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Japanese submarine I-19

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I-19 in 1943
History
Japan
NameI-19
BuilderMitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kobe
Laid down15 March 1938
Launched16 September 1939
Completed28 April 1941
Stricken1 April 1944
FateDepth charged and sunk 25 November 1943 by USS Radford.
General characteristics
Class and typeType B1 submarine
Displacement
  • 2,584 tons surfaced
  • 3,654 tons submerged
Length108.7 m (357 ft)
Beam9.3 m (31 ft)
Draught5.14 m (16.9 ft)
Propulsion
  • 2 diesels: 12,400 hp (9,250 kW)
  • Electric motors: 2,000 hp (1,500 kW)
Speed
  • 23.5 knots (44 km/h) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h) submerged
Range14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
Test depth100 m (330 ft)
Complement94 officers and men
Armament
Aircraft carried1 Yokosuka E14Y floatplane
Service record[2]
Part of:
Commanders:
  • Kaigun-chūsa Shogo Narahara
  • 28 April 1941 – 15 July 1942
  • Kaigun-chūsa Takakazu Kinashi
  • 15 July 1942 – 27 September 1943
  • Kaigun-shōsa Shigeo Kobayashi
  • 27 September – 25 November 1943
Victories:
  • 2 warships sunk (16,464 GRT)
  • 1 warship damaged (37,484 GRT)
  • 3 merchant ships sunk (21,533 GRT)
  • 2 merchant ships damaged (12,876 GRT)

I-19 was a Japanese Type B1 submarine which damaged and destroyed several enemy ships during World War II while serving in the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the Guadalcanal Campaign, with a single torpedo salvo, the submarine sank the aircraft carrier USS Wasp and the destroyer USS O'Brien and damaged the battleship USS North Carolina.

Service history

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Attacks off California

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I-19 attacked the SS H.M. Storey as she was bringing oil to Los Angeles on 22 December 1941, chasing the ship for an hour. Two miles off Point Arguello California, 55 miles north of Santa Barbara, the captain of I-19, Narahara, fired three torpedoes at H.M. Storey. All missed. A US Navy plane saw the sub and dropped depth charges. The sub was forced to dive and end the attack.[3][4] Her single biggest success in this time period came when she torpedoed the cargo ship SS Absaroka, forcing the ship to beach herself (she was eventually repaired and put back into service).[5]

Operation K

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On 23 February 1942, I-19's Yokosuka E14Y (Glen) floatplane made a night reconnaissance over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in preparation for Operation K, the second attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy. On 4 March, she arrived at the French Frigate Shoals to serve as a radio beacon for the Kawanishi H8K (Emily) flying boats that were to attack Pearl Harbor. I-19 did not otherwise participate in the attack, which was carried out by two of the planned five H8Ks. No damages were inflicted by either H8K due to weather obscuring the target.

Aleutian Islands campaign

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In early June 1942, I-19 took part in the opening stages of the Aleutian Islands campaign.[6]

Sinking of USS Wasp and USS O'Brien

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On 15 September 1942, while patrolling south of the Solomon Islands during the Guadalcanal Campaign under the command of Commander Takakazu Kinashi,[7] I-19 sighted and attacked the U.S. carrier Wasp, firing a spread of six torpedoes. Three of the torpedoes hit the Wasp, causing heavy damage. With power knocked out, Wasp’s damage-control teams were unable to contain fires. She was abandoned and scuttled.

O'Brien hit by torpedo as USS Wasp burns. Both ships were torpedoed and sunk by I-19.

The remaining three torpedoes from the spread hit the U.S. battleship North Carolina and the destroyer O'Brien, the latter of which later sank on 19 October 1942 en route for repairs. North Carolina sustained significant damage and underwent repairs at Pearl Harbor until 16 November 1942.

I-19's torpedo salvo sank an aircraft carrier and a destroyer and severely damaged a battleship, making it one of the most damaging torpedo salvos in history.[8]

"Tokyo Express"

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From November 1942 until February 1943, I-19 assisted with nocturnal supply and reinforcement deliveries and, later, evacuations for Japanese forces on Guadalcanal. Such missions by Japanese ships to Guadalcanal were called the "Tokyo Express" by Allied forces.

Fiji

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Between April and September 1943, I-19 was stationed off Fiji and took part in several transport missions and war patrols. During this time, the submarine saw successes against multiple American cargo ships. On 30 April, I-19 torpedoed and sank the Liberty Ship SS Phoebe A Hearst, then damaged SS William Williams. I-19 then sank the SS William L Vanderbilt, before she crippled the SS M H DeYoung, which could not be repaired and was decommissioned.[5]

Loss

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I-19 docked in harbor, showing her conning tower

On 25 November 1943, at 20:49, 50 nautical miles (93 km) west of Makin Island, destroyer USS Radford detected I-19 on the surface with radar. After I-19 submerged, Radford attacked with depth charges. I-19 was lost with all hands in this attack.

History of Raiding Summary

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Date Ship Name Classification Nationality Tonnage Fate
24 December 1941 Absaroka Cargo Ship US 5,698 Damaged
15 September 1942 Wasp Aircraft Carrier US 19,423 Sunk
15 September 1942 O'Brien Destroyer US 2,246 Sunk
15 September 1942 North Carolina Battleship US 44,800 Damaged
30 April 1943 Phoebe A Hearst Cargo Ship US 7,176 Sunk
2 May 1943 William Williams Cargo Ship US 7,176 Damaged
16 May 1943 William L Vanderbilt Cargo Ship US 7,176 Sunk
13 August 1943 M H DeYoung Cargo Ship US 7,176 Destroyed

Notes

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  1. ^ Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 p.191
  2. ^ "I-19". ijnsubsite.info. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  3. ^ militarymuseum.org H.M. Storey
  4. ^ merchantships2.tripod.com H.M. Storey
  5. ^ a b "IJN Submarine I-19: Tabular Record of Movement".
  6. ^ Morison, Samuel Eliot, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume IV: Coral Sea, Midway, and Submarine Actions, May 1942–August 1942, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1988, p. 173.
  7. ^ "Kinashi Takakazu 木梨 鷹一". ijnsubsite.info. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  8. ^ "type b1". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 5 May 2012.

References

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  • Horn, Steve (2005). The Second Attack on Pearl Harbor: Operation K And Other Japanese Attempts to Bomb America in World War II. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-388-8.
  • Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Dieter Jung; Peter Mickel (1977). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
  • Milanovich, Kathrin (2021). "The IJN Submarines of the I 15 Class". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2021. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. pp. 29–43. ISBN 978-1-4728-4779-9.
  • Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett; Sander Kingsepp; Allyn Nevitt. "Imperial Japanese Navy Page: IJN Submarine I-19: Tabular Record of Movement". Retrieved 6 July 2006.