Design and description
The submarines of the Type L3 sub-class were copies of the Group 2 subclass of the British L-class submarine built under license in Japan. They carried heavier torpedoes than the preceding submarines of the L1 and L2 subclasses. They displaced 903 tonnes (889 long tons) surfaced and 1,120 tonnes (1,102.7 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 72.89 meters (239 ft 2 in) long and had a beam of 7.16 meters (23 ft 6 in) and a draft of 3.96 meters (13 ft 0 in). They had a diving depth of 60 meters (197 ft).
For surface running, the submarines were powered by two 1,200- brake-horsepower (895 kW) Vickers diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged, each propeller was driven by an 800-shaft-horsepower (597 kW) electric motor. They could reach 17.1 knots (31.7 km/h; 19.7 mph) on the surface and 9.1 knots (16.9 km/h; 10.5 mph) underwater. On the surface, they had a range of 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph); submerged, they had a range of 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph).
The submarines were armed with four internal 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes, all in the bow, and carried a total of eight 6th Year Type torpedoes. They were also armed with a single 76.2 mm (3 in) deck gun and a 6.5 mm machine gun.
Service history
Pre-World War II
Upon commissioning, Submarine No. 46 was attached to the Yokosuka Naval District. [1] On 1 December 1922, she was assigned to Submarine Division 6 — in which she spent her entire active career — in Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet. [1] She was renamed Ro-57 on 1 November 1924. [1] On 1 March 1926, Ro-57 and the submarines Ro-58, Ro-59, Ro-60, Ro-61, Ro-62, Ro-63, Ro-64, and Ro-68 departed Sasebo, Japan, bound for Okinawa, which they reached the same day. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] The nine submarines got underway from Okinawa on 30 March 1926 for a training cruise in Chinese waters off Shanghai and Amoy which concluded with their arrival at Mako in the Pescadores Islands on 5 April 1926. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] They departed Mako on 20 April 1926 for the return leg of their training cruise, operating off China near Chusan Island, then returned to Sasebo on 26 April 1926. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Submarine Division 6 was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet on 1 August 1926 [1] and then on 1 December 1926 directly to the Yokosuka Naval District, in which it remained until 1941. [1] In the years that followed, Ro-57 was assigned to the Yokosuka Defense Division from 1 December 1927 to 30 November 1929 and from 1 December 1930 to 11 December 1933, the Yokosuka Guard Squadron from 1 December 1933 to 22 April 1934, then to the Yokosuka Defense Division again from 22 April to 15 June 1934, followed by another stint in the Yokosuka Guard Squadron from 15 June to 15 November 1934. [1] On 1 November 1938, she was decommissioned and placed in Second Reserve in the Yokosuka Naval District. [1]
Ro-57 was recommissioned on 1 April 1939 and assigned that day to duty at the gunnery school in the Yokosuka Naval District. [1] She participated in a naval review at Yokohama on 11 October 1940. [1] Her gunnery school duty concluded on 1 November 1941, when she was reassigned to the Kure Naval District. [1]
World War II
The Pacific Campaign of World War II began on 7 December 1941 (8 December 1941 in East Asia) with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Ro-57 served on training duties in Japanese waters from 1941, [10] [11] operating in the Kure Defense Force until 15 January 1943, when Submarine Division 6 was transferred back to the Yokosuka Naval District. [1]
Ro-57 was decommissioned, stricken from the Navy list, and placed in the Fourth Reserve in the Yokosuka Naval District on 15 May 1945. [1] She then served at Shōdoshima as a stationary training hulk for the crews of midget submarines until 15 August 1945, when hostilities between Japan and the Allies ended. [1] She was scrapped in 1946. [1]
Ro-61, originally named Submarine No. 72, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. She was in commission at various times from 1923 to 1934, and was recommissioned in 1940. Before World War II, she served in the waters of Japan. During World War II, she took part in the Battle of Wake Island and the Aleutian Islands campaign, conducting the first attack on an enemy ship ever carried out by a Japanese Ro-type submarine. She was sunk in August 1942.
Ro-68 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. First commissioned in 1925, she served in the waters of Japan prior to World War II. During World War II, she supported Japanese forces during the Battle of Wake Island and the invasion of Rabaul and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign. She served as a training submarine from late 1942 to late 1944 before returning to a combat role in Japanese waters late in the war. She surrendered to the Allies in 1945 at the conclusion of the war and was scuttled in 1946.
Ro-63, originally named Submarine No. 84, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. First commissioned in 1924, she served in the waters of Japan prior to World War II. During World War II, she operated in the Central Pacific and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign, then in late 1942 was relegated to a role as a training ship and tender for midget submarines. After the war ended in 1945, she surrendered to the Allies, who scuttled her in 1946.
Ro-60, originally named Submarine No. 59, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. She was in commission from 1923 to 1934 and from 1940 to 1941. Before World War II, she served in the waters of Japan. During World War II, she took part in the Battle of Wake Island in December 1941, and was damaged by a F4F-3 Wildcat during that battle. The submarine wrecked three weeks later trying to make it back to base, running aground on a reef and was abandoned. All of the crew was rescued by a Japanese vessel. Later in the war the vessel exploded after being strafed, scattering fragments of the vessel on that reef.
Ro-62, originally named Submarine No. 73, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L4 subclass. She was in commission at various times from 1923 to 1934, and was recommissioned in 1938. Before World War II, she served in the waters of Japan. During World War II, she took part in the Battle of Wake Island and the Aleutian Islands campaign, then was relegated to a training role in late 1942. After the war ended in 1945, she surrendered to the Allies. She was scuttled in 1946.
Ro-51, originally named Submarine No. 25, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L1 subclass. She was in commission from 1920 to 1938.
Ro-53, originally named Submarine No. 27, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine, the lead unit of the L2 subclass. She was in commission from 1921 to 1938.
Ro-54, originally named Submarine No. 28, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L2 subclass. Except for a few months in 1926, she was in commission from 1921 to 1938.
The first Ro-55, originally named Submarine No. 29, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L2 subclass. Except for a few months in 1926, she was in commission from 1921 to 1938.
The first Ro-56, originally named Submarine No. 30, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine, the final unit of the L2 subclass. Except for a few months in 1926, she was in commission from 1922 to 1938.
Ro-58, originally named Submarine No. 47, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L3 subclass. She was in commission from 1922 to 1945. During World War II, she served on second-line duties in Japan.
Ro-59, originally named Submarine No. 57, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type L submarine of the L3 subclass. She was in commission from 1923 to 1938, in 1939, and from 1941 to 1945. During World War II, she served on training duties in Japan.
Ro-26, originally named Submarine No. 45, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū-Type submarine, the lead unit of the Kaichū IV subclass. She was in commission from 1923 to 1938 and from 1939 to 1940.
Ro-27, originally named Submarine No. 58, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū-Type submarine of the Kaichū IV subclass. She was in commission from 1924 to 1937.
Ro-28, originally named Submarine No. 46, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū-Type submarine of the Kaichū IV subclass. She was in commission from 1923 to 1938 and from 1939 to 1940.
Ro-23, originally named Submarine No. 41, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū-Type submarine of the Kaichū III subclass. She was commissioned in 1923 as the final unit of the Kaichu' III subclass and operated in the waters of Japan, Formosa, and Chōsen before she was stricken in 1935.
Ro-22, originally named Submarine No. 40, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū-Type submarine of the Kaichū III subclass. She was commissioned in 1922 and operated in the waters of Japan. She was stricken in 1934.
Ro-21, originally named Submarine No. 39, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū-Type submarine of the Kaichū III subclass. She was commissioned in 1922 and operated in the waters of Japan. She was stricken in 1934.
Ro-20, originally named Submarine No. 38, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū-Type submarine of the Kaichū III subclass. She was commissioned in 1922 and operated in the waters of Japan. She was stricken in 1934.
Ro-13, originally named Submarine No. 23, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaichū-Type submarine of the Kaichū II subclass. She was commissioned in 1920 and operated in the waters of Japan. She was stricken in 1932.
Japan