 I-26 inHiroshima Bay, late October 1941. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Submarine No. 139 |
| Builder | Kure Naval Arsenal,Kure,Japan |
| Laid down | 7 June 1939 |
| Launched | 10 April 1940 |
| Renamed |
|
| Completed | 6 November 1941 |
| Commissioned | 6 November 1941 |
| Fate | Sunk 17 November 1944 |
| Stricken | 10 March 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type B1submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 108.7 m (356 ft 8 in) |
| Beam | 9.3 m (30 ft 6 in) |
| Draft | 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 14,000nautical miles (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Test depth | 100 m (328 ft) |
| Complement | 94 officers and men |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | oneseaplane |
I-26 was anImperial Japanese NavyB1 type submarine commissioned in 1941. She saw service in thePacific War theatre ofWorld War II, patrolling off the West Coast ofCanada and theUnited States, the east coast ofAustralia, andFiji and in theIndian Ocean and taking part inOperation K, preparatory operations for theAleutian Islands campaign, and theGuadalcanal campaign, theMarianas campaign, and theBattle of Leyte Gulf. She was the first Japanese submarine to sink an Americanmerchant ship in the war, sank the first ship lost off the coast ofState of Washington during the war, damaged the aircraft carrierUSS Saratoga, sank thelight cruiserUSS Juneau, and was the third-highest-scoring Japanese submarine of World War II in terms of shipping tonnage sunk. Her bombardment ofVancouver Island in 1942 was the first foreign attack onCanadian soil since 1870. In 1944,I-26′s crew committedwar crimes in attacking the survivors of a ship she sank. She was sunk in November 1944 during her ninth war patrol.
Built by theKure Naval Arsenal atKure,Japan,I-26 waslaid down on 7 June 1939 asSubmarine No. 139.[2][3] She waslaunched on 10 April 1940[2][3] and provisionally numberedI-27 that day,[2][3] but she was renumberedI-26 on 1 November 1941.[2][3] She was completed andcommissioned on 6 November 1941.[2][3]
On the day of her commissioning,I-26 was attached to theYokosuka Naval District and assigned to SubmarineDivision 4 in SubmarineSquadron 1 in the6th Fleet, a component of theCombined Fleet.[2][3] She departed immediately for work-ups in theSeto Inland Sea.[3]
On 10 November 1941, as the Japanese armed forces began to deploy for the offensive that would begin thePacific campaign ofWorld War II,I-26 was assigned to the 6th Fleet Reconnaissance Unit and received orders to conduct a prewar reconnaissance of theAleutian Islands area.[3] She arrived atYokosuka, Japan, on 12 November 1941, and began preparations for the mission, which called forI-26 to operate at the limits of her endurance.[3] Rather than embark afloatplane, her crew filled herhangar with food because of a lack of space below for sufficient provisions.[3] With modernType 95torpedoes in short supply, she instead loaded only ten old6th Year Type torpedoes,[3] seven fewer torpedoes than she was designed to carry.
I-26 departed Yokosuka at 15:00 on 19 November 1941 and set course for the Aleutians with orders to reconnoiter American naval bases there and report on theUnited States Navy presence in the area to thecommander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet,AdmiralIsoroku Yamamoto, by 5 December 1941, then proceed to a patrol area in thePacific Ocean halfway betweenSan Francisco,California, andHawaii to observe and report any American reinforcements headed toward Hawaii from theUnited States West Coast.[2][3] When she was 600nautical miles (1,100 km; 690 mi) from the Aleutians, she began a routine of operating submerged by day and on the surface only at night.[3] After arriving in the Aleutians, she conducted aperiscope reconnaissance ofAttu,Kiska, andAdak between 26 and 28 November 1941 and ofDutch Harbor onAmaknak Island offUnalaska on 29 November.[2][3] Finding no American naval presence in any of these areas, she headed for her Pacific patrol area, centered around28°00′N141°30′W / 28.000°N 141.500°W /28.000; -141.500.[3] She received the message "ClimbMount Niitaka 1208" (Japanese:Niitakayama nobore 1208) from the Combined Fleet on 2 December 1941, indicating that war with theAllies would commence with theattack on Pearl Harbor on 8 December 1941Japan time, which was on 7 December 1941 on the other side of theInternational Date Line in both Hawaii andI-26′s patrol area.[3]
When 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) off San Francisco on 6 December 1941,I-26 sighted the 2,140-gross register toncargo shipSS Cynthia Olson, alumbersteamer under charter to theUnited States Army making 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and carrying a cargo of U.S. Army supplies fromTacoma,Washington, toHonolulu, Hawaii.[3][4] Under orders not to commence hostilities until 03:30 on 8 December Japan time — the anticipated time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which was 08:00 on 7 December Hawaii time and 09:00 local time on 7 December inI-26′s patrol area[5] —I-26 determinedCynthia Olson′s course and speed, pursued her until dark, then surfaced and moved ahead of her so as to be in position to attack her when hostilities began the next morning.[3]
At dawn on 7 December 1941,I-26 foundCynthia Olson exactly where the submarine's crew expected to find her along her projected course.[3] At 09:00 local time on 7 December, which was 08:00 on 7 December in Hawaii and 03:30 on 8 December in Japan and was only minutes after the attack on Pearl Harbor began,I-26 determinedCynthia Olson′s nationality, surfaced near her, and fired a warning shot.[3]Cynthia Olson′s crew transmitted anSOS and abandoned ship in twolifeboats.[3][6]I-26 fired 18 rounds from her aft 140-millimeter (5.5 in) gun from a range of 1,000 yards (910 m) atCynthia Olson, setting her ablaze.[3][7] Twenty minutes after opening fire, she received the messageTora! Tora! Tora! ("Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!"), indicating that the Pearl Harbor attack had achieved complete surprise.[3] She submerged and fired a torpedo atCynthia Olson from a range of 450 yards (410 m), but it missed her astern because she still was underway.[3][7]I-26 surfaced again and resumed 140-millimeter (5.5 in) fire, firing 29 more rounds over the next two hours before departing the area whenCynthia Olson finally rolled onto her side in a sinking condition some five hours afterI-26 first attacked her.[3][6][7]Cynthia Olson sank later on 7 December 900 nautical miles (1,700 km; 1,000 mi) northeast of Hawaii at33°42′N145°29′W / 33.700°N 145.483°W /33.700; -145.483 (SSCynthia Olson), the first Americanmerchant ship lost after the entry of the United States into the war and the first American merchant ship sunk by a Japanese submarine.[2][3][4][8][9] The Americanocean linerSS Lurline picked upCynthia Olson′s SOS from a considerable distance away[7] and on 8 December the Japanese submarineI-19 came across her lifeboats and provided her survivors — 33 crewmen and two U.S. Army passengers — with food, but after that they were never seen or heard from again.[5][7]
After the submarineI-6 reported sighting aLexington-classaircraft carrier and twocruisers steaming east-northeast ofOahu on 9 December 1941, the commander of the 6th Fleet,Vice AdmiralMitsumi Shimizu, aboard hisflagship, thelight cruiserKatori atKwajalein Atoll in theMarshall Islands, orderedI-26 and all the other submarines of Submarine Squadron 1 except for those of the Special Attack Force serving as themother ships formidget submarines to search for the ships.[3] The search was unsuccessful.[3]
On 14 December 1941,I-26 was among a number of submarines ordered to proceed to the U.S. West Coast to attack shipping.[3] The same day, JapaneseImperial General Headquarters ordered the submarines to bombard the U.S. West Coast, and Vice Admiral Shimizu instructedI-26 and the submarinesI-9,I-10,I-15,I-17,I-19,I-21,I-23, andI-25 each to fire 30 rounds on the evening of 25 December, with the commander of Submarine Squadron 1,Rear AdmiralTsutomu Sato aboard his flagshipI-9, in overall command of the bombardment.[3]I-26 arrived in her assigned patrol area in theStrait of Juan de Fuca offCape Flattery, Washington, nearSeattle on 20 December 1941 and sighted several merchant ships, but could not make any attacks due to heavy seas and poor visibility.[3] On 22 December, Admiral Yamamoto postponed the bombardment from 25 to 27 December, and on 27 December Rear Admiral Sato cancelled it entirely[3] because of the frequency of coastal air and surface patrols[10] and because the submarines tasked with carrying it out were very low on fuel.[3]I-26 concluded her patrol with her arrival at Kwajalein on 11 January 1942[2][3] after 54 days at sea.
While at Kwajalein,I-26 fueled and loaded provisions in company withI-15,I-17, andI-23.[3] She also loaded modern Type 95 torpedoes for the first time in the war.[3] One source asserts that she made a voyage to Yokosuka and back to Kwajalein during January 1942 for new equipment and training.[2] While she was at Kwajalein, 46 U.S. Navy aircraft from the aircraft carrierUSS Enterpriseraided Kwajalein andWotje Atoll on 1 February 1942, sinking atransport, wounding Vice Admiral Shimizu and damaging a number of ships, including Shimizu's flagshipKatori, the auxiliarysubmarine tenderYasukuni Maru, andI-23.[3] Moored alongsideI-23,I-26 attempted to open fire on the attacking planes with her 25-millimeterantiaircraft gun, but it malfunctioned, and instead she submerged and avoided damage.[3] Two hours after the raid, the 6th Fleet orderedI-9,I-15,I-17,I-19,I-23,I-25,I-26, and the submarinesRo-61 andRo-62 to find and attackEnterprise,[2][3] but they had no success.
On 3 February 1942,I-15,I-19,I-23, andI-26 were recalled to Kwajalein,[2][3] and on 5 February they andI-9 were selected to participate inOperation K, which called for two Imperial Japanese NavyKawanishi H8K1 (Allied reporting name "Emily")flying boats to fly from Wotje, stop at theFrench Frigate Shoals in theNorthwestern Hawaiian Islands 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) west-northwest of Oahu to refuel from submarines, then fly to Oahu to bombHonolulu before returning to Wotje.[3]I-9 was to take station halfway between Wotje and the French Frigate Shoals to act as a radio beacon for the aircraft,I-23 was to operate 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) south of Pearl Harbor to provide weather reports and rescue the crews of any aircraft that were shot down, andI-15,I-19, andI-26 were to refuel the planes.[2][3]
On 14 February 1942,I-15,I-19, andI-26 each had six fuel tanks foraviation gasoline installed in their hangars,[3] and the three submarines departed Kwajalein on 20 February 1942 bound for the French Frigate Shoals.[2][3] WithI-26 remaining offshore in reserve,I-15 andI-19 arrived at French Frigate Shoals on 4 March 1942, where the two flying boats landed that evening.[3] After refueling they took off again, made the seven-hour flight to Honolulu, dropped their bombs early on 5 March without achieving anything of importance, and returned to the Marshall Islands safely.[3] With the operation complete,I-26 made for Yokosuka, Japan, where she arrived on 21 March 1942 and began repairs.[2][3]
WhileI-26 was inDrydock No. 5 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.[3] Some ofI-26′s crew aboard her and ashore witnessed part of the raid, and one B-25 bombed and damaged thelight aircraft carrierRyūhō, which was undergoing conversion from thesubmarine tenderTaigei in the adjacent Drydock No. 4.[3][11]I-26 suffered no damage or casualties in the raid.
As Japan made preparations to begin theAleutian Islands campaign with landings onAttu andKiska in theAleutian Islands and an air strike on Dutch Harbor,I-26 got underway from Yokosuka at 13:00 on 16 May 1942 to begin her second war patrol, ordered to reconnoiter theKodiak Island area off the coast of theTerritory of Alaska and then raid shipping off Seattle.[2][3] While she was at sea, she was reassigned to the Northern Force.[3] She conducted a reconnaissance of Kodiak Island on 24 May 1942[3] and ofChirikof Island andSitkanak Island on 26 May 1942.[3] On 27 May 1942,I-25 launched aYokosuka E14Y1 (Allied reporting name "Glen")floatplane for a reconnaissance flight over Dutch Harbor, andI-26, which had no aircraft embarked, stood by to recover the aircraft in caseI-25 was unable to.[3][12]
After the floatplane returned safely toI-25,I-26 proceeded to her patrol area off Seattle, which she reached on 31 May 1942.[3] On the afternoon of 7 June 1942, she was 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) southwest ofCape Flattery, Washington, when she fired a Type 89 torpedo at the 3,286-gross register toncargo shipSS Coast Trader — which had departedPort Angeles, Washington, that day bound forSan Francisco,California, with a cargo of 1,250 tons ofnewsprint — as she left the Strait of Juan de Fuca.[2][3][13] The torpedo hitCoast Trader in herstarboard side, and she sank by thestern in 40 minutes at48°19′N125°40′W / 48.317°N 125.667°W /48.317; -125.667 (SSCoast Trader), the first American ship sunk off the coast of Washington during World War II.[2][3][13] One crewman died of exposure before the remainder were rescued over the following two days by thefishingschoonerVirginia I and theRoyal Canadian NavycorvetteHMCS Edmundston.[3][13] Apparently reluctant to acknowledge Japanese submarine activity off the U.S. West Coast at the same time that American shipping was suffering heavy losses at the hands ofGerman submarines off theUnited States East Coast in what the German submarine crews called the "Second Happy Time,"[13] a U.S. Navy board of inquiry officially attributed the sinking ofCoast Trader to "an internal explosion."[3][13]
At 22:17 on 20 June 1942,I-26 surfaced either 2 or 5 nautical miles (3.7 or 9.3 km; 2.3 or 5.8 mi) (according to different sources) off the west coast ofVancouver Island inBritish Columbia,Canada, and shelled theHesquiatradio-direction-finding (RDF) installation atEstevan Point with her 140-millimeter (5.5 in)deck gun.[14] In the first attack on Canadian soil since theFenian raids in 1870,[3] she fired seventeen 140-millimeter (5.5 in) rounds — two exercise rounds filled withsand and 15 liveshells — in rough seas and limited visibility, scoring no hits.[3] Most of the shells fell short of theEstevan Point Lighthouse or exploded near it;[3] one unexploded shell was recovered in the aftermath of the attack and another in June 1973.[3]I-26 then headed west and turned north towardUnimak Pass in the Aleutian Islands, and five Royal Canadian Navy ships and aRoyal Canadian Air ForceSupermarine Stranraerflying boat sent to search for her failed to find her.[2][3] Despite its lack of success, the shelling — which some local eyewitnesses mistakenly attributed to twocruisers[3] — had a disproportionate effect on coastal shipping, as alllighthouses along the west coast ofNorth America subsequently were extinguished to prevent their use for navigation by enemy vessels.[15]
On 30 June 1942,I-26 departed her patrol area, and she was reassigned to the Advance Force that day.[3] She returned to Yokosuka on 7 July 1942.[2][3][16]
WhileI-26 was in Japan, Submarine Division 4 was deactivated on 10 August 1942, andI-26 was reassigned to Submarine Division 2 in Submarine Squadron 1 in the 6th Fleet.[2][3] On 15 August 1942, she departed Yokosuka in company with the submarinesI-9,I-15,I-17 andI-19 bound forTruk Atoll in theCaroline Islands,[2][3] which she reached on 21 August 1942.[2]
TheGuadalcanal campaign had begun on 7 August 1942 withUnited States Marine Corps landings onGuadalcanal in the southeasternSolomon Islands, and soon after arriving at Truk,I-26 got back underway for her third war patrol to support Japanese forces on Guadalcanal.[2][3] Ordered to operate as part of a submarine picket line, she arrived in her patrol area southeast of the Solomon Islands on 23 August 1942 and thereafter operated on the surface only in darkness.[3] TheBattle of the Eastern Solomons took place on 24 and 25 August 1942, and on 25 August 1942 she briefly sighted what she identified as an Alliedtask force consisting of an aircraft carrier and 10destroyers at 16:00, then sighted what she identified as another Allied task force consisting of an aircraft carrier and aheavy cruiser in the same area at 20:00.[3] She made another sighting at 00:20 on 26 August, this time of a task force which she reported as including one aircraft carrier, twobattleships, threecruisers, and several destroyers.[3] At 02:40 on 30 August 1942, she sighted a task force which she reported either as including one aircraft carrier, one battleship, and several destroyers or one battleship, one cruiser, and several destroyers.[3]
I-26 was on the surface recharging herbatteries northwest ofEspiritu Santo in theNew Hebrides after midnight on 31 August 1942 when she sighted several distant lights.[3] After hercommanding officer identified the lights as belonging to a U.S. Navy task force, she submerged to 265 feet (81 m).[3] Meanwhile, the battleshipUSS North Carolina had detectedI-26 onradar at 03:30 and the destroyerUSS Farragut was detached from the task force to investigate, but she lost contact with the submarine.[3]
After about three hours,I-26 surfaced and began a search for the task force, but did not find it.[3] Just as she began to head back for her patrol area 140 nautical miles (260 km; 160 mi) east ofSan Cristobal in the southeastern Solomon Islands,[3] one of her lookouts using her nightbinoculars sighted a ship resembling a largetanker at a range of 25,200 yards (23,000 m).[3] Her commanding officer identified the ship as a "Saratoga-class" aircraft carrier.[3] It was, in fact, the aircraft carrierUSS Saratoga.[3]I-26 submerged toperiscope depth and began an approach, but she was making only 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) and could not achieve an attack position until the U.S. task force changed course toward her, reaching a point only 1,100 yards (1,000 m) fromI-26 and in a position forI-26 to launch a torpedo salvo atSaratoga′s starboard side.[3] However, a mistake byI-26′s torpedomen in setting up one of the torpedoes prevented an attack.[3]
At 07:46,I-26 returned to periscope depth and found herself alongside the destroyerUSS MacDonough.[3] She fired a six-torpedo spread atSaratoga and submerged to 330 feet (100 m).[3]Saratoga went to full speed and began an evasive turn.[3] One torpedo suffered a steering malfunction andbroached and four others missed, but one hitSaratoga on her starboard side aft at 07:48 at10°34′S164°18′E / 10.567°S 164.300°E /-10.567; 164.300, flooding one of herfire rooms.[2][3][17] The damage forcedSaratoga to fly off her aircraft toHenderson Field on Guadalcanal and make forTongatabu,Fiji, for temporary repairs and thenPearl Harbor, Hawaii, for further repairs.[3] Meanwhile,MacDonough and the destroyerUSS Phelps gained sound contact onI-26 and droppeddepth charges.[3] After they departed, the destroyerUSS Monssen remained on the scene and made several more unsuccessful depth charge attacks.[3] The three destroyers mistakenly claimed sinking a submarine,[3] butI-26 escaped.
At 09:30 on 13 September 1942, aYokohama Air Group Kawanishi H8K flying boat reported an Allied task force 345 nautical miles (639 km; 397 mi) south-southeast ofTulagi in the Solomon Islands, andI-26 along withI-9,I-15,I-17,I-21, and the submarinesI-24,I-31, andI-33 received orders to form a patrol line in the area.[3] On 15 September,I-26 was reassigned to the 2nd Picket Unit,[3] and on 25 September 1942 she concluded her patrol with her return to Truk,[2][3] where she underwent repairs.[2]
On 5 October 1942,I-26 departed Truk in company withI-15 andI-19, ordered to recharge the batteries ofmidget submarines from theseaplane carrierChiyoda offCape Esperance on the northwestern tip of Guadalcanal, then proceed to theIndispensable Reefs south of San Cristobal to relieveI-15 on duty refueling floatplanes there.[2][3] On 11 October 1942,I-26 was on the surface southwest of Guadalcanal at 22:26 when she sighted what she identified as an American cruiser heading north.[3] She submerged to begin an approach but could not achieve an attack position.[3] She surfaced at 23:41 and transmitted a report of her sighting to Truk, but a delay in decoding it there prevented it from reachingRear AdmiralAritomo Gotō — steaming toward Guadalcanal to bombard Henderson Field — in time to warn him of approaching enemy ships, and his force was surprised and defeated by a task force underRear AdmiralNorman Scott in theBattle of Cape Esperance that night.[3]
I-26 arrived at the Indispensable Reefs on 18 October 1942 to relieveI-15 on aircraft refueling duties. TwoAichi E13A1 (Allied reporting name "Jake") floatplanes arrived early that morning.[3] After one of them departed, an enemypatrol plane flew over thereef, and the second E13A1 took off immediately.[3] Meanwhile,I-26crash-dived and struck the reef, damaging her three lowertorpedo tubes.[2][3] She nonetheless continued her operations at Indispensable Reef. Early on the morning of 22 October, she refueled three E13A1 floatplanes, one of which later sighted the battleshipNorth Carolina.[3] On 23 October, she refueled an E13A1 which later located an Alliedconvoy.[3] A U.S. Army Air ForcesB-17 Flying Fortress bomber overflew the reef on 25 October, forcing her to crash-dive and preventing her from refueling aircraft that day,[3] and on 26 October 1942, she departed the Indispensable Reefs, relieved of her refueling duties by the submarineI-122.[3] She proceeded toRabaul onNew Britain in theBismarck Archipelago, which she reached before the end of October.[2]
In November 1942,I-26 got underway from Rabaul and proceeded to the Japanese anchorage in theShortland Islands,[2] then departed the Shortlands to begin her fourth war patrol, ordered to operate between Guadalcanal and San Cristobal.[2] In the predawn hours of 13 November 1942, Japanese and American surface forces fought theFirst Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (known to the Japanese as the "Third Battle of the Solomon Sea") inIronbottom Sound north of Guadalcanal.[3] In the battle's aftermath, the submergedI-26 encountered U.S. ships retiring after the action and sighted the heavy cruiserUSS San Francisco at 11:01 on 13 November.[3] She fired torpedoes from her three undamaged forward torpedo tubes.[3] All three missedSan Francisco, but one of them passed close to thelight cruiserUSS Helena and one struck the badly damaged light cruiserUSS Juneau.[3] The torpedo set offJuneau’smagazine, breaking her in half, and she sank in about 20 seconds at10°33′S161°03′E / 10.550°S 161.050°E /-10.550; 161.050 (USSJuneau (CLAA-52)), killing all but 115 of her crew of 600 men.[3] By the time asearch-and-rescue effort found and rescued the survivors eight days later, only 10 men had survived.[3][18] The fiveSullivan brothers were among the dead.[18]
On 14 November 1942,I-26 sighted what she identified as two destroyers, but at 06:54 the arrival of an Allied patrol plane forced her to dive and break contact.[3] Later on 14 November, an American destroyer, probablyUSS Fletcher, pursued her briefly, but she escaped.[3] She concluded her patrol with her arrival at Truk on either 29[3] or 30[2] November 1942, according to different sources, where her claim for sinkingJuneau was not confirmed because the Japanese lacked information onJuneau′s identity.[3]
I-26 departed Truk on 3 December 1942[2][3] and set course for Yokosuka, which she reached on 9 December 1942.[2][3] She underwent repairs at Yokosuka,[2] and after their completion got back underway on 15 January 1943 to return to Truk.[2][3] She arrived there on 20 January 1943[2][3] and — in accordance with orders by Admiral Yamamoto to the 6th Fleet commander, Vice AdmiralTeruhisa Komatsu, in November 1942 to conduct supply runs to Guadalcanal using submarines[3] — was fitted with a mount for a supply container on her afterdeck.[3]
I-26 was assigned to Submarine Force B on 23 January 1943, and she departed Truk that day on her first supply run, carrying a self-propelledTokugata-Unkato supply container[2][3] — a craft converted from aType AKō-hyōteki-class midget submarine fitted with an elevatedconning tower[3] — bound for Guadalcanal. She arrived off Cape Esperance at the northwest tip of Guadalcanal on 28 January 1943 and pointed herstern directly at the coast to aid the container's pilot in reaching shore.[3] After launching the container, she submerged and withdrew, and when two Alliedpatrol vessels arrived on the scene 30 minutes later they did not detect her.[3]
I-26 proceeded to the waters north ofRennell Island.[3] The Japanese began to evacuate their forces from Guadalcanal inOperation Ke on 31 January 1943.[3] On 2 February 1943I-26 was among submarines ordered to intercept a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier force reported to be 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) southeast of Rennell Island.[3] None of the submarines found the reported aircraft carriers,[3] butI-26 sighted an Allied destroyer on 3 February 1943.[3] On 8 February 1943, Japanese aircraft reported U.S. Navy forces 150 nautical miles (280 km; 170 mi) southeast of Rennell Island, andI-26 again was among the submarines ordered to intercept them.[3] AlthoughI-18 and another Japanese submarine attacked the U.S. force, the other submarines did not make contact with it, andI-26 and the other submarines in the area except forI-11 andI-17 received orders to return to Truk.[3] The Japanese completed the evacuation of Guadalcanal on 9 February 1943,[3] bringing the six-month Guadalcaal campaign to an end, andI-26 returned to Truk on 11 February 1943.[2][3]
On 25 February 1943, Admiral Yamamoto orderedI-26 and the submarineI-6 to conduct anti-shipping operations off the east coast ofAustralia in theSydney area.[3] Accordingly,I-26 put to sea from Truk on 1 March 1943 to proceed to that area.[2][3] During theBattle of the Bismarck Sea of 2–4 March 1943, U.S. Army Air Forces andRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft and U.S. NavyPT boats attacked a Japanese convoy of eighttransports and cargo ships carrying theImperial Japanese Army′s51st Division in theBismarck Sea betweenNew Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago, sinking all eight of them as well as four of their eight escorting destroyers.[3]I-26 interrupted her voyage to take part in rescue operations in the battle's aftermath. She rescued 20 Japanese soldiers from a collapsiblelifeboat on 6 March and put them ashore atLae, New Guinea, on 7 March, then returned to the Bismarck Sea.[3] She rescued another 54 soldiers marooned on an unchartedcoral island west ofGoodenough Island on 8 March and dropped them off at Lae on 9 March.[3] She then resumed her voyage to her patrol area.[3]
On 28 March 1943, anAvro Anson of the RAAF'sNo. 71 Squadron sighted a submarine — probablyI-26 — on the surface offBrisbane, Australia.[3] The submarine openedautomatic weapons fire on the Anson before the aircraft lost sight of it.[3] The Anson turned on itslanding lights in attempt to trick the submarine into opening fire again and revealing its position, but could not regain contact with the submarine.[3]
I-26 was in theTasman Sea 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi) southeast ofCape Howe, Australia, when she fired three torpedoes at Convoy Q.C. 86 on 11 April 1943.[3] One hit theYugoslavian 4,732-gross register ton armed cargosteamerSS Recina — which was making a voyage underAustralian Government charter fromWhyalla,South Australia, toNewcastle,New South Wales, with a cargo ofiron ore — in her starboard side at 14:01.[3]Recina sank in less than a minute at37°24′S150°19′E / 37.400°S 150.317°E /-37.400; 150.317 (SSRecina) with the loss of 32 lives.[2][3] TheRoyal Australian Navysloop-of-warHMAS Moresby attackedI-26 with seven depth charges, and the AustraliancorvettesHMAS Townsville andHMAS Bendigo joined in the search forI-26 but failed to locate her.[3]Moresby rescuedRecina′s 10 survivors.[3]
After 19:00 on 24 April 1943,I-26 fired three torpedoes at the Australian 2,125-gross register ton armed cargo shipSS Kowarra in theCoral Sea 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) northeast ofSandy Cape at the northern tip ofFraser Island off the coast ofQueensland, Australia.[2][3] One torpedo hitKowarra, which was on a voyage fromBowen, Queensland, to Brisbane with a cargo ofsugar, and triggered aboiler explosion, causing her to break in two and sink within 45 seconds at24°26′S153°44′E / 24.433°S 153.733°E /-24.433; 153.733 (SSKowarra) with the loss of 21 lives.[2][3] The U.S. Navysubmarine chaserUSS SC-747 rescued her 11 survivors.[3]I-26 concluded her patrol with her arrival at Truk on 10 May 1943.[2][3]
I-26 began her sixth war patrol on 14 June 1943 with her departure from Truk to raid shipping in the Fiji area and divert Allied attention from Japanese activities elsewhere.[2][3] As she approached an Allied convoy 180 nautical miles (330 km; 210 mi) southwest ofSuva, Fiji, on 25 June 1943, aLockheed Hudsonpatrol bomber of theRoyal New Zealand Air Force′sNo. 4 Squadron attacked her, dropping four depth charges.[2][3] The aircraft's crew reporting seeing oil on the ocean's surface three minutes later, butI-26 suffered little damage.[3] She returned to Truk on 7 August 1943.[2][3]
I-26 departed Truk in August 1943[2] and proceeded to Yokosuka, where she arrived on 23 August.[2][3] During her stay in Yokosuka, she underwent repairs and an overhaul,[2][3] and on 18 September 1943 she received a newcommanding officer,Lieutenant Commander Toshio Kusaka.[2][3] On 1 November 1943 she was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 8, an element of the 6th Fleet based atPenang in Japanese-occupiedBritish Malaya.[2][3] She departed Yokosuka on 21[3] or 22[2] November 1943, according to different sources, and set course for Penang, which she reached probably in early December 1943.[2]
On 4 December 1943,I-26 set out from Penang on her seventh war patrol, ordered to refuel a flying boat conducting a reconnaissance flight, landIndian spies inIndia, and raid shipping in theIndian Ocean.[2][3] She arrived at theMaldives on 8 December to rendezvous with the flying boat, a Kawanishi H8K of the 851st Naval Air Group ordered to reconnoiter the harbors atGoa inPortuguese India andCochin inBritish India.[3] The H8K arrived at 17:00 on 16 December 1943.[3] The weather deteriorated asI-26 refueled it, and when it attempted to take off at sunset it damaged one of itsfloats and crashed.[3]I-26 rescued its entire crew of 10 and sank its wreck with 25-millimeter gunfire.[3]
I-26 got back underway and headed into theArabian Sea.[3] On 21 December 1943, she landed 10 Indian revolutionaries of theHikari Kikanespionage office on the Indian coast nearKarachi so that they could contribute to an anti-Britishinsurgency.[3] She then turned her attention to anti-shipping operations. On 28 December 1943, she fired three torpedoes at the American 7,176-gross register tonLiberty shipSS Robert F. Hoke at20°05′N059°25′E / 20.083°N 59.417°E /20.083; 59.417.[2][3]Robert F. Hoke, which was making a voyage fromAbadan,Iran, toMombasa,British East Africa, took a torpedo hit in her No. 4hold.[3] ARoyal Air Forcecrash boat rescued everyone aboardRobert F. Hoke, which remained afloat.[3] She was towed toAden and then toSuez,Egypt, where she was declared atotal loss andhulked.[3]
On 31 December 1943,I-26 fired three torpedoes at the British 8,054-gross register tonmotortankerMV Tornus in the Arabian Sea off Karachi, one of which hit her at19°45′N059°10′E / 19.750°N 59.167°E /19.750; 59.167.[2][3]Tornus took alist toport, but her crew used counterflooding to correct it.[3]I-26 fired two more torpedoes at her but failed to sink her.[3]Tornus′scaptain later received theOrder of the British Empire for displaying great courage and determination in saving his ship.[3]
In the Arabian Sea just outside theGulf of Oman on 2 January 1944,I-26 attacked the 7,176-gross register ton Liberty shipSS Albert Gallatin.[2][3] She fired four torpedoes, most of which missed, then surfaced and opened 140-millimeter (5.5 in) gunfire onAlbert Gallatin.[3] AsAlbert Gallatin began to sink, a Royal Air ForceBristol Blenheim aircraft arrived on the scene and dropped fourbombs onI-26, inflicting minor damage on her.[2][3]Albert Gallatin subsequently sank 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) off the coast of theArabian Peninsula at21°21′N059°58′E / 21.350°N 59.967°E /21.350; 59.967 (SSAlbert Gallatin).[2][3] The Norwegian tankerBritannia rescued her crew.[3]I-26 concluded her patrol on 15 January 1944 with her arrival at Singapore, where she underwent repairs.[2][3]
With her repairs complete,I-26 returned to Penang on 20 February 1944, then got back underway on 27 February 1944 to begin her eighth war patrol.[2][3] During the patrol, Kusaka and his crew committedwar crimes in their treatment of the survivors of Allied ships.
After landing 10 Indian revolutionaries of theHikari Kikan espionage office on the Indian coast west of Karachi in early March 1944,[3]I-26 began antishipping operations in the Arabian Sea. On 16 March 1944, she torpedoed the American 8,298-gross register ton armed tankerSS H. D. Collier — a ship operated byStandard Oil of California and making a voyage from Iran toBombay with a cargo of 103,000barrels ofkerosene — in theArabian Sea 330 nautical miles (610 km; 380 mi) south-southwest of Karachi.[2][3][19]H. D. Collier′s stern caught fire,[3][19] with the flames engulfing her stern gun, and herradio aerials were destroyed.[3]I-26 surfaced and opened fire with her deck gun, butH. D. Collier′sUnited States Navy Armed Guard personnel could not bring her forward gun to bear onI-26.[3]H. D. Collier′s crew and gunners abandoned ship, and she sank at21°30′N066°11′E / 21.500°N 66.183°E /21.500; 66.183 (H. D. Collier).[2][3][19]
On 21 March 1944I-26 torpedoed the Norwegian motor tankerMV Grena — which was on a voyage in ballast from Aden to Abadan, Iran — in the Arabian Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) off the coast ofMuscat and Oman at20°48′N059°38′E / 20.800°N 59.633°E /20.800; 59.633 (MVGrena).[2][3][20][21]Grena broke in two and sank, with seven members ofGrena′s 42-man crew losing their lives.[3][21] In a harbinger of the behavior Kusaka and his crew would show toward survivors later in the month,I-26 surfaced and opened gunfire onGrena′s survivors, although she did not hit them.[3]
On 29 March 1944,I-26 fired three torpedoes[22] at the 7,176-gross register ton[2][3] American armedLiberty shipSS Richard Hovey, which had departedBombay,India, on 27 March.[3][23] and was about halfway across the Arabian Sea[24] during a voyage to Aden and then on to theUnited States with 71 men — a crew of 41, 28 personnel of the U.S. Navy Armed Guard, and a U.S. Army cargo security officer — and a 3,600-ton cargo oftea,jute,hemp,gunnies, and the personal effects of U.S. Army personnel on board.[3][23]Richard Hovey′s crew sighted the incoming torpedoes at 16:20 and she began an evasive turn.[25] One torpedo missed astern, but theAdmiralty Defence Net — a shipboardtorpedo net system[24] — she had deployed did not protect her, as the other two torpedoes hit her in her No. 4hold andengine room.[24] Theportboiler exploded, and the explosions of the torpedoes and boiler wreckedRichard Hovey′s steering telemotor system, jamming her rudder hard to port, ruptured a fuel tank, wrecked thewheelhouse, sheared off ventilator cowls, blew alifeboat overboard,[25] knocked down her main and emergencyaerials, and trapped hercaptain in hiscabin.[26] Her crew freed her captain at 16:40 and a few minutes later abandoned ship, but the Navy Armed Guard personnel remained aboard to man her guns.[26] At 17:00,I-26 hitRichard Hovey with another torpedo, prompting the Navy Armed Guard personnel to abandon ship as well.[26] Three crewmen were left missing and presumed dead, but everyone else aboardRichard Hovey abandoned ship[27] into three lifeboats and a twolife rafts.[26]
The survivors observedI-26′speriscope as she circledRichard Hovey.[27]I-26 then surfaced less than 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) from the lifeboats and 500 yards (460 m) offRichard Hovey′s portbow and opened fire on the ship with her 140-millimeter (5.5 in)deck gun, scoring hits immediately.[3][27] After 12 minutes,Richard Hovey was ablaze fromstem tostern andI-26 shifted 140-millimeter (5.5 in) fire to the lifeboats, but hershells fell wide of the boats.[27]I-26 then put on speed and steered toward the boats, opening fire on them and the sea around them with 25-millimeter antiaircraft guns, lightmachine guns, andrifles at a range of 100 yards (91 m).[3][27] She rammed one of the boats,capsizing it and riddling its drinking water tanks, causing them to empty into the sea, before moving carefully around the boats, rafts, and debris and firing on any sign of a survivor while crewmen on her deck laughed; survivors noted that among men onI-26′s bridge were a Japanese man carefully filming the attack and a man wearing aturban, who they assumed was a member of theIndian National Army.[28] After opening the range,I-26 resumed 140-millimeter (5.5 in) fire on the boats, hitting Lifeboat No. 4 with one round that punctured and emptied the fuel tank for its motor.[28]
I-26 ceased fire and a member of her crew began calling out forRichard Hovey′s captain to identify himself.[28] She came alongside Lifeboat No. 4 and took aboard the four men she found aboard it — which includedRichard Hovey′s captain — asprisoners of war.[28] Taking the lifeboat intow, she departed the area eastbound, leaving behind only one lifeboat and one life raft afloat in addition to the capsized lifeboat.[28] The four men she took aboard survived the war and were repatriated after its end.[3]Richard Hovey sank sometime during the predawn hours of 30 March 1944[29] at16°40′N064°30′E / 16.667°N 64.500°E /16.667; 64.500 (SSRichard Hovey).[2][3]
Sources disagree on whether none ofRichard Hovey′s personnel died inI-26′s attack on the survivors[30] or four did.[3] The survivors righted and boarded the capsized boat.[28] The two boats became separated, and each set out for land independently. The 25 men aboard one boat were rescued on the first of April 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) east of the site of the sinking by the British Liberty shipSS Samcalia and were landed atKarachi on the fourth.[3][30] One of the 39 men aboard the other boat died at sea on 10 April,[31] but the other 38 were rescued on 14 April 1944 280 nautical miles (520 km; 320 mi) from the coast of India and 240 nautical miles (440 km; 280 mi) east-southeast of the site of the sinking by the British Liberty shipSS Samuta and were landed atCochin, India, on 16 April 1944.[3][30]I-26 returned to Penang on either 18[3] or 25[2] April 1944, according to different sources.
On 20 April 1944,I-26 was reassigned to the Advance Force.[3] She departed Penang on 3 May 1944 and on 15 May 1944 arrived atKure, Japan, where she underwent repairs and an overhaul.[2][3] On 20 June 1944, she was reassigned to Submarine Division 15 in the 6th Fleet.[3]
WhileI-26 was in Japan, theMarianas campaign began withU.S. landings onSaipan in theMariana Islands on 15 June 1944.[3]I-26 departed Kure on 27 June 1944 bound for Saipan with anUnpoto supply container — a 70-foot (21 m) sled that could carry up to 15 tons of cargo — secured on her deck with a 75-millimeter gun inside it.[3] She was diverted toGuam on 5 July 1944.[3] Daily U.S. bombardments of Guam in preparation forU.S. landings on the island began on 8 July, and whenI-26 arrived off Guam on 9 July she found the island surrounded by U.S. warships.[3] She ran aground, but freed herself and managed to enterApra Harbor on the coast of Guam that evening.[3] She delivered herUnpoto, embarked 120 Japanese pilots, and got back underway, setting course for Japan.[3] She arrived at Yokosuka on 22 July 1944 for repairs and an overhaul.[2][3]
Kusaka relinquished command ofI-26 for another assignment on 1 August 1944.[3] He never was brought to trial for ordering the crew ofI-26 to fire on the survivors ofGrena orRichard Hovey.[32] After completion of her repairs and overhaul,I-26 moved to Kure, Japan.[3]
On 13 October 1944, the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, AdmiralSoemu Toyoda, activated theSho-1-Go plan for the defense of thePhilippine Islands,[3] andI-26 got underway from Kure in company with the submarineI-45 that day to begin her ninth war patrol, assigned a patrol area in thePhilippine Sea.[2][3]I-26,I-45, and the submarinesI-53,I-54, andI-56 were designated Group A under the personal leadership of the commander-in-chief of the 6th Fleet, Vice AdmiralShigeyoshi Miwa, and ordered to intercept U.S. NavyTask Force 38.[3]
On 18 October 1944,I-26 reported to the 6th Fleet that she continuously had detected groups of aircraft 520 nautical miles (960 km; 600 mi) fromManila on a bearing of 62 degrees.[3] TheBattle of Leyte began with U.S. Army landings onLeyte in the Philippines on 20 October 1944,[3] and on 24 October 1944, as theBattle of Leyte Gulf began,I-26 was ordered to patrol in an area southeast ofLeyte Gulf.[3] As theBattle off Samar, one of the major actions of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, raged on 25 October 1944,I-26 reported that she had sighted four U.S. aircraft carriers off Leyte.[3] The Japanese never heard from her again.
On 27 October 1944,I-26 was ordered to an area east ofLamon Bay, but she never acknowledged the order.[3] When 6th Fleet headquarters issued an order on 7 November 1944 for submarines in the Leyte area to return to their home bases,I-26 did not respond.[3] On 21 November 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy declaredI-26 to be presumed lost with all 105 hands east of Leyte.[3] The Japanese removed her from theNavy list on 10 March 1945.[3]
The cause of the loss ofI-26 is controversial. Some historians have concluded that she sank in a diving accident.[3] Others believe it more likely that she was sunk when she attacked theescort aircraft carrierUSS Petrof Bay during the night of 25–26 October 1944 in the aftermath of the Battle off Samar[3] and that thedestroyer escortsUSS Coolbaugh andUSS Richard M. Rowell ofPetrof Bay′s screen sank her, most likely by aHedgehog barrage fromRichard M. Rowell early on 26 October at09°45′N126°45′E / 9.750°N 126.750°E /9.750; 126.750 (I-26).[3]
I-26 was the Imperial Japanese Navy's third-highest-scoring submarine in terms of tonnage sunk duringWorld War II, sinking more than 51,500 tons of enemy shipping.[3]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1944 | |
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| Other incidents |
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