 I-15 during her initialsea trials. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan | |
| Name | Submarine No. 37 |
| Builder | Kure Naval Arsenal,Kure, Japan |
| Laid down | 25 January 1938 |
| Renamed | I-15 |
| Launched | 7 March 1939 |
| Commissioned | 30 September 1940 |
| Fate | Sunk 10 November 1942 |
| Stricken | 24 December 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type B1 submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 108.7 m (357 ft) |
| Beam | 9.3 m (31 ft) |
| Draft | 5.14 m (16.9 ft) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Test depth | 100 m (328 ft) |
| Complement | 94 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 1Yokosuka E14Yfloatplane |
I-15 was anImperial Japanese NavyB1 type submarine commissioned in 1940 that served duringWorld War II. She supported the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor, operated off theUnited States West Coast, and took part inOperation K-1, theAleutian Islands campaign, and theGuadalcanal campaign, including theBattle of the Eastern Solomons and theBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands, before she was sunk in November 1942 during her fourth war patrol.
I-15 waslaid down on 25 January 1938 by theKure Naval Arsenal atKure,Japan, with the nameSubmarine No. 37.[2] She had been renamedI-15 by the time she waslaunched on 7 March 1939.[2] She was completed andcommissioned on 30 September 1940.[2]
Upon commissioning,I-15 was attached to theYokosuka Naval District.[2] On 15 November 1940, she and the submarineI-16 were assigned to SubmarineDivision 1 in SubmarineSquadron 1 in the6th Fleet.[2]
As theImperial Japanese Navy began to deploy for the upcomingconflict in the Pacific, Submarine Squadron 1 was assigned to the Advance Force, andI-15 departedYokosuka, Japan, on 21 November 1941 in company with the submarinesI-9,I-17, andI-25, bound for the waters of theHawaiian Islands to participate in Operation Z, the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor that would bring Japan and theUnited States intoWorld War II.[2][3] While the submarines were en route, they received the message "ClimbMount Niitaka 1208" (Japanese:Niitakayama nobore 1208) from theCombined Fleet on 2 December 1941, indicating that war with theAllies would commence on 8 December 1941Japan time, which was on 7 December 1941 on the other side of theInternational Date Line inHawaii.[2]
On 7 December 1941, the day of the Pearl Harbor attack,I-15 was on patrol north ofOahu with orders to reconnoiter Hawaiian waters and attack any American ships thatsortied fromPearl Harbor.[2] On 10 December, the submarineI-6 reported sighting a U.S. Navytask force including aLexington-classaircraft carrier and twocruisers steaming northeastward from Oahu, andI-9,I-15,I-17,I-25, and the submarinesI-19,I-21, andI-23 received orders to intercept and sink the aircraft carrier and set out in pursuit of it at full speed.[2] Their search for it was unsuccessful.[2]
On 13 December 1941, JapaneseImperial General Headquarters ordered the submarines of the 6th Fleet to bombard theUnited States West Coast.[3] The 6th Fleet′s commander,Vice AdmiralMitsumi Shimizu, in turn orderedI-9,I-15,I-17,I-19,I-21,I-23,I-25, and the submarinesI-10 andI-26 each to fire 30 rounds at targets on the U.S. West Coast on the evening of 25 December 1941, with the commander of Submarine Squadron 1,Rear AdmiralTsutomu Sato aboard hisflagshipI-9, in overall command of the bombardment.[2][3]I-15 received these orders on 14 December 1941 and proceeded to her designated patrol area west of theFarallon Islands.[2] She surfaced off the Farallons around midnight on the night of 17–18 December 1941 to recharge herbatteries, and her commanding officer permitted her crew to come on deck to see the lights ofSan Francisco,California, which were visible to the south.[2]
On 22 December 1941 thecommander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, AdmiralIsoroku Yamamoto, postponed the bombardment until 27 December.[2] On 27 December 1941, with most of the submarines tasked with carrying out the bombardment low on fuel and amid concerns on the Naval General Staff that a bombardment of populous areas such as San Francisco andLos Angeles, California, would inflict significant civilian casualties and invite retaliation by the United States, Shimizu cancelled the bombardment.[2]I-15 headed forKwajalein in theMarshall Islands, concluding her patrol with her arrival there on 11 January 1942, apparently sighted by the U.S. Navy submarineUSS Tautog, which reported seeing three Japanese submarines arrive at Kwajalein that day.[2]
On 1 February 1942, planes from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrierUSS Enterprise raided Kwajalein, andI-9,I-15,I-17,I-19, andI-25 submerged to the harbor bottom at a depth of 150 feet (46 m) to avoid attack.[2] Two hours after the air raid ended, 6th Fleet Headquarters ordered Submarine Squadron 1, includingI-9,I-15,I-17,I-19,I-23,I-25,I-26, and the submarinesRo-61 andRo-62, to put to sea to find and attackEnterprise.[2]
After an unsuccessful search forEnterprise,I-15,I-19,I-23, andI-26 were recalled to Kwajalein on 3 February 1942 to participate inOperation K-1, an attack on Pearl Harbor in which two Imperial Japanese NavyKawanishi H8K (Allied reporting name "Emily")flying boats were to fly fromWotje Atoll in the Marshall Islands to theFrench Frigate Shoals in theNorthwestern Hawaiian Islands, refuel fromI-15,I-19, andI-26 there, and then fly on to attack Pearl Harbor 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) to the east-southeast.[3]I-23 was to patrol south of Hawaii to provide weather reports and anair-sea rescue capability if either or both of the flying boats were forced down,[3] whileI-9, which remained at sea without returning to Kwajalein, was to operate in an area halfway between Wotje Atoll and the French Frigate Shoals to transmit a radio beacon signal to help the flying boats navigate during the first leg of their flight.[3] On 5 February 1942,I-15 arrived at Kwajalein, where she,I-19, andI-26 disembarked theirYokosuka E14Y (Allied reporting name "Glen")floatplanes to make room for six fuel tanks each in theirhangars for the storage ofaviation gasoline with which to refuel the flying boats.[3]
I-15 got underway from Kwajalein on 20 February 1942 to intercept U.S. NavyTask Force 11, centered around the aircraft carrierUSS Lexington, which had aborted a planned raid on the Japanese base atRabaul after its detection by Japanese reconnaissance aircraft.[2]I-15 did not find Task Force 11, and on 2 March 1942 abandoned her search to proceed to the French Frigate Shoals to support Operation K-1.[2] She andI-19 arrived at the French Frigate Shoals on 4 March and, whileI-26 waited at sea as a reserve, refueled the H8K flying boats when they arrived after sunset.[2] The two aircraft soon took off again, and in the predawn hours of 5 March 1942 dropped eight 250-kilogram (551 lb) bombs overHonolulu, inflicting little damage and no casualties due to the overcast conditions, before flying back to the Marshall Islands.[2][3]I-15,I-19, andI-26 subsequently returned to Japan, arriving atYokosuka on 21 March 1942 to begin an overhaul.[2]
WhileI-15,I-19,I-25, andI-26 were indrydock at Yokosuka, 16United States Army Air ForcesB-25 Mitchell mediumbombers launched from the aircraft carrierUSS Hornet struck targets in Japan on 18 April 1942 in theDoolittle Raid.[2] One B-25 bombed and damaged thelight aircraft carrierRyūhō, which was undergoing conversion from thesubmarine tenderTaigei in a nearby drydock.[2]I-15 suffered no damage or casualties in the raid.
With her overhaul complete,I-15 got underway from Yokosuka on 15 May 1942 to begin her second war patrol.[2] She reachedŌminato in northernHonshu on 17 May, then departed in company withI-9,I-17, andI-19 to proceed to theAleutian Islands.[2] She was reassigned to the Northern Force on 20 May, and on 25 May conducted a reconnaissance ofAdak Island.[2] On 26 May, she was diverted to provide support to the aircraft carriersRyūjō andJun'yō as they deployed to the Aleutians area, then returned to her patrol area south of the Aleutians.[2]
On 27 May 1942, the Japanese began the preliminary stages of Operation AL, the invasion of the Aleutian Islands, and that dayI-15 conducted aperiscope reconnaissance ofKodiak onKodiak Island.[2] TheAleutian Islands campaign began withan attack onDutch Harbor onAmaknak Island by planes fromRyūjō andJun'yō on 3–4 June 1942, and on 5 June Japanese forces occupiedAttu in the western Aleutians without opposition.[2] Early on the morning of 7 June,I-15 reconnoiteredKiska, and Japanese forces occupied that island as well later in the day, also without opposition.[2] Meanwhile,I-9,I-15,I-17, andI-19 formed a patrol line west of Kiska to search for a force of U.S. Navy cruisers reportedly in the area, moving from south to north in their search but finding no American ships.[2]
I-15 conducted a periscope reconnaissance of Dutch Harbor on 19 June 1942.[2] Reassigned to Submarine Division 2 in Submarine Squadron 1 as well as to the Advance Force on 30 June, she headed back to Japan, arriving at Yokosuka on 7 July 1942.[2]
TheGuadalcanal campaign began on 7 August 1942 withUnited States Marine Corps landings onGuadalcanal in the southeasternSolomon Islands.[2] Submarine Division 2, consisting ofI-15,I-17, andI-19, received orders to proceed to the waters east of the Solomons, andI-15 got underway from Yokosuka accordingly on 15 August 1942 to begin her third war patrol.[2] Arriving in their assigned area east of theSanta Cruz Islands on 23 August 1942, the submarines of Submarine Division 2 formed a patrol line to cover the landing of Japanese troops on Guadalcanal in Operation KA.[2]
TheBattle of the Eastern Solomons began on 24 August 1942, and at 01:45 local time on 25 AugustI-15 sighted a U.S. Navy task force which she identified as consisting of the aircraft carrierEnterprise, thebattleshipUSS North Carolina, two cruisers, and fivedestroyers.[2] Hoping to mount a coordinated attack withI-17,I-15 attempted to contactI-17 withsonar pings usingMorse code, but was unsuccessful.[2] Two of the U.S. destroyers detectedI-17 and attacked her withdepth charges.[2] After the depth-charge attack onI-17 ended,I-15 surfaced and maintained contact with the U.S. task force until 03:00.[2]I-15 andI-17 then received orders to pursue the task force.[2]
The Battle of the Eastern Solomons ended on 25 August 1942. On 26 August, the Advance Force orderedI-15,I-17,I-19,I-26, and the submarinesI-11,I-33,I-174, andI-175 to deploy from the south to the east ofSan Cristobal in the southeastern Solomons to interdict American supplies and reinforcements for Guadalcanal.[2] Around midnight on 28 August,I-15 was east of San Cristobal when she sighted what she identified as an American aircraft carrier steaming south.[2]I-15,I-17, andI-33 received orders to pursue it, but made no further contacts with U.S. ships.[2]
I-9,I-15,I-17,I-19,I-21,I-26,I-33, and the submarineI-24 took up patrol stations betweenNdeni in the Santa Cruz Islands and San Cristobal on 10 September 1942.[2] On 13 September, an H8K flying boat reported anAllied task force 345 nautical miles (639 km; 397 mi) south-southeast ofTulagi, andI-9,I-15,I-17,I-21,I-24,I-26,I-33, and the submarineI-31 received orders to form a patrol line to intercept it.[2] At 11:45 on 15 September,I-19 fired a spread of sixtorpedoes at the aircraft carrierUSS Wasp, two of which hit her and inflicted fatal damage.[2] Three of the torpedoes that missedWasp continued their runs to nearly the limit of their range; one of them hit the battleshipNorth Carolina, one hit the destroyerUSS O'Brien, and one barely missed the aircraft carrierHornet.[2] Several accounts of the action[4] creditI-15 with torpedoingNorth Carolina, butI-19 fired all the torpedoes.I-15 was nearby, however, and was able to confirm thatI-19 sankWasp.[2]
On 20 September 1942,I-15,I-17,I-19,I-26,I-33,I-174, andI-175 left the patrol area.[2]I-15 concluded her patrol with her arrival atTruk on 25 September 1942.[2]
Reassigned to the 2nd Reconnaissance Unit — and later directly to Submarine Squadron 1 —I-15 departed Truk on 5 October 1942 to begin her fourth war patrol.[2] She arrived inIndispensable Strait in the Solomon Islands on 12 October, and that day refueled an Imperial Japanese NavyAichi E13A1 (Allied reporting name "Jake") floatplane of the "R" Area Air Force based atShortland Island andRekata Bay;[2] the aircraft sighted a U.S. Navy task force centered around the aircraft carrierHornet east ofMalaita on the morning of 13 October.[2] On 14 October, she refueled an E13A1 based on theseaplane carrierChitose.[2] She again fueled an E13A1 on 16 October, and the aircraft went on to sightHornet, allowing the Japanese to orderI-26 into an area that would give her a chance of interceptingHornet.[2] On 18 October 1942,I-15 departed Indispensable Strait.[2]
On 19 October 1942, Submarine Squadron 1 received orders to patrol west ofEspiritu Santo.[2] On 22 October,I-15,I-17, andI-26 received assignments to patrol west of San Cristobal to prevent U.S. supplies and reinforcements from reaching Guadalcanal.[2]
TheBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands broke out on 26 October 1942.[2] Operating 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) west of Espiritu Santo at 03:50 on 27 October,I-15 sighted a large U.S. task force steaming south from the Santa Cruz Islands.[2] When the task force took evasive action to avoid a submarine contact — probably a detection ofI-15 — the battleshipUSS South Dakota and destroyerUSS Mahan suffered major damage when they collided with one another at 04:14.[2] Later on 27 October,I-15 moved to a new patrol area southwest of San Cristobal,[2] from which she transmitted a routine situation report at 17:01 on 3 November 1942.[2] The Japanese never heard from her again.[2]
During a voyage from Espiritu Santo to Guadalcanal with a cargo of supplies, the U.S. Navyfast minesweeperUSS Southard sightedI-15 on the surface recharging her batteries offCape Recherche on San Cristobal at 02:30 on 10 November 1942.[2]Southard closed the range and at 02:31 opened 4.5-inch (114 mm) gunfire onI-15, which crash-dived.[2]I-15 fired two torpedoes atSouthard, both of which missed.[2]Southard gained sonar contact onI-15 at 02:42, and over the next several hours made six depth-charge attacks.[2] The crew of the Japanese submarineI-171 was patrolling in the vicinity and heard the depth charges explode.[2] Damage from the depth-charge attacks forcedI-15 to surface at the south end of Indispensable Strait at 10:03, andSouthard opened gunfire on her at a range of 2,000 yards (1,830 m).[2] She quickly hitI-15′sconning tower, andI-15 sank by thebow at10°13′S161°09′E / 10.217°S 161.150°E /-10.217; 161.150 (I-15) with the loss of her entire crew of 91.[2]
On 5 December 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy declaredI-15 to be presumed lost with all hands in the Guadalcanal area.[2] The Japanese removed her from the Navy list on 24 December 1942.[2]
Southard sometimes is credited with sinking the submarineI-172 rather thanI-15 on 10 November 1942, but this appears to be in error.[2] On 14 December 1942, almost five weeks afterSouthard sankI-15, the U.S. Navy submarineUSS Wahoo claimed the sinking of a Japanese submarine which she misidentified asI-15.[5]
