Japanese submarine I-19

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I19.jpg
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

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[]

Attacks off California[]

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.[2][3]

Operation K[]

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 effectually by two of the planned five H8Ks.

Aleutian Islands campaign[]

In early June 1942, I-19 took part in the opening stages of the Aleutian Islands campaign.[4]

Sinking of USS Wasp and USS O'Brien[]

On 15 September 1942, while patrolling south of the Solomon Islands during the Guadalcanal Campaign under the command of Commander Takakazu Kinashi,[5] 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.[6]

Further information: Sinking of USS Wasp and Sinking of the USS O'Brien

"Tokyo Express"[]

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[]

Between April and September 1943, I-19 was stationed off Fiji. During this time, the submarine, under the command of Kinashi Takakazu,[7] sank two Allied cargo ships and heavily damaged one. After sinking the SS William K. Vanderbilt on 16 May 1943, I-19 surfaced and machine-gunned the surviving crew members in their lifeboats, killing one of them.[citation needed]

Loss[]

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.

I-19 in fiction[]

I-19 was the number of the submarine commanded by Toshiro Mifune in the Steven Spielberg movie 1941.[8]

I-19 is a submarine in the popular kanmusu games "Kantai Collection" and "Azur Lane".

Notes[]

  1. ^ Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 p.191
  2. ^ militarymuseum.org H.M. Storey
  3. ^ merchantships2.tripod.com H.M. Storey
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Kinashi Takakazu 木梨 鷹一". STEVE'S IJN SUBMARINE PAGE. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  6. ^ "type b1". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  7. ^ "ijnsubsite.info".
  8. ^ The Making of 1941, Universal home video DVD

References[]

  • 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: HIJMS Submarine I-19: Tabular Record of Movement". Retrieved 6 July 2006.

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