© 2001-2003 Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp
20 February 1944:
The I-53 is completed at the Kure Navy Yard,
commissioned in the IJN and based in the Kure Naval District. She is assigned to
SubDiv 11, in Vice Admiral (Admiral, posthumously) Takagi Takeo's (former CO of
MUTSU) Sixth Fleet for training. LtCdr Toyomasu Seihachi is the Commanding
Officer.
April 1944:Operation "Tatsumaki" (Tornado) - Amphibious Tank Attack at
Majuro, Marshall Islands:
Inland Sea. The I-53 participates in training with the I-36, -38, -41 and
the I-44. The operation calls for the submarines to carry amphibious tanks from
Kure to Majuro. There the tanks, armed with torpedoes, are to be put
ashore, make their way overland, enter the water again and make a torpedo attack
on American ships. Later, the plan is cancelled.*
17 May 1944:
South Pacific. Departs Saeki to patrol N of Kavieng, New
Ireland.
19 May 1944:
Reassigned to SubDiv 15, Sixth Fleet.
18 June 1944:
Stationed NE of Truk with the I-10 and I-38.
2 July 1944:
Arrives at Truk.
15 July 1944:
Departs Truk.
25 July 1944:
Arrives at Kure.
28 July 1944:
Arrives at Sasebo. Overhaul and repairs. A Type 22 radar
is fitted.
13 October 1944: Operation "SHO-I-GO" - The Defense of the
Philippines:
Admiral Toyoda Soemu (former CO of HYUGA), CINC, Combined Fleet,
orders the Sho-I-Go plan activated.
The I-53 is assigned to Group "A" with the I-26, -45, -54 and the I-56
under direct the command of Vice Admiral Miwa Shigeyoshi's (former CO of KINU)
Sixth Fleet.
19 October 1944:
Departs Kure to operate off the Philippines.
20 October 1944: American Operation "King Two" - The Invasion of Leyte,
Philippines:
Admiral (later Fleet Admiral) William F. Halsey's Third Fleet of
738 ships including 18 aircraft carriers, six battleships, 17 cruisers, 64
destroyers and over 600 support ships land the Army's X Corps (24 th Infantry
and 1st Cavalry Divisions) and the XXIV Corps (7th, 77th and 96th Infantry
Divisions) that begin the campaign to retake Leyte.
4 November 1944:
650 miles E of Manila. About 0100, the I-53 surfaces,
but is detected by an American destroyer that starts a 38-hour chase. The I-53
submerges to depths reaching 490 feet to escape depth-charging. Special chemical
compound vials are issued to her crew to minimize the carbon dioxide content in
the submarine.
22 November 1944:
Arrives at Kure. During her time in port, the I-53's
deck guns are removed to make room for four "kaiten" human-torpedoes.
27 December 1944: The Second Kaiten Mission:
The I-53 is in the
"Kongo" (steel) group with the I-36, -47, -48, -56 and the I-58. The plan calls
for attacks on anchored American shipping at five different points. The I-53
departs Kure with the I-36 and the I-58.
12 January 1945:
4 miles off Kossol Roads, Palaus. At 0700, the I-53
surfaces. Her No. 1 kaiten, piloted by Lt (j.g.) Kuzumi Hiroshi, explodes soon
after launch and No. 3 does not start its engine. Nos. 2 and 4 piloted by Ensign
Ito Osamu and CPO Arimori Bunkichi are launched without incident. After an hour
and 20 minutes, two explosions are heard. The nearby 30th Base Unit confirms two
hits.** The I-53 surfaces to check out kaiten No. 3. They find that its pilot
had lost consciousness because of fuel fumes.
26 January 1945:
Returns to Kure for repairs and overhaul.
1 February 1945:
LtCdr Toyomasu is relieved by LtCdr (later Captain,
JMSDF) Oba Saichi (former CO of RO-105, RO-49, I-162).
24 March 1945:
The "Tatara" kaiten Group is formed of the I-44, -47,
-53, -56 and the I-58.
30 March 1945:
Off Hikari. During a trim test the I-53 grazes a
magnetic mine when she surfaces in the Suo Nada and damages a fuel tank. She is
unable to participate in the Tatara mission.
1 April 1945:
Returns to Kure. Drydocked for repairs. Fittings for
carrying two more kaitens are also added and she is equipped with a snorkel.
14 July 1945: The Ninth Kaiten Mission:
The I-53 is in the "Tamon"
kaiten group with the I-47, -58, -363, -366 and the I-367. The I-53 sorties for
her assigned area 300 miles SE of the southern tip of Taiwan. She carries only
five Kaitens.
22 July 1945:
Arrives at her assigned area.***
24 July 1945:
Philippine Sea, Luzon. The I-53 sights a convoy of seven
American ships - the troopship USS ADRIA and six Landing Ship Tanks (LST)
carrying the 96th Infantry Division withdrawn from Okinawa - making 10 knots
towards the Philippines. The convoy is covered by LtCdr Robert N. Newcomb's USS
UNDERHILL (DE-682), PC's 1251, 803, 804, 807, SC's 1306, 1309, and the PCE 872.
About 1200, the UNDERHILL makes a sonar contact on the I-53 and guides
the PC 804 that makes a depth charge attack. LtCdr Newcomb moves to ram, but the
submarine dives. The UNDERHILL drops a 13-depth charge pattern.
About 1500, LtCdr Oba launches a kaiten piloted by Lt (j.g.) Katsuyama
Jun. The kaiten surfaces on the side of the UNDERHILL. Newcomb goes to flank
speed and rams the port side of the kaiten. An explosion disintegrates the
kaiten and the UNDERHILL from her stack forward. LtCdr Newcomb and 111 crewmen
are lost. The I-53 slips away. After the attack, the aft section of the
UNDERHILL is sunk by gunfire from PC's 803, 804 and PCE 872. Oba reports sinking
a transport.
30 July 1945:
At 1300, the I-53 sights an American convoy and begins
to position for a kaiten attack. At about 1700, LtCdr Oba launches a kaiten
piloted by FPO1C Kawajiri Tsutomu.**** While approaching by periscope, the I-53
is repeatedly attacked with salvoes of Mark 10 "Hedgehog" projector charges by a
destroyer escort, but there are no hits. LtCdr Oba reports after return that the
DE attempted to attack him with machine-gun fire.
3 August 1945:
Philippine Sea. 400 miles SE of Taiwan. The USS EARL V.
JOHNSON (DE-702), returning to Leyte from Okinawa after escorting an LST convoy,
makes a sonar contact on the I-53.
4 August 1945:
After attempting to evade the JOHNSON for three hours,
between 0045 and 0215, LtCdr Oba launches a kaiten piloted by Ensign Seki
Toyooki. Thirty minutes later an explosion is heard. Between 0230 and 0300,
FPO1C Arakawa Masahiro is launched. Ten minutes later, another explosion is
heard. A near-miss by Arakawa's kaiten damages the JOHNSON. The remaining two
kaitens aboard the I-53 are not launched due to malfunctions.
7 August 1945:
The I-53 receives a signal from Sixth Fleet to return
to base.
12 August 1945:
Arrives at Otsushima.
15 August 1945:
The Emperor Hirohito (Showa) broadcasts an Imperial
Rescript calling for an end to the hostilities.
24 August 1945:
Arrives at Hikari.
September 1945:
The I-53 surrenders.
30 November 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
1 April 1946: Operation "Roads End:"
The I-53 is stripped of all
usable equipment and material and towed from Sasebo to an area off Goto Retto by
the submarine tender USS NEREUS (AS-17). The NEREUS scuttles the I-53 by gunfire
at 32-37N, 129-17E.
Authors' Notes: *The Type 4 "Ka-Tsu" Special Amphibious Vehicle could carry two
45-cm torpedoes, one on either side.
