned in February 1944, she operated primarily as a kaiten manned suicide attack torpedo carrier during the final year of World War II and sank the destroyer escort USS Underhill(DE-682). Surrendered at the end of the war, she was scuttled by the United States Navy in 1946.
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.
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.
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-45 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type B2 submarine. Completed and commissioned in December 1943, she served in World War II, patrolling in the Pacific Ocean and taking part in the Marianas campaign, the Philippines campaign, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf before she was sunk in October 1944.
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.
Ro-41 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in November 1943, she served in World War II and conducted six war patrols, sinking a destroyer escort USS Shelton(DE-407) on one of them, before she was sunk in March 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-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.
Ro-50 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū type submarine of the K6 sub-class. Completed and commissioned in July 1944, she served in World War II, conducting four war patrols, including operations off the Philippine Islands and the Ryukyu Islands. The only Kaichu-type submarine to survive the war, she surrendered in 1945 after its conclusion and was scuttled in 1946.
Ro-109 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Ro-100-class submarine. Completed and commissioned in April 1943, she served in World War II, operating off the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, Truk, the Philippine Islands, and Okinawa. She was sunk in April 1945 during her tenth war patrol.
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