© 2001-2008 Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp
Revision 1
26 December 1942:
Yokosuka Navy Yard. I-58 is laid down.
4 June 1944:
LtCdr (later Cdr) Hashimoto Mochitsura (former CO of RO-44) is posted as
Chief Equipping Officer.
30 June 1943:
Launched and registered in the Kure Naval District.
7 September 1944:
Completed and registered in the Kure Naval District.
I-58 is purpose-built to carry "kaiten" human-torpedoes. Assigned to the Sixth Fleet's SubRon 11 for training. LtCdr Hashimoto is the Commanding Officer.
September-December 1944:
Inland Sea. I-58 joins the Training Squadron for final working up and battle training.
2 December 1944:
A special conference of more than 200 staff officers
and specialists is held aboard the Sixth Fleet's flagship, TSUKUSHI MARU to
evaluate the results of the first kaiten mission to Ulithi by the "KIKUSHI"
(floating chrysanthemum) Group. Based on action reports and photo
reconnaissance, the staff erroneously concludes that three aircraft carriers and
two battleships were sunk in the attack.
4 December 1944:
Reassigned to SubDiv 15 Advance Unit in Vice Admiral
Miwa Shigeyoshi's (former CO of CL KINU) Sixth Fleet.
19 December 1944:
Transferred to Otsujima to carry out kaiten launch
exercises until 24 December.
December 1944:
Departs Sasebo for Kure to take on fuel, provisions and
torpedoes.
29 December 1944: The Second Kaiten Mission:
Departs Kure for
Otsujima. I-58 is in the "KONGO" (steel) group with I-36, I-47, I-48, I-53,
and I-56. The mission calls for an attack on the Americans at five different
points.
30 December 1944:
Departs Otsujima for Kure.
31 December 1944:
Departs Kure flying the "Hi-Ri-Ho-Ken-Ten" banner.
When approaching Okino-shima, I-58's Type 13 radar set is found to be malfunctioning. The set is repaired en route. [1]
9 January 1945:
A Nakajima C6N1 Saiun "Myrt" reconnaissance plane
reports the presence of one escort carrier, two destroyers, one submarine, three
landing craft carriers, nine transports and four floating docks at Apra harbor.
11 January 1945:
Arrives 26 miles SW of Guam. LtCdr Hashimoto
approaches Apra harbor to launch his kaiten. Around 2100, he sights a large
unescorted transport.
12 January 1945:
11 miles off Apra. Between 0310 and 0327, I-58 launches her four kaiten piloted by Lts (j.g.) Ishikawa Seizo and Kudo Yoshihiko and FPO2Cs Mori Minoru and Saegusa Makoto. An aircraft forces I-58 down before the results of the attack can be ascertained, but two pillars of smoke are sighted later.
20 January 1945:
At night while approaching Bungo Suido Strait, I-58 picks up a submarine on her Type 22 radar. The submarine is later identified as the I-36.
22 January 1945:
Arrives at Kure.
19 February 1945: American Operation "DETACHMENT" - The Invasion of
Iwo-Jima:
Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Raymond A. Spruance's Fifth Fleet of
over 450 ships, lands the 54th Amphibious Corps (3rd, 4th, 5th Marine Divisions)
who capture the island and its vital Motoyama airfields from LtGen Kuribayashi
Tadamichi's defenders.
28 February 1945: The Fourth Kaiten Mission:
I-58 and I-36 are
in the "SHIMBU" unit formed to attack American American communications to Iwo
Jima. I-58 departs Hikari.
1 March 1945:
Departs Kure carrying four kaitens. At 2100, exits the
Bungo Strait.
3-4 March 1945:
Incoming American planes are spotted with I-58's
Type 13 radar. I-58 manages to crash-dive each time.
7 March 1945:
N of Iwo Jima. I-58 surfaces to recharge her
batteries. Hashimoto plans to release all six of his kaitens the next morning to
attack anchored shipping off Iwo. Later that day a signal is received from the
Combined Fleet that directs the Sixth Fleet to cease operations in the Iwo Jima
area.
9 March 1945:
I-58 is recalled to Okino-shima to participate
Operation "TAN No. 2." Hashimoto jettisons two kaitens and proceeds at full
speed towards Okino-shima.
10 March 1945: Operation "TAN No. 2" - The Kamikaze Raid on
Ulithi:
Kyushu. Twenty-four Yokosuka P1Y Ginga (Milky Way) "Frances"
twin-engine bombers take off from Kanoya airfield on a one-way "tokko" (suicide)
mission to attack American carriers at the Third Fleet's anchorage at Ulithi.
The bombers, originally of the 762nd NAG, were formed into the "Azusa Tokkotai"
kamikaze unit and are led by two Kawanishi H8K "Emily" pathfinders of the 801st
NAG. Each "Frances" carries a single 800-kg bomb.
11 March 1945:
The I-58 takes up station off Okino-shima and functions
as a radio relay ship for the Frances bombers. Only six reach Ulithi. They drop
"chaff" to foil American radars. One Frances hits USS RANDOLPH (CV-15)
starboard side aft below the flight deck, killing 25 men and wounding 106. [2]
17 March 1945:
Returns to Kure. During the next refit, the number of
kaiten is increased to six. I-58's aircraft hangar, catapult and crane are
removed.
Late March 1945:
Battle training with kaiten in the Inland Sea.
31 March 1945: The Fifth Kaiten Mission:
I-58, I-44, I-47 and
I-56, each carrying six kaiten, are in the "TATARA" group formed to attack
American shipping anchored off Okinawa. I-58 departs Hirkari for Okinawa
with the TATARA group.
1 April 1945: American Operation "ICEBERG" - The Invasion of
Okinawa:
Admiral Raymond A. Spruance's Fifth Fleet, including more than 40
aircraft carriers, 18 battleships, 200 destroyers and over 1,000 support ships
surround Okinawa. LtGen Simon B. Buckner Jr's Tenth Army (7th, 77th, 96th
Infantry and 1st, 6th Marine divisions) makes amphibious landings and begins the
battle to take the island from LtGen Ushijima Mitsuru's 32nd Army defenders.
4 April 1945:
At daybreak, I-58's Type 13 radar picks up an
approaching aircraft. Hashimoto dives immediately.
5 April 1945:
I-58 is forced to dive by aircraft many times.
6 April 1945:
In addition to American aircraft, the weather is bad,
the navigator has trouble getting a fix on I-58's exact position and her
batteries are almost depleted. Hashimoto surfaces in daylight, but a flying boat
appears almost immediately. I-58 is forced to dive and later many more times
in the day, but she finally arrives off Amami-Oshima, albeit behind schedule.
7 April 1945: Operation "TEN-I-GO"- The Surface Special Attack Unit's
Sortie to Okinawa:
I-58 receives a signal to join the battleship YAMATO
in an attack on the American invasion forces at Okinawa. Later that day,
Hashimoto receives a signal about the sinking of the YAMATO.
8 April 1945:
Early in the morning, when I-58 is proceeding to the
Okinawa, area, her lookouts sight a Martin PBM-3 "Mariner" seaplane that had not
been picked up by her radar. Hashimoto crash-dives.
10 April 1945:
Hashimoto reports that he is unable to break through
the American ASW defenses to make Okinawa.
12 April 1945:
I-58 is reassigned to SubDiv 15, Sixth Fleet
(Submarines).
14 April 1945:
At 2320, LtCdr Hashimoto again reports about the ASW
defenses. Vice Admiral Miwa redirects I-58 to an area between Okinawa and
Guam to attack enemy communications there.
17 April 1945:
At 2355 (JST), the Sixth Fleet HQ cancels all
operations of the Tatara group.
25 April 1945:
At about 0100, while recharging her batteries on the
surface, I-58 her picks up an enemy ship on her radar. She dives and later
identifies the well-lit enemy as a hospital ship. Hashimoto allows it to pass.
Later, I-58 is ordered to return to base. En route, Hashimoto sights three
American destroyers, but cannot attack because his kaitens are out of order.
30 April 1945:
Arrives at Kure.
1 May 1945:
Vice Admiral, the Marquis, Daigo Tadashige (former CO of
ASHIGARA) assumes command of the Sixth Fleet from Vice Admiral Miwa.
22 June 1945: XXth Air Force Raid on Kure:
One hundred sixty-two
USAAF B-29s bomb Kure. They destroy incomplete submarines I-204 and I- 352
and damage RO-67. I-58 is not damaged although there are several
near-misses.
16 July 1945: The Ninth Kaiten Mission:
I-58 is in the "TAMON"
Group with I-47, I-363, I-366 and I-367. She departs Kure for the kaiten
base at Hirao.
17 July 1945:
I-58 departs Hirao for the Bungo Straits where the
kaitens carry out deep-diving exercises. The kaiten's periscopes are found to be
defective and I-58 returns to Hirao to replace them.
18 July 1945:
In the evening, I-58 and I-53 depart Hirao to
attack shipping on the East Coast of Luzon, Philippines. LtCdr Hashimoto travels
submerged in daytime and on the surface at night. I-58 lays in wait at the
point where the American routes from Leyte, Saipan, Okinawa, Guam, Palau and
Ulithi converge, but no ships appear. Hashimoto moves on to the Okinawa-Saipan
route, but again finds no ships.
22 July 1945:
I-58 moves to the Okinawa-Guam route, but still
finds no ships. About this time Fleet Radio Unit, Pacific (FRUPAC) intercepts a
radio transmission from I-58 to Sixth Fleet. FRUPAC alerts CINCPAC of the
submarine's position. This information, classified "ULTRA" Top-Secret, is
passed no further.
26 July 1945:
Tinian, Marianas. Captain (later Rear Admiral-Ret) Charles B. McVay, III's USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA-35) arrives from San Francisco and delivers parts and nuclear material for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs.
27 July 1945:
LtCdr Hashimoto takes up position on the Guam-Leyte route and moves westward.
28 July 1945:
300 miles N of Palau. I-58 sights a tanker escorted by a destroyer. At 1431, Hashimoto launches two kaiten piloted by Lt (jg) Ban Shuji and at 1443 launches FPO1C Komori Kazuyuki. A sudden squall obscures the results of the attack, but a distant explosion is heard.
I-58 heads for the intersection of the Leyte-Guam, Palau-Okinawa
routes.
That same day, INDIANAPOLIS arrives at nearby Guam. Since she is not equipped with sonar or hydrophones, McVay requests a destroyer escort. His request is denied. McVay's orders give him discretion as to whether or not to zigzag while under way. INDIANAPOLIS begins the trip from Guam to Leyte unescorted; the first major warship to do so during the war without equipment to detect enemy submarines.
29 July 1945:
At sunset, INDIANAPOLIS is zigzagging at 17 knots
in overcast weather. Captain McVay orders zigzagging to cease because of poor
visibility.
250 miles N of Palau. About 2300, after a radar check, I-58 surfaces.
She is heading south when her Navigation Officer spots a ship approaching from the east, 90-degrees off the port beam at 11,000 yards. LtCdr Hashimoto identifies the target as an IDAHO-class battleship, but actually it is INDIANAPOLIS. The target is making 12 knots and not zigzagging.
Hashimoto dives and prepares to attack with conventional torpedoes. He alerts one kaiten pilot to standby, but he doubts the pilot can find the target in the dark with the kaiten's short (2.9m) Type 97 periscope.
When the distance is down to 4,400 yards, INDIANAPOLIS commences a slow turn to port. Hashimoto realizes that she will pass by so close that his torpedoes will not have time to arm. He orders right rudder and begins a long circle to increase the range.
At 2326 (JST), at 1,650 yards, the angle on INDIANAPOLIS' bow is 60 degrees starboard. Hashimoto fires six Type 95 torpedoes in spread with 2-second intervals.
30 July 1945:
At 0014, LtCdr Hashimoto observes three hits on the starboard side. The first is slightly forward of the No. 1 turret, the second is abreast of the same turret, followed by an explosion and flame. The third is near the bridge, abreast the No. 2 turret. Hashimoto sees that his target is stopped, listing to starboard and down by the bow. He decides another attack is necessary and dives to 30 meters to open the range. [2]
At 0027, INDIANAPOLIS capsizes and sinks by the bow at 12-02N, 134-48E. Thirty minutes after his last observation, Hashimoto raises his periscope, but his target is gone.
A failure of the USN's Movement Reporting System causes an 84-hour delay in search and rescue activities. Of her crew of 1,196, 883 are lost, more than half to the sea and sharks.
Captain McVay and 315 survivors are finally spotted by LtCdr George
Atteberry's Lockheed PV-1 "Ventura" bomber that drops some supplies and radios
for help. Atteberry is followed by Lt Adrian Marks' Consolidated PBY-5A
"Catalina" floatplane that lands on the water. Marks and a few succeeding planes
start picking up survivors while they wait for ships to reach the scene. Later,
the survivors are rescued by the high-speed transports USS RINGNESS (APD-100)
and USS REGISTER (APD-92).
1 August 1945:
Hashimoto signals the Sixth Fleet at Kure that he sank
an "Idaho-class battleship." He is ordered to head north and patrol the
Okinawa-Ulithi and the Okinawa-Leyte shipping routes.
FRUPAC intercepts his radio transmission and passes it to CINCPAC. Since
there are no battleships in the area of the claimed sinking, the report is not
investigated. This further contributes to the delay in the search for
INDIANAPOLIS' survivors.
2 August 1945:
I-58, running on the surface, sights an unescorted
westbound merchant ship of about 9,000-tons at 20,000 yards. LtCdr Hashimoto
gives chase at 15-knots, but is unable to close the target.
10 August 1945:
260 miles NE of Aparri. At 0815, I-58 sights 10 transports escorted by three destroyers. LtCdr Hashimoto sights the zigzagging ship through his periscope about 7,000 yards away. I-58 launches a kaiten. Soon Hashimoto sights another destroyer, then a convoy and launches a second kaiten. Ensign Mizui Yoshio and FPO1C Nakai Akira die in unsuccessful attacks.
12 August 1945:
360 miles SE of Okinawa. Around 1700, when I-58 is running on the surface, her Type 22 radar picks up several vessels. Later, a mast is sighted on the horizon and Hashimoto dives. At 1747, he sights and
misidentifies the ship as a 15,000-ton seaplane carrier. Hashimoto alerts his kaiten pilots to standby and prepares his torpedo tubes. At 1758, he launches
FPO1C Hayashi Yoshiaki's kaiten. FPO1C Shiraki Ichiro's kaiten malfunctions and cannot be launched. The attack area is at 21-15N, 131-02E.
Hayashi attacks the American ship that is actually the dock landing ship USS OAK HILL (LSD-7) en route from Okinawa to Leyte Gulf accompanied by THOMAS F. NICKEL (DE-587). The kaiten glances off OAK HILL and is destroyed
by depth charges dropped by NICKEL.
14 August 1945:
Arrives at Kure.
15 August 1945:
I-58 is running on the surface towards the Bungo Suido when she receives a signal that the Emperor has called for an end to
hostilities, but several senior officers from I-58 decide to continue fighting. Armed with swords, they board a tanker at Kure and demand fuel for their submarine. The plot is foiled by the general lack of fuel.
17 August 1945.
Arrives at Hirao.
18 August 1945:
Arrives at Kure.
September 1945:
Kure. I-58 is surrendered to the Allied Powers.
5 September 1945:
LtCdr Hashimoto is promoted Commander.
October 1945:
Transfers from Kure to Sasebo.
30 November 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
3 December 1945:
As details of the INDIANAPOLIS disaster begin to become public - arguably the worst in American naval history - Fleet Admiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations convinces SecNav James Forrestal that they need a scapegoat. King brushes aside Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz's recommendation that Captain McVay be given only a letter of reprimand. Instead, he ensures that formal charges are brought against McVay.
Although 700 navy ships are lost in combat in WWII, McVay is the only captain that is court-martialed. He is tried for "hazarding his ship by failing to zigzag during conditions of good visibility" and "culpable insufficiency in the performance of duty" for failure to order Abandon Ship in a timely manner.
Cdr Hashimoto testifies at McVay's trail. He states that zigzagging would have made no difference. Four-time Navy Cross winner Cdr (later Vice Admiral) Glynn R. Donaho (former CO of FLYING FISH and PICUDA) also testifies that
zigzagging would have been ineffective. King's court ignores both Hashimoto's and Donaho's testimonies and finds McVay guilty.
After Nimitz succeeds King as Chief of Naval Operations, he presses Secretary Forrestal to remit McVay's sentence in its entirety. Forrestal agrees. This releases McVay from arrest and restores him to duty, but he is never given
another command at sea.
1 April 1946: Operation "ROAD'S END:"
I-58 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). NEREUS scuttles I-58 by gunfire
at 32-37N, 129-17E.
1949:
Captain McVay retires from the Navy with a "tombstone" promotion to Rear Admiral. He broods over the loss of NDIANAPOLIS and her crew for the rest of his life.
6 November 1968:
Litchfield, Connecticut. After receiving a final "hate" mail, McVay takes his own life.
1996:
Pensacola, Florida. Hunter Scott, an 11-year old schoolboy, after seeing the motion picture "Jaws", begins a history project studying the
INDIANAPOLIS tragedy.
April 1998:
Scott and a group of INDIANAPOLIS' survivors travel to Washington. They meet with key members of Congress and urge their support for legislation to clear Captain McVay's name. Later, a bill is introduced in the House, but a companion bill fails to make it through the Senate.
April 1999:
Joint resolutions are introduced in both the House and the Senate to clear Captain McVay's name.
September 1999:
Hunter Scott testifies before the Senate Committee on Armed Services on behalf of the survivors of INDIANAPOLIS.
November 1999:
Kyoto, Japan. The elderly Hashimoto, now a Shinto priest, learns of Scott's efforts on behalf of Captain McVay and offers his help. Scott suggests that Hashimoto write to Senator John Warner, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which Hashimoto does on 24 Nov '99. In closing, he says "Our peoples have forgiven each other for that terrible war and its consequences. Perhaps it is time your peoples forgive Captain McVay for the humiliation of his unjust conviction."
11 October 2000:
The United States Congress passes legislation that states that "it is the sense of Congress that the American people should now recognize Captain McVay's lack of culpability for the tragic loss of the USS INDIANAPOLIS "...and that "Captain McVay's military record should reflect that he is exonerated for the loss of the USS INDIANAPOLIS and so many of her crew."
25 October 2000:
Kyoto, Japan. Hashimoto Mochitsura dies at the age of 91.
Authors' Notes:
[1] A kamikaze slogan, meaning "Injustice, Fairness, Law, Strength and Heaven" (a short variant of a Buddhist prayer). I-58's banner had been blessed at Usa-Hachiman Shrine.
[2] See OPERATION TAN NO. 2:
The Japanese Attack on Task Force 58's Anchorage at Ulithi. by the authors
[3] Reports by INDIANAPOLIS' survivors indicate she was hit by two, not three, torpedoes.
Special thanks for help in preparing this TROM go to Dr. Higuchi
Tatsuhiro of Japan. – Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp.
