SENSUIKAN!
HIJMS Submarine I-6: Tabular Record of
Movement
© 2001 Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp
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15 May 1935:
The I-6 is completed at Kawasaki's Kobe Yard, commissioned in the IJN and assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District.
1 August 1935:
During maneuvers off Ise Bay, the I-6 collides with the destroyer AKATSUKI and damages her periscopes. Departs the area for Yokosuka for repairs.
10 November 1941: Operation "Z":
Saeki Bay. The I-6 is in Vice Admiral Shimizu Mitsumi's (former CO of ISE) Sixth Fleet under Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Yamazaki Shigeaki's (former CO of OCA YAKUMO) SubRon 2 in Captain Takezaki Kaoru's SubDiv 8 with the I-4, I-5 and the squadron's flagship, the I-7. LtCdr Inaba Michimune Michimune (former CO of I-121) is the I-6's Commanding Officer.
Admiral Shimizu convenes a meeting aboard the Sixth Fleet's flagship, the light cruiser KATORI. LtCdr Inaba and the other I-boat commanders are briefed on the planned attack on Pearl Harbor.
16 November 1941:
The I-6 departs Yokosuka for the Hawaiian Islands.
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: The Attack on Pearl Harbor:
Off Hawaii. SubRon 2 is arrayed to the northeast and northwest of Oahu. Its mission is to reconnoiter and attack any ships that try to sortie from Pearl Harbor. The I-6 is deployed with the I-4 and the I-5.
10 December 1941:
Kauai Channel, SE of Pearl Harbor. At 0410, LtCdr Inaba reports sighting a LEXINGTON-class aircraft carrier and two cruisers E of Oahu, heading NE at 20 knots.
Kwajalein. At 1650, Vice Admiral Shimizu orders a total of 13 of SubRon 1's boats (all except the Special Attack Force) to pursue and sink the carrier. SubRon 2 and the I-6 remain in Hawaiian waters.
15 December 1941:
SubRon 2 bombards Kahului, Maui.
December 1941:
SubRon 2 departs the eastern Pacific for Kwajalein, in the Marshall Islands.
9 January 1942: Operation "H" - The Invasion of the Celebes, NEI:
Vice Admiral Takahashi's forces invade Menado and Kema (11 January), Kendari (24 January), Ambon (30 January) and Makassar (9 February).
That same day, 270 miles from Johnston Island, the I-18 of the Special Attack Force sights a LEXINGTON-class carrier, a heavy cruiser and two destroyers steaming westward. The I-18 reports the sighting to Headquarters, Sixth Fleet. Rear Admiral Yamazaki orders all available I-boats in the area to form a picket line.
11 January 1942:
After sunset, at 1441 (Tokyo time), the I-6 spots a destroyer and crash-dives.
500 miles SW of Oahu, Hawaii. At 1640, the I-6 sights a LEXINGTON-class carrier, a cruiser and two destroyers. The carrier is the USS SARATOGA (CV-3) steaming at 15 knots enroute to a rendezvous with the USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6).
At 1740, after a one-hour approach, LtCdr Inaba fires his bow torpedoes with three-second intervals from 4,300 meters (4,700 yards). One of his four tubes malfunctions, but three old Type 89 torpedoes speed away. One hits the SARATOGA amidships. It floods three of her boiler rooms and kills six men, but the carrier is able to increase speed to 18 knots. She makes it back to Pearl Harbor under her own power. The I-6 survives depth charging by the SARATOGA's escorts and returns to Kwajalein.
24 January 1942:
The I-6 departs Kwajalein for Japan.
2 February 1942:
The I-6 arrives at Yokosuka. SubRon 2's boats undergo a refit and overhaul.
5 February 1942:
SubRon 2's I-1 through I-7 are assigned to Vice Admiral Takahashi Ibo's (former CO of KIRISHIMA) Netherlands East Indies Invasion Force in Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Ichioka Hisashi's (former CO of CL YURA) SubRon 2.
14 February 1942:
The I-6 departs Yokosuka for Kendari, Celebes.
February 1942:
The I-6 departs Kendari, then patrols S of Christmas Island.
25 February 1942:
W of Timor. About noon, nine Mitsubishi A6M2 ("Zekes") fighters and a Mitsubishi C5M2 Type 98 ("Babs") reconnaissance plane of Captain Kamei Yoshio's 3rd Naval Air Group are on an anti-shipping search mission when they spot two surfaced submarines. The I-5, and later the I-6, are mistakenly identified as Dutch submarines and strafed by the Zekes. The I-5 is damaged, but the I-6 dives in time and escapes the attack.
16 March 1942:
Vice Admiral, the Marquis, Komatsu Teruhisa (former CO of CA NACHI) assumes command of the Sixth Fleet (Submarines). Vice Admiral Shimizu is reassigned later as the CINC, First Fleet.
27 March 1942:
Berlin. The German naval staff requests the IJN to launch operations against Allied convoys in the Indian Ocean.
March 1942: Operation C - The Raids in the Indian Ocean:
Headquarters, Combined Fleet orders that the western coasts of India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) be reconnoitered before the commencement of Operation C." All of SubRon 2's boats, except the I-I, are to participate in the operation.
28 March 1942:
The I-6 departs Penang, Malaya and proceeds to the Indian Ocean to reconnoiter off Bombay, India and the Maldive Islands with the I-4.
31 March 1942:
Indian Ocean. N of the Maldive Islands. LtCdr Inaba sights an enemy vessel and initiates a torpedo approach. Just before releasing the torpedoes the target is identified as a hospital ship and he calls off the attack. The ship is the HMHS VITA en route from Addu. (Later the VITA picks up the survivors of the HMS HERMES).
2 April 1942:
Indian Ocean. W of Bombay. The I-6 torpedoes the 5, 897-ton British transport CLAN ROSS. She is hit by three torpedoes and at 0514 goes down by the stern at 15-58N, 68-24E. Her crew escapes in three lifeboats. The I-6 surfaces. According to a Japanese historian, the I-6's medical officer provides the survivors with water and biscuits and gives them the bearing to Bombay. Before their departure, the submarine's crew lines up on the afterdeck, salutes the survivors and wishes them a "Bon Voyage!" in broken French.
5 April 1942: Operation "C":
Vice Admiral Nagumo Chuichi's Carrier Striking Force ("Kido Butai") attacks the British naval base on Columbo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). They wreck the base's facilities, destroy 27 aircraft and sink several ships. A floatplane finds Vice Admiral James Somerville's Eastern Fleet's cruisers HMS CORNWALL and the DORSETSHIRE at sea. Nagumo's airmen sink both ships, but are unsuccessful in their search for the rest of Somerville's fleet.
7 April 1942:
Indian Ocean, Gulf of Bombay. The I-6 sights the 5,424-ton British merchant BAHADAR LtCdr Inaba fires two two-torpedo salvos, but both miss. Inaba surfaces and commences a tail chase. At 6,570 yards (6,000 meters) he opens fire with his 5-inch deck gun, but after the second shot the gun jams.
8 April 1942:
At 0020, after expending six torpedoes and firing another shell, the BAHADAR is sunk. The I-6's crew assembles on the upper deck to witness the sinking.
That same day, the Japanese formally agree with the Germans to dispatch submarines to the East Coast of Africa.
9 April 1942: Operation "C":
Nagumo's Striking Force attacks the British naval base at Trincomalee, Ceylon. They wreck the base's facilities and shoot down nine planes. A floatplane spots the old light carrier HMS HERMES and the Australian destroyer HMAS VAMPIRE 65 miles S of the base. The Striking Force sinks both. Nagumo's aircraft also find and sink several smaller ships.
9 April 1942: Operation "C":
Nagumo's Striking Force attacks the British naval base at Trincomalee, Ceylon. They wreck the base's facilities and shoot down nine planes. A floatplane spots the old light carrier HMS HERMES and the Australian destroyer HMAS VAMPIRE 65 miles S of the base. The Striking Force sinks both. Nagumo's aircraft also find and sink several smaller ships.
10 April 1942:
Gulf of Bombay. On her way back to Penang, the I-6 shells two dhows.
May 1942:
Departs Penang via the Straits of Malacca to Singapore and then to Yokosuka for repairs and upkeep.
23 May 1942:
LtCdr (later Cdr) Nakamura Shozo is assigned as the Commanding Officer.
5 June 1942: Operation "AL"- The Invasion of the Western Aleutians:
Twenty ships of the Vice Admiral Hosogaya Boshiro's (former CO of MUTSU) Fifth Fleet, including the light cruisers KISO and the TAMA, three destroyers, three corvettes, three minesweepers and four transports land Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Omori Sentaro's (former CO of HYUGA) Occupation Force on Attu, Aleutians without opposition.
7 June 1942:
Captain (later Rear Admiral) Ono Takeji's Occupation Force takes Kiska without opposition.
10 June 1942:
SubRon 2 is assigned to support operations in the Aleutians.
20 June 1942:
The I-6 is in Rear Admiral Ichioka's SubRon 2 with the I-1 through the I-7. Departs Yokosuka for the Aleutians.
20 July 1942:
SubRon 2 is ordered to return to Japan, except the I-6 is ordered to remain as the patrol submarine of the Northern Force in the Kiska area.
July 1942:
A Kawanishi H6K "Mavis" flying boat, of Captain Ito Sukemitsu's Toko Kokutai based at Kiska, reconnoiters Atka Island and reports the presence of an American seaplane tender in Nazan Bay. The I-6 proceeds there, but finds nothing and returns to Kiska.
August 1942:
The I-6 is based at Kiska in Cdr (later Captain) Kato Ryonosuke's SubDiv 33 with the RO-61, -62, -63, -64, -65, -67 and the RO-68.
7 August 1942:
Rear Admiral William W. Smith's TG 8.6 shells Kiska. The I-6, RO-61, -64 and the RO-68 anchored in the harbor crash-dive to escape damage. After the bombardment, some of the submarines are sent to intercept the task group, but they fail to overtake the Americans.
17 August 1942:
The I-6 is ordered to return to Japan and departs Kiska.
20 August 1942:
SubRon 2 is disbanded. The I-6 is reassigned to SubRon 1.
23 August 1942:
Arrives at Yokosuka for overhaul. During the overhaul I-6 and the I-1 are subordinated directly to the Sixth Fleet.
15 December 1942:
LtCdr Izutsu Monshiro is assigned as the Commanding Officer.
16 February 1943:
Departs Yokosuka for Truk.
2 March 1943:
The I-6 departs Truk for Brisbane, Australia.
13 March 1943:
The I-6 lays nine magnetic mines including six German TMC type from her torpedo tubes near the approaches to US Navy's large submarine base on the Brisbane River at Capricorn Wharf at New Farm, Brisbane. The I-6's radio communications are picked up by U.S. Naval Intelligence listening stations. The USS STINGRAY (SS-186), USS TRIGGER (SS-237) and the USS HALIBUT (SS-232) are ordered to intercept the I-6, but they are unsuccessful.
After the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, the Sixth Fleet decides to resume the supply runs to Lae. The I-5, -6, -16 and -20 are temporarily attached to the HQ, Eighth Fleet for this purpose.
27 March 1943:
The I-6 arrives at Rabaul. She is assigned to SubRon 1 with the I-2, -5 and the I-7 (F) in Captain Tamaki Tomejiro's SubDiv 7 that is subordinated directly to the Sixth Fleet.
5 April 1943:
Departs Rabaul for for her first supply mission to Lae, New Guinea with 3.3 tons of weapons and ammunition, 22 tons of clothing, 15 tons of food, supply drums and 30 passengers. She returns with 29 passengers, including four soldiers of the 41st Infantry Regiment, returning the unit's flag to Rabaul. Several hours after departure from Lae, the I-6 sights enemy torpedo (PT) boats but manages to crash-dive in time.
7 April 1943:
Returns to Rabaul.
11 April 1943:
Departs Rabaul for her second supply mission to Lae, carrying 44 tons of ammunition and weapons, clothing, food, supply drums and 26 passengers. Returns to Rabaul with 42 passengers.
17 April 1943:
Departs Rabaul for her third supply mission to Lae, carrying 4 ts of ammunition and weapons, 17 ts clothing, supply drums and 28 passengers. Returns to Rabaul with 39 passengers. After departure from Lae sights enemy torpedo boats.
21 April 1943:
The I-6 is reassigned on paper to the Northern District Force, Fifth Fleet to reinforce and resupply the isolated Japanese garrisons in the Aleutian Islands.
24 April 1943:
Departs Rabaul for her fourth supply mission to Lae, carrying 1 ton of ammunition, 16 tons clothing, 16 tons of food, supply drums and 20 passengers. Returns to Lae with 42 passengers.
30 April 1943:
Departs Rabaul for her fifth supply mission to Lae, carrying 3 tons of ammunition and weapons, 19 tons of clothing, 1 ton of food, supply drums and 30 passengers. Returns to Rabaul with 41 passengers. At dawn, sights enemy torpedo boats.
7 May 1943:
Departs Rabaul for her sixth supply mission to Lae, carrying 2.8 tons of weapons, 4 tons of artillery shells, 13 tons of clothing, supply drums and 10 passengers. Returns to Rabaul with 12 passengers.
11 May 1943: American Operation "Sandcrab"- The Invasion of Attu, Aleutians:
Rear Admiral (later Admiral) Thomas C. Kinkaid Task Force 16, covered by Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell's Task Force 51, lands the Army's Seventh Division that captures Attu Island.
13 May 1943:
Departs Rabaul for her seventh supply mission to Lae, carrying 11 tons of weapons, 5 tons of ammunition, 9 tons of food, supply drums and 10 passengers. Returns to Lae with 4 passengers.
13-14 May 1943:
Five miles off Lae. Cdr Morton C. Mumma, Jr. (former CO of SAILFISH), ComTGp 50.1, is riding in Lt (jg) R. E. Hamachek's PT-150. Hamachek and Ens H. P. Knight's PT-152 spot a submarine, probably the I-6*, on the surface making about 12 knots at 6,000 yards. Each PT fires two torpedoes at long-range. The submarine stops and all the torpedoes pass ahead of her. Closing to 4,000 yards, the PT-150 fires one torpedo at the stationary target. Suddenly, the submarine increases speed and the torpedo misses astern. The PTs run parallel to the submarine's course and then turn to decrease the range, but the I-6 crash dives. As the PTs lay to, the submarine fires a torpedo that passes under the bow of PT 150. She is saved only by her shallow draft.
14 May 1943:
The I-6, and later the I-5, are diverted to rescue the crews of Mitsubishi G4M ("Betty") bombers of the 751st NAG (Kokutai) that were downed during the raid on Oro Bay. The I-5 locates and rescues some fliers.
20 May 1943:
LtCdr Shimose Yoshiro (former CO of I-176) is assigned as the Commanding Officer. LtCdr Izutsu is later reassigned as the Commanding Officer of the I-55.
21 May 1943: Operation "Ke-Go" - The Evacuation of Kiska:
The Imperial General Headquarters decides to evacuate the garrison at Kiska Island, Aleutians.
That same day, the I-6, in the Lae supply unit with the I-5, -20, -38 and the I-121, departs Rabaul for her eighth supply mission to Lae carrying 5.1 tons of weapons, 5.4 tons of ammunition and 46 tons of food and 31 passengers. Returns to Rabaul with 40 passengers.
26 May 1943:
The evacuation from Kiska to Paramushiro Island in the Kuriles via submarines begins.
Thirteen I-boats are eventually involved in the operation that extricates 820 men. Three submarines are sunk and three others are damaged.
28 May 1943:
Departs Rabaul for her last (ninth) supply mission to Lae, carrying 15 tons of food, 6.7 tons of weapons and medicine, 2 tons of clothes and a Daihatsu barge. Returns to Truk.
8 June 1943:
Arrives at Yokosuka. Undergoes repairs and maintenance.
1 July 1943:
Departs Yokosuka to support the evacuation of the Kiska garrison.
14 July 1943:
The I-6 is reassigned to the Enemy Fleet Tracking Unit with the I-5 (both submarines are subordinated directly to the Fifth Fleet).
15 July 1943:
Rear Admiral Koda Takero (former CO of CA CHOKAI), ComSubRon 1, orders the resumption of the evacuation of troops from Kiska.
17-19 July 1943:
The I-6 and the I-5 pursue the enemy fleet in cooperation with IJN surface forces. On three separate occasions they spot three American destroyers but are unable to attack.
28 July 1943: Operation KE-Go:
The Japanese complete the evacuation of Kiska.
10 September 1943:
Arrives at Yokosuka. Undergoes repairs and maintenance.
30 October 1943:
Transferred from Yokosuka to Rabaul.
November 1943:
At Rabaul. From November until February, the I-6 participates in four supply missions to Sio, New Guinea and three supply missions to the Iboki Plantation on New Britain. Each run takes one and a half days. Her first mission fails and the I-6 is forced to turn back.
4 December 1943:
Arrives at Sio.
18 December 1943:
Arrives at Sio. While disembarking her cargo, the I-6 is attacked by enemy aircraft and returns with some cargo still aboard.
27 December 1943:
Early morning, after her third supply mission, the I-6 is en route from Sio to Rabaul. She is sighted by American torpedo (PT) boats and depth-charged. Later, she is attacked by American aircraft but manages to escape without damage.
On the same day, an enemy convoy is spotted off Cape Gloucester. Although the I-6 carries only two torpedoes, she receives an order to intercept it.
28 December 1943-1 January 1944:
Patrols in the Dampier Strait in search of enemy shipping.
2 January 1944: American Operation "Michaelmas"- The Invasion of Saidor, New Guinea:
Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Daniel E. Barbey's Task Force 76 lands the Sixth Army's 126th Regimental Combat Team of the 32d Division at Saidor and by-passes the Japanese garrison at Sio, 75 miles east.
19 January 1944:
The I-6 makes a second supply run to the Iboki Plantation.
30 January 1944:
The I-6 makes a third run to the Iboki Plantation, this time carrying troops not supplies, but she damages her screws on a reef not marked on IJN maps. The I-185 is on the same mission.
12 February 1944:
The I-6 delivers 12 heavy machine guns and their ammunition to Lorengau, Manus (the last supply mission there) for the troops landed there earlier by the destroyers YAMAGUMO and the AKIKAZE.
29 February 1944:
Arrives at Yokosuka for overhaul.
27 May 1944:
LtCdr Fumon Shozo (former CO of RO-49) is assigned as the Commanding Officer. LtCdr Shimose is reassigned as the Commanding Officer of the I-38.
13 June 1944: Operation A-Go - The Defense of the Marianas:
Admiral Toyoda Soemu (former CO of HYUGA), CINC, Combined Fleet, orders Vice Admiral Takagi Takeo (former CO of MUTSU), CINC, Sixth Fleet to redeploy his submarines to the Marianas. From his headquarters on Saipan, Takagi orders all available submarines to deploy E of the Marianas.
15 June 1944: American Operation "Forager" - The Invasion of Saipan:
Vice Admiral (later Admiral) Richmond K. Turner's Task Force 52 lands Marine LtGen Holland M. Smith's V Amphibious Corps and the invasion begins. Communications between Takagi's Advance Expeditionary Force (Sixth Fleet) are disrupted by the invasion. Command of the Sixth Fleet's submarines passes to Rear Admiral Owada Noburu (former CO of YAMASHIRO), ComSubRon 7 at Truk.
16 June 1944:
Admiral Owada orders the I-6, -5, -185, -184 and the I-41 to take station in that order in a north-south picket line 300 miles E of the Marianas. In the morning, the I-6 departs Yokosuka to take station as the northernmost picket. She is not heard from thereafter.
NE of Hachijo-Shima. The 5,123-ton freighter TOYOKAWA MARU, chartered from Matsuoka Kisen Line of Kyoto, departed Ogasawara (Bonin) islands on 14 June en route to Yokosuka in a convoy of four marus, three Kaibokans and a converted subchaser.
At 2233, 16 June, the TOYOKAWA MARU sights a submarine surfacing near the convoy. A submarine alert is given. The TOYOKAWA MARU makes a sharp turn and rams the submarine's starboard side slightly abaft the conning tower. The submarine takes on a heavy list, turns turtle and sinks in a few minutes. The TOYOKAWA MARU opens fire with machine guns and drops some depth charges. There are no survivors of I-6's crew of 105.
1 July 1944:
After the rescue attempts of the I-10 and the I-38 fail, the I-6 is ordered to evacuate Vice Admiral Takagi and his 6th Fleet staff from their headquarters on the eastern coast of Saipan, but LtCdr Fumon does not acknowledge the order. The I-6 is presumed MIA from this date.
10 September 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.
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Authors' Notes:
*Historian and author Kimata Jiro credits the PT-boat encounter to either the I-6 or the minelaying I-121 since both were in the area on the night of 13/14 May 1943. Although possible, it seems doubtful that the older I-121 would have survived the action.
Special thanks for help in preparing this TROM go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan.
– Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp.
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