I-14 was anImperial Japanese NavyType A Mod.2 submarine that served duringWorld War II. Designed as asubmarine aircraft carrier, she was commissioned in March 1945. She surrendered in August 1945 and was sunk as a target in 1946.
 I-14 (right) besideUSS Proteus (far left) andI-401 on 29 August 1945. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Imperial Japanese Navy | |
| Name | Submarine No. 5091 |
| Builder | Kawasaki,Kobe, Japan |
| Laid down | 18 May 1943 |
| Launched | 14 March 1944 |
| Commissioned | 14 March 1945 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Type A Mod.2 submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 113.7 m (373 ft 0 in)overall |
| Beam | 11.7 m (38 ft 5 in) |
| Draft | 5.9 m (19 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 100 m (328 ft) |
| Crew | 108 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 2 ×Aichi M6ASeiranfloatplanes |
| Aviation facilities | |
Design and description
editPreviousType A submarines — bothType A1 andType A2 — weresubmarine aircraft carriers capable of carrying a single reconnaissancefloatplane and fitted with command facilities so that they could serve asflagships for embarkedadmirals and their staffs. The Type A Mod.2 submarines were versions of the preceding Type A2, but with the command facilities replaced by an enlarged aircrafthangar fitted for a pair ofAichi M6A1Seiran ("Clear Sky Storm") floatplanebombers.[1] Theydisplaced 3,661 tonnes (3,603 long tons) surfaced and 4,838 tonnes (4,762 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 113.7 meters (373 ft 0 in) longoverall and had abeam of 11.7 meters (38 ft 5 in) and adraft of 5.9 meters (19 ft 4 in). They had a diving depth of 100 meters (328 ft).[2]
For surface running, the submarines were powered by two 2,200-brake-horsepower (1,641 kW)diesel engines, each driving onepropeller shaft. When the submarines were submerged, each propeller was driven by a 300-horsepower (224 kW)electric motor. They could reach 16.75knots (31.0 km/h; 19.3 mph) on the surface and 5.5 knots (10.2 km/h; 6.3 mph) submerged.[3] On the surface, the Type A Mod.2 had a range of 21,000nautical miles (39,000 km; 24,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph); submerged, they had a range of 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph).[4]
The Type A Mod.2 submarines were armed with six internalbow 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes and carried a dozenType 95torpedoes. They were also armed with a single140 mm (5.5 in)/40deck gun and two triple and one singlemount for25 mm (1 in) Type 96anti-aircraft guns.[4]
The aircrafthangar was enlarged from that of the Type A2 to accommodate two aircraft. It was offset to the right of, and was faired into the base of, theconning tower, which protruded over the left side of thehull. A singleaircraft catapult was positioned on the forward deck. Two foldingcranes on the forward deck were used to recover the floatplanes.[4]
Construction and commissioning
editBuilt byKawasaki atKobe,Japan,I-14 waslaid down asSubmarine No. 50911, the second Type A Mod.2 submarine and last one to be completed, on 18 May 1943.[5] She was renamedI-14 by the time she waslaunched on 14 March 1944.[5] She was completed andcommissioned on 14 March 1945.[5]
Service history
editMarch–June 1945
editOn the day of her commissioning,I-14 was attached to theYokosuka Naval District and assigned to SubmarineDivision 1 in the6th Fleet along with the submarines (I-13,I-400, andI-401).[5] She departed Kobe that day forKure, Japan, which she reached on 15 March 1945.[5] She was at Kure when theUnited States Navy′sTask Force 58 launchedthe first carrier aircraft strike against theKure Naval Arsenal on 19 March 1945.[6] Although 240 planes from theaircraft carriersUSS Essex (CV-9),USS Intrepid (CV-11),USS Hornet (CV-12),USS Wasp (CV-18),USS Hancock (CV-19),USS Bennington (CV-20), andUSS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) attacked Kure, she escaped damage.[5]
During March 1945, after theUnited States Army Air ForcesTwentieth Air Force conducted a majorfire-bombing raid onTokyo on the night of 9-10 March 1945, the 6th Fleet proposed to theImperial Japanese Navy General Staff a retaliatory raid onSan Francisco,California, byAichi M6A1Seiran floatplanes launched by the submarines of Submarine Division 1, but by April 1945 the General Staff's vice chief,Vice AdmiralJisaburō Ozawa, had rejected the proposal.[6]
By late May 1945,I-14 and the other three submarines of Submarine Division 1 all had been fitted withsubmarine snorkels.[5] At 08:00 on 27 May 1945,I-13 andI-14 departed Kure and made forMoji on the coast ofKyushu, where they dropped anchor at 19:00 and spent the night.[5] They got back underway on 28 May, passed through theShimonoseki Strait andTsushima Strait and crossed theSea of Japan, arriving the same day atChinkai inChōsen (the Japanese name forKorea while under their rule) to refuel.[5] They departed Chinkai on 29 May to return to Japan, stopping atToyama Bay on the coast ofHonshu on 1 June 1945 because of densefog.[6]I-14 arrived atNanao Bay on the western coast ofHonshu nearTakaoka, Japan,[6][7] on 2 June 1945.[6]
Panama Canal operation
editI-13,I-400, andI-401 soon rendezvoused withI-14 in Nanao Bay, and the submarines were joined by sixAichi M6A1Seiran ("Clear Sky Storm") aircraft of the Kure-based 631st Naval Air Group, which flew in on 4 June after a stop atFukuyama, Japan.[7] On 6 June 1945, the submarines and aircraft began training for night air operations in preparation for a surprise Japanese air strike against thePanama Canal in which the submarines would launch ten M6A1floatplanes which were to strike theGatun Locks from the east with sixtorpedoes and fourbombs, emptyingGatun Lake and blocking thecanal to shipping for months.[7] During training, the Japanese demonstrated that four trained men could prepare one of the floatplanes for launch from a submarine in seven minutes and that each submarine could assemble, fuel, arm, and launch all three of the floatplanes it carried in 45 minutes.[7] Despite various obstacles—the presence of Americanmines and U.S. Navy submarines and shortages ofaviation gasoline—the submarines and aircraft launched a number of simulated air strikes.[5][7]
While Submarine Division 1 was still at Nanao Bay, the expected imminent fall ofOkinawa to U.S. forces as theBattle of Okinawa neared its conclusion and the increasing pace of air strikes byAllied aircraft carriers on theJapanese Home Islands prompted JapaneseImperial General Headquarters to cancel the Panama Canal strike on 12 June 1945 and decide instead to use the submarines and their floatplanes to strike the Allied fleet anchorage atUlithi in theCaroline Islands.[7] The submarines and aircraft completed their flight training on 19 June 1945, with all of the M6A1 floatplanes taking off from the waters of Nanao Bay that day.[7] One failed to return, and the bodies of its two crewmen later washed ashore onSadogashima.[7] On 20 June 1945,I-14 got underway forMaizuru, Japan, in company withI-13.[5] They reached Maizuru on 22 June 1945,[5] whereI-14 underwent repairs to herpropellerbearings.[5]
Operation Hikari
editAt 13:25 on 25 June 1945, theCombined Fleet issued orders for the attack on Ulithi, dubbedOperation Arashi ("Mountain Storm").[5][7] The orders called forI-13 andI-14 to transport disassembledNakajima C6N1Saiun (Iridiscent Cloud";Allied reporting name "Myrt")reconnaissance aircraft toTruk Atoll in the Caroline Islands in late July 1945.[5][7] The C6N aircraft were to be reassembled at Truk and then, inOperation Hikari ("Shining Light"), conduct a reconnaissance of Ulithi, noting the presence and location of Allied aircraft carriers andtroop transports.[5][7]I-400 andI-401 then were to launch a combined total of six M6A1 floatplanes—which were to use the reconnaissance information to assist them in targeting Allied ships—on 17 August 1945 for a nighttime strike under a full moon against the Ulithi anchorage, each pilot receiving ahormone injection to improve hisnight vision and each plane armed with an 800-kilogram (1,764 lb) bomb.[5][7] After the strike, the aircraft were to land near the submarines, andI-13,I-14,I-400, andI-401 all were to proceed toSingapore, where ten new M6A aircraft would await them for embarkation for another strike.[5][7]
On 2 July 1945,I-14 departed Maizuru in company withI-13 and set course forŌminato on the northern tip of Honshu, where plans called for them to load crated C6N aircraft and proceed to Truk.[5][6]I-13 reached Ōminato on 4 July,[6] but the problem withI-14′s propeller bearings worsened during the voyage, and she did not arrive until 6 July 1945.[5] She entereddrydock at Ōminato for further repairs, and her crew was grantedshore leave.[5] By 9 July, Japanese repair crews estimated thatI-14′s repairs would require as many as ten more days,[5] soI-13 departed without her with two crated C6Ns aboard on 11 July 1945 bound for Truk; the Japanese never heard fromI-13 again, and she was sunk on 16 July during her voyage to Truk.[6]
WhileI-14 was under repair, U.S. Navy carrier aircraft attacked Ōminato, but she submerged and avoided damage.[5] With her repairs finally complete, she departed Ōminato bound for Truk with two crated C6N aircraft aboard on 17 July 1945.[5] On the day of her departure,Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne (FRUMEL), an Alliedsignals intelligence unit atMelbourne,Australia, decrypted a message which informed the Allies thatI-14 would depart Ōminato at 15:00 that day bound for Truk and expected to be 165 nautical miles (306 km; 190 mi)bearing 106 degrees fromCape Shiriya at 03:00 on 19 July, at which point she planned to alter course to 110 degrees.[5]
Despite this Allied knowledge of the plans for her voyage,I-14 avoided contact with Allied forces until 30 July 1945, when Allied surface ships detected her in thePacific Ocean east of theMariana Islands.[5] Severaldestroyers began tracking her, forcing her to remain submerged for 35 hours.[5] After herbatteries and supply ofcompressed air both became depleted, she succeeded in raising her snorkel and recharging her batteries without being seen, and she managed to break contact.[5] At 03:30Japan Standard Time (JST) on 3 August 1945, she detected propeller noises from multiple vessels 150 nautical miles (280 km; 170 mi) northeast of Truk, and shortly afterward she sighted a group of what she identified as U.S. Navysubmarine chasers.[5] She reversed course and evaded them.[5] She arrived at Truk at 17:30 JST on 4 August 1945 and unloaded the two C6N aircraft[5] for reassembly ashore. Ordered to return to Japan after unloading the aircraft,I-14 received new orders on 6 August 1945 to proceed to Singapore instead.[5]
I-14 had not yet left Truk whenEmperorHirohito announced on 15 August 1945 that hostilities between Japan and the Allies would end that day.[5] At 21:00 on 18 August 1945, Submarine Division 1′s commander, Captain Ariizumi, at sea aboardI-401 to conduct the Ulithi attack, received orders from the 6th Fleet to cancel it, and later that day the 6th Fleet orderedI-14,I-400, andI-401 to jettison all aircraft,torpedoes, other munitions, and documents, hoist the designated black flag of surrender, and proceed on the surface first toHong Kong and then to Japan.[5]I-14′scommanding officer,Commander Tsuruzo Shimizu, briefly considered proceeding to Singapore rather than Japan after stopping at Hong Kong in the hope of continuing the war, but gave up on the idea becauseI-14 lacked the fuel for a voyage to Singapore.[5]
End of war
editI-14 departed Truk on 18 August 1945.[5] She was on the surface in the Pacific Ocean east of Honshu at37°38′N144°52′E / 37.633°N 144.867°E /37.633; 144.867 flying the black surrender flag on 27 August 1945 when a plane from U.S. NavyTask Force 38 sighted her and reported her position.[5] Later in the day, she surrendered to the U.S. Navy destroyersUSS Murray (DD-576) andUSS Dashiell (DD-659) 227 nautical miles (420 km; 261 mi) northeast of Tokyo.[5] A boarding party fromMurray went aboardI-14 and accepted theswords ofI-14′sofficers.[5]Murray then began to escortI-14 towardSagami Bay on the coast of Honshu.[5] On 28 August 1945, the U.S. Navydestroyer escortUSS Bangust (DE-739) rendezvoused with them 450 nautical miles (830 km; 520 mi) east ofNojimazaki and sent aprize crew of U.S. Navy personnel aboardI-14 to take command of her in exchange for fortyI-14 personnel, who becameprisoners-of-war aboardBangust.[5]Bangust relievedMurray of escort duty and began to escortI-14 toward Sagami Bay.[5] They arrived at Sagami Bay on 29 August 1945, and at 09:55I-14 moored there alongside the U.S. Navysubmarine tenderUSS Proteus (AS-19) outboard ofI-400, which had already surrendered and tied up alongsideProteus under the command of a prize crew.[5]
At 08:20 on 30 August 1945,I-14 got underway in company withI-400 andProteus bound forTokyo Bay, where theyanchored at 14:58 the same day.[5] At 14:45I-400,I-14, andProteus began a move to a new anchorage within thebreakwater at the submarine base atYokosuka, Japan, whereProteus was anchored by 16:50.[5] Twelve U.S. Navy submarines chosen to represent the U.S. Navy Submarine Force at theJapanese surrender ceremony inTokyo Bay also were anchored there, and the surrenderedI-401 arrived on 31 August as well.[5] The surrender ceremony took place aboard the U.S. NavybattleshipUSS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.
Postwar
editThe Japanese removedI-14 from the navy list on 15 September 1945.[5]I-14 departed Yokosuka on 1 November 1945 bound forSasebo, Japan, in company withI-400 andI-401, also operated by U.S. Navy crews, and escorted by thesubmarine rescue vesselUSS Greenlet (ASR-10).[5] They arrived at Sasebo the same day.[7]
After loading Japanesemotorlaunches onto their decks to serve aslifeboats,[7]I-14,I-400, andI-401 departed Sasebo on 11 December 1945 bound forPearl Harbor,Hawaii, under escort byGreenlet and manned by U.S. Navy crews, withI-14 under the command ofCommanderJohn S. McCain Jr.[7] A few days after departure, the vessels weathered a powerful storm, during whichI-14′s crew noted that herhangar, offset tostarboard, threw her off balance in heavy seas and created rough riding for the men aboard her.[5] The vessels stopped along the way atApra Harbor onGuam in the Mariana Islands from 18 to 21 December 1945, then atEniwetok in the Marshall Islands, and then atKwajalein for food and supplies from 26 to 27 December 1945.[7] On the final leg of the voyage from Kwajalein Atoll,I-14′s crew experienced the curiosity of celebratingNew Year's Eve twice, once on 31 December 1945 west of the International Date Line, then again the following day east of the line, and took advantage of the opportunity to celebrate on both occasions.[5] The three submarines andGreenlet arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 January 1946 and tied up at the Submarine Base, where a U.S. Navy band and local celebrities welcomed them.[5]
On 16 January 1946,I-14 andI-401 conductedradar tests with the submarineUSS Steelhead (SS-280).[8]
Disposal
editWith postwar relations with theSoviet Union deteriorating rapidly and concerns growing in theUnited States that under postwar agreements the Soviets would demand access to the captured Japanese submarines that would provide theSoviet Navy with valuable information about advanced Japanese submarine designs, the U.S. Navy issued orders on 26 March 1946 to sink all captured Japanese submarines.[7] Accordingly, the U.S. Navy submarineUSS Bugara (SS-331) sankI-14 as a target in tests of the Mark 10 Mod 3 exploder off Pearl Harbor at21°13′N158°08′W / 21.217°N 158.133°W /21.217; -158.133 (=I-14) on 28 May 1946.[5]
Discovery of wreck
editOn 15 February 2009, theHawaii Undersea Research Laboratory's (HURL) deep-diving submersiblesPisces IV andPisces V,working with a group from theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, locatedI-14′sbow section offBarber's Point,Oahu.[5] Later the same day they found the rest of her wreck, determining that the entire wreck lay at a depth of 800 meters (2,625 ft).[5][9]
On 17 February 2009, the two submersibles conducted extensive surveys of the wrecks ofI-14 and the Japanese submarineI-201, also lying in two pieces in the area[5] after the U.S. Navy sank her as a target in 1946.[10] The survey found thatI-14 had broken in two at the forward end of her hangar bay, and that the hangar door was missing, but the hangar itself remained attached to the hull.[5] The hangar's after portion had heavy damage, but aft of the hangar bay the wreck was in "pristine" condition.[5] Theconning tower was intact, and "I-14" remained clearly visible, painted on both sides of it.[5] The forward25 mm (1 in) Type 96antiaircraft guns had corroded and were aimed nearly vertically in their triplemount.[5] The bow section rested to starboard of the hull and had a mangled end but otherwise was in good condition.[5] A debris field littered with batteries lay on theseabed in between the bow section and the hull.[5] AWildLife Productions film crew was aboard each submersible to record footage during the survey for theNational Geographic Channeldocumentary filmHunt for the Samurai Subs.[5][11]
Researchers announced the discovery of the wrecks ofI-14 andI-201 on 12 November 2009.[9] The search for the wrecks and video footage of them on the ocean bottom was featured inHunt for the Samurai Subs, which premiered in the United States on the National Geographic Channel on 17 November 2009.[9]
See also
editReferences
editFootnotes
edit- ^Layman & McLaughlin, p. 176
- ^Bagnasco, p. 189
- ^Chesneau, p. 200
- ^abcCarpenter & Dorr, p. 110
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamanaoapaqarasatauavawaxayazbabbbcbdbebfbgbhbibjHackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (November 1, 2016)."IJN Submarine I-14: Tabular Record of Movement".combinedfleet.com. Retrieved24 December 2021.
- ^abcdefghHackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (November 1, 2016)."IJN Submarine I-13: Tabular Record of Movement".combinedfleet.com. Retrieved23 December 2021.
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrHackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (12 March 2016)."IJN Submarine I-400: Tabular Record of Movement".combinedfleet.com. Retrieved25 October 2020.
- ^Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2011)."IJN Submarine I-401: Tabular Record of Movement".combinedfleet.com. Retrieved24 October 2020.
- ^abcFountain, Henry (November 12, 2009)."2 Japanese Subs Are Found in Waters Off Hawaii".New York Times. New York. Retrieved26 October 2020.
- ^Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2011)."IJN Submarine I-201: Tabular Record of Movement".combinedfleet.com. Retrieved26 October 2020.
- ^LATimes,2 Japanese subs sunk after World War II found
Bibliography
edit- Bagnasco, Erminio (1977).Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
- Boyd, Carl & Yoshida, Akikiko (2002).The Japanese Submarine Force and World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-015-0.
- Carpenter, Dorr B. & Polmar, Norman (1986).Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904–1945. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-396-6.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Hashimoto, Mochitsura (1954).Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet 1942 – 1945. Colegrave, E.H.M. (translator). London: Cassell and Company. ASIN B000QSM3L0.
- Layman, R.D. & McLaughlin, Stephen (1991).The Hybrid Warship:The Amalgamation of Big Guns and Aircraft. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-555-1.
- Stille, Mark (2007).Imperial Japanese Navy Submarines 1941-45. New Vanguard. Vol. 135. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing.ISBN 978-1-84603-090-1.