 I-64 onsea trials off Kure, Japan, on 30 August 1930. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | I-64 |
| Builder | Kure Naval Arsenal,Kure, Japan |
| Laid down | 28 March 1927 |
| Launched | 5 October 1929 |
| Completed | 30 August 1930 |
| Commissioned | 30 August 1930 |
| Decommissioned | 15 November 1939 |
| Recommissioned | 15 November 1940 |
| Fate | Sunk, 17 May 1942 |
| Renamed | I-164, 20 May 1942 |
| Stricken | 10 July 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | KD4 Type,Kadai type submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 97.70 m (320 ft 6 in) |
| Beam | 7.80 m (25 ft 7 in) |
| Draught | 4.83 m (15 ft 10 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | |
| Test depth | 60 m (197 ft) |
| Complement | 58 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
I-64 was anImperial Japanese NavyKaidai-classcruiser submarine of the KD4sub-class commissioned in 1930. DuringWorld War II, she supported theJapanese invasion of Malaya and conducted war patrols in theIndian Ocean before she was sunk in May 1942 while deploying to take part in the upcomingBattle of Midway. Just after her loss, and before her loss became known to the Japanese, she was renumberedI-164.
Built by theKure Naval Arsenal atKure,Japan,I-64 waslaid down on 28 March 1927 andlaunched on 5 October 1929.[2] She was completed and accepted into Imperial Japanese Navy service on 30 August 1930.[2]
Upon commissioning,I-64 was attached to theSasebo Naval District[2][3] and assigned to SubmarineDivision 29, in which she served until 1942 alongside the submarinesI-61 andI-62.[4][3] Submarine Division 29 in turn was assigned to SubmarineSquadron 1 in the1st Fleet, a component of theCombined Fleet, on 1 December 1930.[3] Submarine Division 29 was reassigned to the Sasebo Defense Division in the Sasebo Naval District on 10 November 1932.[3] On 15 November 1933, Submarine Division 29 was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 2 in the2nd Fleet, also a component of the Combined Fleet.[3]
I-64 departedRyojun,Manchukuo, on 27 September 1934 in company withI-61,I-62, and the submarinesI-56,I-57,I-58,I-65,I-66, andI-67 to conduct a training cruise in theQingdao area offChina.[3][5][4][6][7][8][9][10][11] The nine submarines completed the cruise with their arrival at Sasebo on 5 October 1934.[3][6][7][8][9][10][11] On 7 February 1935,I-64 departed Sasebo in company with the other eight submarines of Submarine Squadron 2 —I-53,I-54,I-55,I-59,I-60,I-61,I-62, andI-63 — for a training cruise in theKuril Islands.[3][4][5][12][13][14][15][16][17] The cruise concluded with their arrival atSukumo Bay on 25 February 1935.[3][4][5][12][13][14][15][16][17] The nine submarines departed Sasebo on 29 March 1935 to train in Chinese waters, returning to Sasebo on4 April 1935.[3][4][5][12][13][14][15][16][17]
Submarine Division 29 had a second assignment to the Sasebo Defense Division in the Sasebo Naval District from 15 November 1935 to 1 December 1936,[3] then again had duty in Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet in the Combined Fleet from 1 December 1936 to 15 December 1938.[3] Submarine Division 29 then served at the submarine school atKure, Japan, from 15 December 1938 to 15 November 1939,[3][4] whenI-64 was placed in the Third Reserve in the Sasebo Naval District.[3] WhenI-64 was recommissioned on 15 November 1940, Submarine Division 29 was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 5 in the Combined Fleet.[3]
As the Imperial Japanese Navy began to deploy in preparation for the impendingconflict in thePacific, Submarine Division 29, still made up ofI-62 andI-64, departedSasebo, Japan, on 26 November 1941 bound forPalau along with the rest of Submarine Squadron 5, namely the submarines of Submarine Division 30 and the squadron'sflagship, thelight cruiserYura.[2] While en route, the entire squadron was diverted toSamah onHainan Island inChina.[2]
On 5 December 1941,I-64 departed Samah to begin what would become her first war patrol.[2] When theJapanese invasion of Malaya began on 8 December 1941 — the first day of the war inEast Asia —I-64 was in theSouth China Sea offTrengganu,British Malaya, operating as the easternmost submarine on a patrol line with the submarinesI-57,I-58,I-62, andI-66.[2] Reassigned to Patrol Unit "B" on 26 December 1941,[2] she concluded her patrol by arriving atCam Ranh Bay in Japanese-occupiedFrench Indochina on 27 December 1941.[2]
As a unit of Patrol Group "B,"I-64 was among submarines tasked with attackingAllied shipping in theIndian Ocean west of the106th meridian east, operating from a new base at newly capturedPenang in Japanese-occupied British Malaya.[2] Accordingly, on 7 January 1942I-64 departed Cam Ranh Bay to begin her second war patrol.[2] At 16:30 local time on 22 January 1942 while in the Indian Ocean 550 nautical miles (1,020 km; 630 mi) west ofSibolga,Sumatra, she fired twotorpedoes at theDutch 4,482-gross register tonKoninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappijmerchant shipVan Overstraten, which was on a voyage fromBombay,India, toOosthaven, Sumatra.[2] After one torpedo passed ahead ofVan Overstraten and one passed under herkeel, leaving her undamaged,I-64 surfaced and opened fire onVan Overstraten with her deck gun.[2] She scored a number of hits, slowingVan Overstraten and killing four members of her crew.[2]Van Overstraten stopped and her surviving crew abandoned ship in herlifeboats.[2] After waiting for the boats to pull away to a safe distance,I-64 hitVan Overstraten with a torpedo shortly before sunset, andVan Overstraten sank by thebow at01°40′N090°13′E / 1.667°N 90.217°E /1.667; 90.217 (Van Overstraten).[2] There were 113 survivors.[2]
At 05:47GMT on 28 January 1942,I-64 surfaced in thePalk Strait north ofCeylon and opened fire with her deck gun on the 391-gross register tonBritish Inland Water Transportpaddle steamerIdar, which was steaming fromMadras toCochin, India.[2] After a shell hitIdar, her crew abandoned ship at 05:58 GMT at10°12′N080°13′E / 10.200°N 80.217°E /10.200; 80.217.I-64 sent a boarding party toIdar to set her on fire, but she survived and later drifted ashore.[2] On 29 January 1942,I-64 torpedoed the American 5,049-gross register tonpassenger-cargosteamerFlorence Luckenbach — bound from Madras toNew York City viaCape Town,South Africa, carrying 3,500 tons of general cargo and 3,400 tons ofmanganeseore — in the Indian Ocean 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) southeast of Madras at 10:05.[2] The torpedo hit blew a large hole inFlorence Luckenbach′sport side at her No. 1hold.[2] Ten minutes later,Florence Luckenbach′s entire crew of 38 abandoned ship in her single surviving lifeboat.[2]I-64 waited until the lifeboat and reached a safe distance fromFlorence Luckenbach and then hit her with a second torpedo, andFlorence Luckenbach sank by the bow at12°55′N080°33′E / 12.917°N 80.550°E /12.917; 80.550 (Florence Luckenbach).[2]
At 22:33 on 30 January 1942,I-64 torpedoed the British-Indian 2,498-gross register ton merchant steamerJalatarang — on a voyage from Cochin, India, toRangoon,Burma, carrying 100 tons of general cargo — in the Bay of Bengal south of Madras, crippling her.[2]I-64 then surfaced and finished offJalatarang with gunfire, sinking her at12°59′N081°00′E / 12.983°N 81.000°E /12.983; 81.000 (SSJalatarang).[2] Thirty-eight members ofJalatarang′s crew perished, and 11 eventually were rescued.[2]I-64 was in the Bay of Bengal 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) south of Madras on 31 January 1942 when she torpedoed the British-Indian 4,215-gross register ton cargo steamerJalapalaka — steaming in ballast from Bombay to Rangoon — at 13:00 GMT.[2] She then surfaced and sankJalapalaka with gunfire at13°00′N081°08′E / 13.000°N 81.133°E /13.000; 81.133 (SSJalapalaka).[2] Thirteen members ofJalapalaka′s crew died, and 54 later were rescued.[2]I-64 finished her patrol with her arrival at Penang on 5 February 1942.[2]
On 6 March 1942,I-64 set out from Penang to begin her third war patrol, again targeting Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean.[2] While she was at sea, Submarine Division 29 was disbanded on 10 March 1942 and she was reassigned to Submarine Division 30 in Submarine Squadron 5.[2] She was in the Indian Ocean off India′sCoromandel Coast 150 nautical miles (280 km; 170 mi) northeast of Madras when she surfaced at around 12:10 GMT and opened fire with her deck gun on the Norwegian 1,513-gross register ton armed cargo steamerMabella, which was on a voyage in ballast fromColombo,Ceylon, toCalcutta, India.[2] AfterI-64 scored 12 hits onMabella, killing six members of her crew,Mabella′s surviving crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats and alife raft.[2] After waiting for the lifeboats and life raft to reach a safe distance fromMabella,I-64 opened fire on her again with her deck gun, then hit her with a torpedo, sinking her at14°00′N081°47′E / 14.000°N 81.783°E /14.000; 81.783 (SSMabella).[2] On 27 March 1942,I-64 returned to Penang.[2]
On 2 April 1942,I-64 departed Penang bound for Sasebo,[2] where she arrived on 12 April 1942.[2] On 16 May 1942 she departed Sasebo bound forKwajalein, deploying to supportOperation MI,[2] the invasion ofMidway Atoll planned for early June 1942.
At 18:03 on 17 May 1942, theUnited States Navy submarineUSS Triton (SS-201) sightedI-64 on the surface in thePacific Ocean 250 nautical miles (460 km; 290 mi) south-southeast ofCape Ashizuri,Shikoku, Japan.[2] At 18:17Triton fired the last remainingMark 14 torpedo in her forward torpedo room atI-64 at a range of 6,200 yards (5,670 m).[2] The torpedo struckI-64, the explosion blowing parts of her 100 feet (30 m) into the air.[2]I-64 sank by the stern in two minutes at29°25′N134°09′E / 29.417°N 134.150°E /29.417; 134.150 (I-64).[2]Triton′s crew heard a series of 42 smaller explosions beginning at 18:27.[2] At 18:45,Triton′scommanding officer sighted an estimated 30 survivors clinging to wreckage in the water.[2] Ultimately, none of them were rescued.
Unaware ofI-64′s loss, the Imperial Japanese Navy renumbered herI-164 on 20 May 1942.[2] On 25 May 1942, it declared her presumed missing in the Pacific Ocean south of Shikoku with the loss of all 81 hands.[2] She was stricken from the Navy list on 10 July 1942.[2]
