SENSUIKAN!

© 2001 Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp

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16 May 1942:
The I-11 is completed at Kawasaki's Kobe Yard, commissioned in the IJN and based in the Kure Naval District. The I-11 is the flagship of Rear Admiral Kono Chimaki's SubRon 3, in Vice Admiral, the Marquis, Komatsu Teruhisa's Sixth Fleet. Cdr (later Captain) Shichiji Tsuneo is the Commanding Officer.

7 June 1942:
Departs Kure for Kwajalein.

June 1942:
The I-11 departs Kwajalein for the Sydney, Australia area.

20 July 1942:
The I-11 torpedoes and sinks the 5, 482-ton Greek merchant GEORGE S. LIVANOS 15 miles off the coast of Jervis Bay at 35-00S, 151-00E.

21 July 1942:
S Australia. The I-11 fires two torpedoes and sinks the 3, 290-ton American freighter COAST FARMER in 20 minutes at 35-23S, 151-00E.

22 July 1942:
Off Tathra Head, S Australia. The I-11 torpedoes and sinks the 7, 176-ton American "Liberty" ship WILLIAM DAWES at 36-47S, 150-16E.

26 July 1942:
The I-11 shells the 2, 197-ton Australian merchant COOLANA but misses and she escapes undamaged.

August 1942:
Arrives at Truk.

7 August 1942: American Operation "Watchtower" - The Invasion of Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands:
Rear Admiral (later Admiral) Richmond K. Turner's Amphibious Task Force 62, covered by Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Frank J. Fletcher's Task Force 61 and Rear Admiral (later Admiral) John S. McCain's Task Force 63's land-based aircraft, lands Maj Gen (later Gen/Commandant) Alexander A. Vandegrift's 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal opening a seven-month campaign to take the island.

20 August 1942:
Departs Truk to patrol in the Solomons area.

6 September 1942:
Off Espiritu Santo. The I-11 penetrates a screen of escorts and fires a salvo of torpedoes at the USS HORNET (CV-8) but an orbiting USN aircraft spots the torpedoes, drops its bombs and causes the torpedoes to miss the carrier.

7 September 1942:
The I-11 is attacked by an enemy aircraft. She is damaged and unable to dive. (A PBY "Catalina" of patrol squadron VP-11's "Black Cats" deployed to Espiritu Santo claims a sub sunk that day. No such loss is verifiable postwar, but it is probable that the I-11 was damaged in this attack.)

11 September 1942:
Returns to Truk.

18 September 1942:
Truk. The I-11 is in Subron 3 with the I-168, -169, -171, -172, -174 and the I-175.

22 September 1942:
Returns to Kure for repairs.

9 January 1943:
Departs Kure.

January 1943:
Arrives at Truk. The I-11 is the flagship of Rear Admiral Komazawa Katsumi's (former CO of CVS NISSHIN) Submarine Force "Kon".

28 January 1943:
Departs Truk for an area S of Guadalcanal and N of Rennel Island. She waits to intercept American naval forces with the I-16, I-17, I-18, I-20, I-25, I-26, I-32 and the I-176.

31 January Operation "KE" - The Evacuation of Guadalcanal:
A task force of units of the Second and Third Fleets from Truk steams north of the Solomons as a feint to cover Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Hashimoto Shintaro's (former CO of HYUGA) destroyer force from Rabaul. The IJN begins to evacuate the starving IJA from Guadalcanal.

2 February 1943:
Rear Admiral Komazawa, after receiving information that an American carrier task force is at sea 100 nautical miles SE of San Cristobal Island, orders his submarines to proceed to intercept the carriers, but they do not make contact.

8 February 1943:
Air reconnaissance spots American naval forces 150 miles SSE of Rennel Island. Komazawa orders his submarines to proceed there. Later, the I-18 and another submarine discover and engage the Americans, but then the Kon Force loses contact. Admiral Komazawa orders all submarines except his I-11 and the I-17 to return to Truk.

9 February 1943:
The IJN completes successfully the evacuation of 11,700 troops from Guadalcanal.

February 1943:
Departs Truk to raid enemy communications off the Australian east coast'.

21 February 1943:
The I-11 launches her Yokosuka E14Y1 "Glen" floatplane to reconnoiter the American fleet anchorage at Noumea. The plane reports sighting two battleships and a carrier.

10 March 1943:
Arrives at Truk.

10 April 1943:
Departs Truk.

10 June 1943:
Arrives at Truk.

1 July 1943:
Departs Truk.

7 July 1943:
Cdr Tagami Meiji (former CO of I-25) is assigned as the Commanding Officer. SubRon 1's I-11, -17, -19 and the I-25 are assigned to patrol off Santa Cruz, Espiritu Santo, Fiji and New Caledonia.

20 July 1943:
Off San Cristobal, New Hebrides, Solomons. At a range of 10 miles, LtCdr Tagami fires two Type 95 torpedoes at the Australian light cruiser HMAS HOBART. One hits the HOBART port amidships at 15-07S, 163-43E but she makes Espirtu Santo the next day with 15 dead and seven injured seamen aboard. After temporary repairs she makes Sydney under her own power, but permanent repairs to the extensively damaged ship take 17 months.

11 August 1943:
Off Noumea, New Caledonia. The I-11 torpedoes and damages the 7, 176-ton American Liberty ship MATTHEW LYON at 22-30S, 166W.

13 September 1943:
Arrives at Truk.

15 September 1943:
Reassigned as flagship of SubRon 1.

26 September 1943:
Arrives at Kure for repairs.

10 October 1943:
Cdr Izu Hisaichi is assigned as the Commanding Officer.

3 December 1943:
Departs Kure.

21 December 1943:
Departs Truk to patrol near the Ellice Islands.

31 December 1943:
Conducts submerged reconnaissance of Funafuti, Ellice islands.

11 January 1944:
After completing her mission, the I-11 makes her final report. Cdr Izu is ordered to attack enemy shipping in the Ellice-Samoa area.

20 March 1944:
Presumed lost S of Funafuti. Post-war Japanese studies suggest that she may have struck a mine.

30 April 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.

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Author's Note: Special thanks for help in preparing this TROM go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan.
– Bob Hackett

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