SENSUIKAN!
HIJMS Submarine I-25: Tabular Record of
Movement
© 2002 Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp
Revision 2
15 October 1941:
The I-25 is completed by Mitsubishi at Kobe, commissioned in the IJN and based in the Yokosuka Naval District. The I-25 is assigned to SubRon 1's SubDiv 4 in the Sixth Fleet (Submarines).
25 October 1941:
Cdr Tagami Meiji is assigned as the Commanding Officer.
21 November 1941:
The I-25 is in Vice Admiral Shimizu Mitsumi's (former CO of ISE) Sixth Fleet's Advance Expeditionary Fleet in Rear Admiral Sato Tsutomu's SubRon 1. Departs Yokosuka on her first "war" patrol.
2 December 1941:
The coded signal "Niitakayama nobore (Climb Mt. Niitaka) 1208" is received from the Combined Fleet. It signifies that hostilities will commence on 8 December (Japan time). Mt. Niitaka, located in Formosa (now Taiwan), is then the highest point in the Japanese Empire.
7 December 1941: Operation "Z" - The Attack on Pearl Harbor:
The I-25 patrols a line 120 miles NE of Pearl Harbor with the I-9, -15 and -17 during the attack. One of the primary tasks assigned to the I-25 is post-attack aerial reconnaissance; however, her Yokosuka E14Y1 "Glen" floatplane is damaged in transit making such a flight impossible.
10 December 1941:
The I-6 reports sighting a LEXINGTON-class aircraft carrier and two cruisers heading NE. Vice Admiral Shimizu in the KATORI at Kwajalein orders all of SubRon 1 boats, except the Special Attack Force, to pursue and sink the carrier.
The I-25, -9, -15, -17, -19, -21 and the I-23 surface and set off at flank speed after the carrier.
While patrolling N of Oahu, the I-25 is attacked by a TBD-1 "Devastator" of VT-6 from the USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6). Cdr Tagami dives to 130 feet and the depth charges explode above the I-25 without causing any damage. Thirty minutes later the submarine returns to periscope depth but is attacked again and dives back to 130 feet. That same day, Douglas "Dauntless" SBD-2 dive bombers of VS-6 from the ENTERPRISE sink the I-70 in the same area.
14 December 1941:
After the unsuccessful pursuit of the carrier, the I-25 and the other submarines joined by the I-10 and the I-26 are ordered to sail eastwards to the West Coast of the United States and attack American shipping. The I-25 is assigned to patrol the Astoria/Portland region off the Columbia River estuary.
The I-25 fires 10 rounds at the Union Oil tanker L. P. ST. CLAIR, but they all miss. The tanker turns hard to port and disappears into the night in the channel of the Columbia River.
22 December 1941:
Headquarters, Combined Fleet's Intelligence Bureau receives information of the pending arrival of the battleships USS MISSISSIPPI, NEW MEXICO and the IDAHO on the West Coast via the Panama Canal. (The information is false).
Vice Admiral Shimizu orders the I-9, -17 and the I-25 to intercept the battleships that are expected to arrive at Los Angeles on 25 December. The I-25 is redirected to the area between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
27 December 1941:
Cape Disappointment, Oregon. Cdr Tagami sights the 8,684-ton American tanker CONNECTICUT's white running light in the dark. After a 20-minute chase, he fires a single torpedo. It hits and starts a large fire that leaves the tanker "sinking by the stern" about ten miles off the US coast. Nevertheless, the CONNECTICUT escapes, but runs aground at the mouth of the Columbia River.
8 January 1942:
Between Johnston Island and Kwajalein. The I-25 fires four torpedoes at a "seaplane carrier" and claims four hits. (1)
11 January 1942:
The I-25 arrives at the Sixth Fleet's submarine base at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands to refuel and refurbish.
1 February 1942:
Vice Admiral (later Fleet Admiral) William F. Halsey Jr's Task Force 8 (USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6) raids Kwajalein and Wotje in the Marshall Islands. Forty-six aircraft from the ENTERPRISE (SBDs of VB 6 and VS 6 and TBD of VT 6) sink a transport and damage the light cruiser KATORI, flagship of the Sixth Fleet's (Submarines) and wound its commander, Vice Admiral Shimizu Mitsumi (former CO of ISE). The I-23, the 11,930-ton submarine depot ship YASUKUNI MARU, and several other important ships are also damaged in the raid.
The I-25, moored next to a Navy Tanker, is caught on the surface because she has workmen on deck. She is strafed by SBDs of VB-6.
Two hours after the raid, Sixth Fleet HQ orders SubRon 1's I-9, -15, -17, -19, -23, -25, -26 and the RO-61 and -62 to put to sea and intercept the enemy carriers.
8 February 1942:
The I-25 departs Kwajalein for her second war patrol to reconnoiter the east coast of Australia and New Zealand. She carries a E14Y1 Glen floatplane (pilot Warrant Flying Officer Fujita Nobuo and navigator-gunner PO Okuda Shoji).
15-16 February 1942:
Rough swells prevent the launch of the I-25's Glen floatplane.
17 February 1942:
WFO Fujita and PO Okuda take off at 0430 in the Glen to reconnoiter Sydney harbor. After their return at 0730, Tagami heads S on the surface at 14 knots.
18 February 1942:
400 miles SE of Sydney. The I-25's next mission is a similar reconnaissance flight over Melbourne. Tagami decides to launch the aircraft from Cape Wickham in the Bass Strait between Victoria and Tasmania.
21 February 1942:
10 miles N of Cape Wickham. At dawn, the Glen is launched to reconnoiter Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay. Fujita breaks out of the cloud cover directly over the RAAF's Laverton airfield. Two aircraft scramble to try to locate the floatplane but find nothing. Once over the harbor, PO Okuda spots over 20 anchored merchants. He also spots a "heavy cruiser and five light cruisers" headed in single file towards the Port Melbourne dock area. After the floatplane returns to the I-25, Cdr Tagami heads down the West Coast of Tasmania on the surface.
1 March 1942:
Two hours before dawn, Fujita and Okuda take off from Great Oyster Bay on a reconnaissance flight and head south for Hobart. They see five cargo ships at anchor, but no warships. When they return to their submarine, Tagami sets out for New Zealand on the surface.
9 March 1942:
At dawn, Fujita and Okuda reconnoiter Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand.
12 March 1942:
Off Wellington, the I-25 is depth-charged by two small patrol boats that inflict minor damage.
13 March 1942:
Fujita and Okuda reconnoiter Auckland at night.
19 March 1942:
The I-25 travels to the Fiji Islands. At dawn, her floatplane reconnoiters Suva. Fujita identifies a "British three-funneled Emerald-class cruiser", but is spotted by a searchlight. Okuda responds with his signal light in gibberish Morse code. The searchlight is turned off.
23 March 1942:
The I-25 attempts to launch the Glen, but its engine will not start. Cdr Tagami makes a submerged reconnaissance of Pago Pago, American Samoa then heads for Truk.
30 March 1942:
The I-25 arrives at Truk, refuels and departs for Japan.
4 April 1942:
Arrives at Yokosuka for a refit and overhaul. The I-25 is one of the first IJN submarines to receive fluorescent lighting lamps.
10 April 1942:
The I-25 is assigned to SubDiv 4, SubRon 1, Sixth Fleet.
18 April 1942: The First Bombing of Japan:
Vice Admiral (later Fleet Admiral) William F. Halsey's Task Force 16.2's USS HORNET (CV-8), cruisers, destroyers and an oiler accompanied by Task Force 16.1's ENTERPRISE and other cruisers, destroyers and an oiler approach to within 668 nautical miles of Japan. Led by Lt Col (later General/Medal of Honor) James H. Doolittle, 16 Army B-25 "Mitchell" twin-engine bombers of the 17th Bomb Group take off from the HORNET and strike targets in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya and Kobe.
At Yokosuka, the I-25, -15, -19 and the I-26 are in drydock. A B-25 damages the light carrier RYUHO that is undergoing conversion from the former submarine depot ship TAIGEI in a nearby drydock.
11 May 1942:
The I-25 departs Yokosuka on her third war patrol for the NW coast of the United States with the I-26.
27 May 1942: Operation "MI"- The Invasion of Midway Island:
The Glen makes reconnaissance flights over Kodiak, Alaska. The plane sights an American cruiser and two destroyers. The intelligence derived from this flight is to support planning for an attack on Dutch Harbor to divert attention from the planned attack on Midway Island. The information from the reconnaissance flights is so important that the I-26, with its hangar empty, is positioned to recover the aircraft if should something happen to the I-25.
30 May 1942:
At dawn, the I-25 prepares to launch her floatplane to reconnoiter Dutch Harbor when the lookouts spot an approaching American cruiser. The I-25 cannot dive with her plane on deck, but the cruiser passes by without noticing her.
14 June 1942:
The I-25 arrives off the coast of Oregon. She launches a number of false bamboo periscopes to confuse the ASW vessels in the vicinity.
18 June 1942:
ComSubRon 1 Rear Admiral Yamazaki orders the I-25 and the I-26 to shell military targets on the American west coast.
20 June 1942:
The I-25 torpedoes and damages the 7, 126-ton British freighter FORT CAMOSUN at 47-22N, 125-30W, but the freighter escapes with the aid of four tugs. That day and the next, the I-25 attacks two other vessels, but they both escape.
21 June 1942:
The I-25 fires 17 rounds at Fort Stevens on the N coast of Oregon, but inflicts no significant damage. (One dud shell lands on a golf course and is now a memorial.) The Japanese actually intended to shell the "American submarine base at Astoria."
11 July 1942:
The I-25 arrives at Yokosuka.
27 July 1942:
The Naval General Staff's First Bureau (Operations) develops a plan to attack the dense forest in the Pacific Northwest. The Emperor Hirohito's (Showa) second younger brother, Cdr (later Captain) Prince Takamatsu Nobuhito tells WO Fujita that a large forest fire may cause the American Navy to reposition its Pacific Fleet to defend the mainland. The I-25 is ordered to undertake this operation.
10 August 1942:
The I-25 is assigned directly to the headquarters of the Sixth Fleet for the duration of the operation.
15 August 1942:
The I-25 departs Yokosuka on her fourth war patrol, carrying an E14Y1 floatplane and six 76-kg incendiary bombs.
7 September 1942:
The I-25 arrives off the Port Orford Heads on the Oregon coast in bad weather. The planned bombing is delayed for two days by heavy wave action. The Glen requires calm seas to be successfully launched.
8 September 1942:
September is normally a time of high fire danger for the Oregon coast, but that evening, Brookings, Oregon receives 46/100 inches of rain. (From 16 July until 7 September 1942, Brookings received only 16/100 inches of rain.)
9 September 1942: The First Bombing of the Continental United States:
25 miles W of the Oregon coast. The sea condition calms. The I-25 surfaces just before dawn and the Glen is assembled and readied for the attack. Fujita catapults off at 0535 and drops two incendiary bombs near Mount Emily, but the rain has saturated the woods and renders the bombs ineffective.(1)
Fujita heads for the I-25. On his way back he spots two merchants steaming N at 12 knots. To avoid detection, the I-25 moves NNE.
10 September 1942:
A USAAF 42nd Bomb Group Lockheed A-29 "Hudson" maritime patrol bomber on patrol from McChord Field at Tacoma, Washington spots the I-25 when some of her crew is on deck, but Cdr Tagami manages to crash-dive. The I-25 is at 230 ft when the A-29 drops three 300-lb depth charges. The first one explodes at 80 feet and the others at 100 feet, damaging an antenna lead and causing a leak in the radio room. While Tagami tries to escape seawards, the plane drops seven more DCs, but inflicts no damage.
29 September 1942:
Cdr Tagami makes another attempt to start a forest fire in the Oregon woods. The I-25 surfaces after midnight about 50 miles west of Cape Blanco. Fujita's plane is launched by catapult at 2107(I). Although the entire western coast of Oregon is blacked out, the Cape Blanco lighthouse is still operating. Using that light to navigate, Fujita flies east over the coast and drops his bombs. At least one starts a fire; however, it goes out before US Forest Service foresters can reach it. The bombing is unsuccessful. On his way back, Fujita manages to find his sub by following an oil slick. During the following days the rough sea and heavy mist permitted no further attacks.
4 October 1942:
S Oregon Coast. The I-25 is charging her batteries when her lookouts spot the 6,653-ton American tanker CAMDEN. Tagami fires two torpedoes, but the zig-zagging tanker evades both. Off Coos Bay, about 1100(I) after a four-hour chase, Tagami gets a hit in the tanker's bow area that starts a large fire. The CAMDEN is abandoned and taken in tow the next day by the tug KENAI, but on 10 October she catches fire again and sinks off the mouth of the Columbia River at 46-47N, 124-31W.
6 October 1942:
While running surfaced, the I-25 sights the 7,038-ton American tanker LARRY DOHENY off Cape Sebastian. After a 10-minute approach, Tagami fires a torpedo, but the DOHENY suddenly changes course towards the surfaced submarine. Tagami is barely able to evade being rammed! He fires another torpedo that explodes only 18 seconds later. Fragments of the wreck rain down on the I-25's deck and bridge. Most of the crew is given a chance to witness the sinking through the periscope. The I-25 then departs the area, making 18 knots.
10 October 1942:
The I-25 departs the Oregon coast.
11 October 1942:
While returning to Japan on the surface, the I-25 spots two ships apparently en route to San Francisco. The seas are rough. Cdr Tagami first identifies the ships as two battleships. Later, he identifies them as two "American" submarines. At 1100, he dives and fires his last remaining torpedo. It hits 30 seconds later. Several heavy explosions follow. One of the explosions wrecks a head aboard the I-25.
The leading submarine starts to sink rapidly stern first with its bow up 45 degrees. A second explosion follows. When the smoke clears there is only an oil slick on the water. The submarine sinks with all (about 50) hands at 45-41N, 138-56E. (Postwar, it is learned that the submarine was Soviet Cdr Dmitri F. Gussarov's 1,039-ton minelayer L-16 enroute from Petropavlovsk, Siberia via Dutch Harbor, Alaska to San Francisco.) The accompanying Soviet L-15 reports seeing one more wake, fires five 45-mm rounds at the I-25 and mistakenly claims a hit on the I-25's periscopes.
24 October 1942:
The I-25 arrives at Yokosuka for overhaul.
1 December 1942:
The I-25 remains directly attached to Headquarters. Sixth Fleet with I-32, -168, -169 and the I-171. Departs Yokosuka.
19 December 1942:
Arrives at Rabaul. Participates in supply missions to New Guinea from Rabaul thereafter.
25 December 1942:
Departs Rabaul for her first supply run to Buna.
27 December 1942:
Arrives at Buna but fails to deliver her cargo because of the presence of American PT boats.
28 December 1942:
The I-25 makes another attempt to deliver his supplies but fails to establish contact with Japanese shore troops.
7 January 1943:
The I-25 delivers 25 tons of supplies to Buna and evacuates 70 sick or wounded soldiers. On her way back, she rescues 117 soldiers of the 51th Division from the NICHIRYU MARU, sunk by the P-38s off Lae.
13 January 1943:
The I-25 delivers a new cargo of supplies to Buna, evacuating 37 soldiers.
23 January 1943:
Departs Truk for the Solomon Sea on her fifth war patrol, carrying a Glen floatplane.
29 January 1943: The Battle of Rennell Island:
Forty minutes after sunset, Cdr Tagami sights a flight of IJNAF Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" torpedo bombers attacking the enemy fleet about 30 miles ahead. The USS CHICAGO (CA-29) is hit by two aerial torpedoes that cause severe flooding and loss of power. The LOUISVILLE (CA-28) takes the CHICAGO in tow.
Vice Admiral Komatsu orders the I-25, -17, -26 and the I-176 to support the air attack, but a sudden squall occurs and Tagami fails to make an approach.
30 January 1943:
The four submarines are ordered to intercept the damaged CHICAGO that is now under tow by a tugboat. Tagami surfaces and heads for the suspected location of the CHICAGO at 18 knots.
About 1640 (local), he sights a flight of Betty bombers (11 G4Ms of the 751th NAG). The Bettys attack the disabled CHICAGO again and hit her with four more torpedoes. She sinks at 11-25S, 160-56E.
Later that day, the I-25 is spotted by American destroyers that engage her and drop a total of 40 depth charges.
31 January 1943: Operation "KE" - The Evacuation of Guadalcanal:
A task force of units of the Second and Third Fleets from Truk including the carriers ZUIKAKU, ZUIHO and the JUNYO, Bat Div 3's KONGO and the HARUNA, CruDiv 4's ATAGO and the TAKAO, CruDiv 5's HAGURO and the MYOKO, DesRon 4's light cruiser NAGARA, DesRon 10's light cruiser AGANO and destroyers 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 Japanese successfully evacuate 11,700 troops from Guadalcanal.
During the operation the I-25 is stationed SE of Guadalcanal with the I-11 and the I-32.
9 February 1943:
Vice Admiral Komatsu orders the I-21 and the I-25 to reconnoiter the American base at Espiritu Santo, using their Glen aircraft.
24 February 1943:
Arrives at Truk.
29 March 1943:
Departs Truk on her sixth war patrol.
18 May 1943:
The I-25 torpedoes, shells and sinks the 10,763-ton American tanker H. M. STOREY (3) that is enroute from Nouméa, New Caledonia to San Pedro, California at 17-30S, 173-02E. Later, the destroyer USS FLETCHER (DD-445) rescues the survivors.
2 June 1943:
Returns to Truk.
7 July 1943:
Cdr Shichiji Tsuneo (former CO of I-5, I-11) assumes temporary command. Cdr Tagami is reassigned as the Commanding Officer of the I-11.
15 July 1943:
At Truk. Cdr Kohiga Masaru (former CO of I-157) relieves Cdr Shichiji as the Commanding Officer.
25 July 1943:
Departs Truk with ComSubDiv 2, Captain Miyazaki Takeji embarked, to conduct aerial reconnaissance of Espiritu Santo.
23 August 1943:
New Hebrides. The I-25 launches its floatplane to reconnoiter the American installations at Espiritu Santo. The pilot reports seeing "three battleships" and a number of smaller vessels.
24 August 1943:
Cdr Kohiga reports the results of the flight. This is the last message received from the I-25.
25 August 1943:
The USS PATTERSON (DD-392), escorting a convoy bound from the New Hebrides Islands to the lower Solomons, makes radar contact on a surfaced submarine. The destroyer closes to 4,000 yards, but the submarine dives and breaks contact. The PATTERSON's sonar picks up the submarine and the destroyer drops several depth charge patterns that probably sink the I-25 at 13-10S, 165-27E. (4)
16 September 1943:
Vice Admiral (Admiral, posthumously) Takagi Takeo (former CO of MUTSU) CINC, Sixth Fleet, orders Cdr Kohiga to make a new flight over Suva, Fiji by 20 September and then return to Truk, but the I-25 does not acknowledge receipt of the order.
24 October 1943:
Presumed lost with all 100 hands in the Fiji area.
Captain Miyazaki is promoted Rear Admiral, posthumously. Cdr Kohiga is promoted Captain, posthumously.
1 December 1943:
Removed from the Navy List.
Authors' Notes:
(1) Postwar, this attack is not substantiated.
(2) Fujita makes four visits in all to Brookings. During one of these visits, he plants a redwood sapling at the spot where his bomb exploded. He donates the samurai sword that he carried on the bombing missions and it is on display in Brooking's library. In 1985, he hosts three high-school students from Brookings during their visit to a science fair held at Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Fujita dies at 85 on 30 September 1997. Some of his ashes are scattered at the bomb site by family members and friends.
(3) The H.M. Storey had escaped an attack by I-19 off Point Arguello, California in December 1941.
(4) The submarine sunk by the PATTERSON possibly may have been the RO-35. The I-25 may have hit one of the mines sowed by the PREBLE, GAMBLE and the BREESE off Espiritu Santo.
Special thanks go to Bill McCash of Oregon, a student researcher, for providing some details about WO Fujita's bombing of the Oregonian coast and to Steve Eckardt of Melbourne for providing additional details about the I-25's activities off Australia. - Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp.
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