SENSUIKAN!

© 2001-2003 Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp

1 August 1944:
Kure Navy Yard. LtCdr Sakamoto Kaneyoshi (former CO of RO-100, RO-41) is posted as the Chief Equipping Officer for the "Sen-Taka" (submarine, high speed) class attack submarine I-201 that is under construction.

2 February 1945:
The I-201 is completed and commissioned in the IJN. The Sen-Taka submarines are capable of bursts of underwater speeds up to 19 knots for almost an hour. The I-201 is assigned to SubDiv 33, Kure SubRon for performance tests. LtCdr Sakamoto is the Commanding Officer.

15 April 1945:
The I-201 is reassigned to Rear Admiral Nishina Kozo's (former ComSubDivs 9, 18) SubRon 11 in Vice Admiral Miwa Shigeyoshi's (former CO of CL KINU) Sixth Fleet (Submarines).

1 May 1945:
Vice Admiral, the Marquis, Daigo Tadashige (former CO of ASHIGARA) relieves Vice Admiral Miwa of command of the Sixth Fleet.

15 June 1945:
Reassigned to SubDiv 34, Sixth Fleet.

15 August 1945:
Maizuru. The I-201 is at the Navy Base with the I-202 and I-203. SubDiv 34 is disbanded. The I-201 is reassigned to SubDiv 15, Sixth Fleet.

That same day Emperor Hirohito (Showa) broadcasts an Imperial Rescript from the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The Emperor calls for an end to the hostilities.

2 September 1945:
Tokyo Bay. Formal surrender ceremonies, presided over by the Supreme Allied Commander Pacific, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (MOH), are held aboard the USS MISSOURI (BB-63).

September 1945:
The Fifth Marine Division occupies Sasebo.

13 October 1945:
The I-201 is at Maizuru with the I-121.

November 1945:
The I-201 proceeds from Maizuru to Sasebo.

25 November 1945:
Sasebo. LtCdr John P. Currie, USN, is posted as OIC of the I-201. Currie is ordered to sail the I-201 to Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii.

30 November 1945:
Removed from the Imperial Japanese Navy List.

11 December 1945:
Sasebo. A fire breaks out on the I-201 and destroys 14 cells in her forward battery compartment.*

28 December 1945-8 January 1946:
Sasebo. Supported by the submarine tender USS EURYALE (AS-22), the I-201 and the I-203, under American crews, conduct a series of short sea trails.

13 January 1946:
At 0730, the I-201, under LtCdr Currie, departs Sasebo for Guam with the I-203 accompanied by the EURYALE and the salvage ship CURRENT (ARS-22).

The ships assume a formation led by the EURYALE with the I-201 following 1,500 yards astern, the I-203, 3,000 yards astern and the CURRENT 4,500 yards astern of the EURYALE. The formation sets an initial course of 180° true to Guam. Later, the formation is forced to ride out a severe typhoon and make engine repairs on both submarines and to correct the loss of steering on the I-201.

21 January 1946:
At 1615, the formation arrives at Apra harbor, Guam, Mariana Islands to a loud welcome and remains there for liberty.

25 January 1946:
Departs Guam for Eniwetok, Marshall Islands.

26 January 1946:
At 0900, the I-201 again has an engine failure. The CURRENT takes the I-201 in tow.

31 January 1946:
Arrives at Eniwetok.

2 February 1946:
The next planned leg of the voyage is to Johnston Island, but the formation's Commodore, Captain Stanley P. Moseley (former CO of USS POLLOCK (SS-180) decides to skip the stop at Johnston Island and head straight for Pearl Harbor. Since the direct route from Eniwetok to Hawaii is beyond the cruising range of the two submarines, he decides that both subs should be towed.

At 0700, the formation departs Eniwetok. The CURRENT resumes towing the I-201 for the final leg of the voyage to Pearl Harbor.

13 February 1946:
The formation arrives at Pearl Harbor and solemnly dips their ensigns in salute as they pass Battleship Row and the gutted hulk of the USS ARIZONA (BB-39) on their way to the Submarine Base. Both Japanese submarines are placed in caretaker status with skeleton crews where they are studied.

26 March 1946:
Washington, DC. At a Submarine Officer's Conference, attended by former ComSubPac Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, it is decided to dispose of all captured Japanese submarines by sinking.

23 May 1946:
The I-201 is a target ship in the Pacific off Pearl Harbor for tests of the Mark 9 exploder. At 1058, she is torpedoed and sunk by a Mark 18-2 electric torpedo fired by LtCdr Frank N. Shamer's USS QUEENFISH (SS-393) at 21-13N, 158-08W.

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Author's Notes:
*The I-201's batteries had 4,192 cells compared to 252 cells in American submarines' batteries.

Special thanks for assistance in researching the IJN officers mentioned in this TROM go to Mr. Jean-François Masson of Canada.

Thanks for help in preparing this TROM also go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan. – Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp.

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