SENSUIKAN!
HIJMS Submarine I-13: Tabular Record of
Movement
© 2001 Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp
Revision 3
10 September 1944:
Cdr Ohashi Katsuo (former CO of I-54) is appointed as the Chief Equipping Officer for the AM-class submarine I-13 under construction at Kawasaki Shipbuilding's Kobe Yard. The AM-class can carry two Aichi M6A1 "Seiran" (Clear Sky Storm) float torpedo-bombers.
16 December 1944:
The I-13 is completed and commissioned in the IJN and based in the Kure Naval District. Cdr Ohashi is appointed as the Commanding Officer. The I-13 is assigned to the Sixth Fleet in Captain Ariizumi Tatsunosuke's (former CO of the I-8) SubDiv 1. The I-13 departs Kobe that day for Kure.
17 December 1944:
Arrives at Kure.
January 1945:
Kure. Commences battle training with the I-400 and I-401 at SubRon 11.
19 January 1945:
Before the destroyers KAMIKAZE and NOKAZE depart home waters, the I-13 briefly acts as an ASW target for their crews.
March 1945:
The Naval General Staff considers proposals to use the I-400s to launch bombing strikes against San Francisco, Panama, Washington or New York. Instead, it is decided to launch a surprise air strike against the Panama Canal's Gatun Locks. Destroying these locks will empty Gatun Lake and block the passage of shipping to the Pacific for months.
19 March 1945:
Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Marc A. Mitscher's Task Force 58 carriers USS ESSEX (CV-9), INTREPID (CV-11), HORNET (CV-12), WASP (CV-18), HANCOCK (CV-19), BENNINGTON (CV-20) and the BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24) make the first carrier attack on the Kure Naval Arsenal.
More than 240 aircraft (SB2C "Helldivers", F4U "Corsairs" and F6F "Hellcats") attack the battleships HYUGA, ISE, YAMATO, HARUNA, the carriers AMAGI, KATSURAGI, RYUHO, KAIYO and other ships.
The I-13 crash-dives and escapes damage, but the I-400 in drydock and the I-401 are strafed.
26 March 1945:
Operation PX is canceled. General Umezu Yoshijiro, Chief, Army General Staff, declares that germ warfare against the United States will escalate to war against all humanity.
27 May 1945:
SubDiv 1's I-13 and I-14, I-400 and the I-401 are equipped with new snorkels and disguised with false funnels.
The I-13 and I-14 depart Kure through the heavily mined Shimonoseki and Tsushima Straits in the Sea of Japan and head for Chinkai, Chosen (now Jinhae, South Korea) to refuel.
28 May 1945:
Arrives at Chinkai.
29 May 1945:
Departs Chinkai.
1 June 1945:
Arrives at Nanao Bay for battle training. SubDiv 1's training is hampered by mines, American submarines and shortages of aviation gasoline, material and aircraft, but they manage to launch a number of simulated air strikes on a full scale model of the Gatun Locks erected at Toyama Bay.
12 June 1945:
Before SubRon 1 can depart, the fall of Okinawa and the carrier raids on the Japanese mainland cause the Imperial High Command to abandon the attack on the Panama Canal. The American fleet anchorage at Ulithi Atoll is chosen as SubRon 1's new target.
20 June 1945:
Departs Nanao.
22 June 1945:
Arrives at Maizuru.
25 June 1945: Operation "Arashi" - The Seiran Bombing Attack on Ulithi:
Vice Admiral Ozawa, now CINC, Combined Fleet, issues Battle Order No. 95 that details the impending operation. The bombing attack is designated as Operation "Arashi"(Mountain Storm).
The "Hikari" part of Operation "Arashi" calls for the I-13 and I-14 to proceed to Truk in early July. From Truk they are to launch their Nakajima C6N2 Saiun-Kai ("Myrt") long range aircraft to reconnoiter Ulithi. The Myrt's are to relay target information on American aircraft carriers and troop transports to the I-400 and I-401's six "Seiran" torpedo-bomber crews for a strike on 17 August. The Sixth Fleet also attempts to position "Kaiten" human torpedo carrying submarines off Ulithi for simultaneous "Tokko" (suicide) attacks
The attack is to be made under a full moon. Prior to the start of the attack, the pilots are to receive a special hormone injection to enhance their night vision. The Seirans are tasked to each carry an 800-kg bomb and land near their submarines. After the attack, all four of SubDiv 1's boats are to proceed to Singapore, refuel and return to Japan. The plan is to attack Ulithi on 17 August, but this is postponed until 25 August.
2 July 1945:
Departs Maizuru.
4 July 1945: Operation "Hikari":
The I-13 arrives at Ominato Naval Base on the northern tip of Honshu. She is loaded with two crated Myrts.
11 July 1945:
At 1500, the I-13 departs Ominato for Truk. Her estimated time of arrival at Truk is 20 July. There is no further contact with the I-13.
16 July 1945:
550 miles E of Yokosuka. At 0747, the radarman in Lt (j.g.) W. McLane's Grumman TBM "Avenger" from VC-13 of Task Group 30.7's USS ANZIO (CVE-57) picks up a Japanese submarine running on the surface. McLane opens fire with his .50 cal. machine guns and 5-inch rockets. The submarine dives, but leaves a trail of oil on the surface. McLane drops depth charges, then sonobuoys and a Mark 24 "Fido" acoustic homing torpedo.
Later, two more Avengers from the ANZIO's aircraft relieve McLane. They drop more sonobuoys and another Fido on the submerged submarine. Later, the aircraft guide LtCdr J. R. Grey's LAWRENCE C. TAYLOR (DE-415) to the heavy oil slick that marks the submarine's position. At 1140, the TAYLOR attacks with a barrage of twenty-four 7.2-inch Mark 10 "Hedgehog" projector charges that sink the submarine - probably the I-13 - at 34-28N, 150-55E.
1 August 1945:
Presumed lost with all hands in the Truk area. The I-13's crew of 140 was the largest human loss in the IJN submarine force during the war.
15 September 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Author's
Note: Special thanks for help in preparing this TROM go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro
of Japan.
– Bob Hackett
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