IJN I-15

IJN I-15 History

The most numerous of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) submarine classes of World War II was the Type B1, nicknamed the "I-15" class after the first submarine was launched. 20 were produced, and the I-15 entered service at the Kure Naval Shipyard in Japan on September 30, 1940.

Commander Nobuo Ishikawa was named her commander and remained so throughout her brief wartime career.

B1 is 356.5 ft (108.7 m) long, 30 ft 5 in (9.3 m) wide beam, and has a draft of 16 ft 8 in (5.1 m). Compared to the 1940 U.S. submarine-class Gato, the B1 is 45 feet longer, has a range of 3,000 nautical miles longer, and has a higher cruising speed.

Due to the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, Japan built ships of enormous range and size, many of which were capable of cruising for more than 100 days. By comparison, the Gato class has a maximum patrol time of 75 days.

The B1 (or I-15) has two 12,400 hp (9,200 kW) diesel engines for surface work and charging batteries for underwater work, and a 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) electric motor. This performance enables the boat to cruise along the surface at approximately 23.5 knots (44 km/h) and underwater at 8 knots (15 km/h).

At 16 knots (30 km/h), she can travel 14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km). She needed 94 officers and soldiers, plus two pilots on board to operate her Yokosuka E14Y "Glen" seaplane, which was used for reconnaissance missions. Part of the class carried the seaplane, which was launched from a catapult in a hangar in front of the conning tower. 126 IJN 0 small reconnaissance seaplanes (the Japanese designation for the aircraft) were built. The E14Y was the only Japanese aircraft to drop bombs on American soil during World War II, which took place off the coast of Oregon on September 9, 1942.

No one was injured and there was no property damage, other than a forest fire caused by an incendiary bomb.

I-15 was assigned to the fleet (submarines) under the command of Rear Admiral Tsutomu Sato, and the 6th Fleet Expeditionary Force under Lieutenant Admiral Mitsumi Shimizu. Under Operation Z, I-15 was dispatched to the North Shore of Oahu for its first wartime patrol on December 7, 1941. She received the code signal "Climb Shinying Mountain", which indicated that the war would begin on 12/8/1941 Japan time.

Their mission was to sink all warships that entered their patrol area after the Pearl Harbor attack began. No ships appeared near them, and I-15 was ordered back to Japan. at 10.12. A signal was received and an American fleet was found nearby, including the Lexington and her escorts.

Admiral Shimizu ordered six ships to sink the carrier, including the I-15. The U.S. fleet was not detected and was ordered to the West Coast to attack U.S. ships.

I-15 Lieutenant Colonel John Tennant's fast minesweeper USS South Sade (DMS-10) engages and fires her 4.5-inch main gun while charging batteries on the surface. I-15 dives and attacks. Ishikawa fired two torpedoes at the minesweeper, both missing their targets. DMS-10 sonared I-15 and fired six depth charges in a pattern over the next few hours. The I-15 was now damaged and out of air, and it had to surface upwards regardless of the situation.

USS Southard opened fire from about a mile away, hitting the conning tower on I-15 in a salvo. A direct hit forced the I-15 to sink, all hands on the bow. On December 24, 1942, the INJ speculated that she was missing in the Guadalcanal region, and her name was officially removed from the Navy list.

Commander Ishikawa was posthumously named captain for a brief career without sinking any enemy ships.

Japan had the most diverse submarine fleet in WWII, which is not surprising considering its status as an island nation. She built the largest submarine at the time, over 5,000 tons and over 400 feet in length. She also produces small submarines and manned torpedoes. Many ships can transport aircraft, and some can even deploy multiple bombers. Most torpedoes were the 95 series, which used kerosene instead of the alcohol used in Allied torpedoes.

The IJN blend gives the Type 95 three times the range of its Allied counterparts.

The IJN's ship warfare program is to focus on warships, not merchant ships like the Americans are targeting. So instead of attacking slow, unarmed merchant ships, Japanese captains tried to engage well-equipped, fast surface warships. By comparison, Japan sank 184 merchant ships during the war, while Germany sank 2,840 cargo ships. The United States accounted for 1,079 merchant ships.

One would conclude that IJN should deploy its submarine fleet to the west coast of the United States, the Panama Canal and/or near Hawaii and India for maximum effect. Instead, their ships lurk, waiting for large warships or aircraft carriers to enter their patrol area.

To make matters worse, the Imperial Japanese Army also used many ships to supply island garrisons rather than for offensive missions. Large submarines are easy to see and slow to dive, making enemy warships and dive bombers prime targets. As a result, many Japanese ships were sunk in these ignominious roles. As the war progressed, casualties increased as the Allies improved submarine warfare tactics and strategies.

Allied aircraft continually dropped radar and underwater sonobuoys, causing the sinking of IJN ships armed with newly developed acoustically-guided torpedoes. The IJN has not developed any countermeasures or new technologies to help protect its submarine force. As losses mounted, the morale of the Japanese Navy's submarine service inevitably declined. Clearly, the ships that reported not seeing enemy ships during the 40-day patrol were not due to a lack of Allied targets, but rather knowing at the time that engaging them was pure suicide.

However, the Japanese naval submarine force was not ready to follow the path of their kamikazes in the air.

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