I-1 was a J1 type submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was a large cruiser submarine displacing 2,135 tons and was the lead unit of the four submarines of her class. Commissioned in 1926, she served in the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. During the latter conflict she operated in support of the attack on Pearl Harbor, conducted anti-shipping patrols in the Indian Ocean, and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign and the Guadalcanal campaign. In January 1943, during the Japanese evacuation of Guadalcanal, Operation Ke, the Royal New Zealand Navy minesweeper corvettes and intercepted her, and she was wrecked at Kamimbo Bay on the coast of Guadalcanal after a depth charge and surface battle.
Construction and commissioning Built by Kawasaki in Kobe, Japan, I-2 was laid down on 12 March 1923 with the name Submarine Cruiser No. 74. She was launched on 15 October 1924. Renamed I-1 on 1 November 1924, she was completed in late February 1926 and underwent sea trials—in which several German ship constructors participated—in the Seto Inland Sea off Awaji Island. The Imperial Japanese Navy accepted her for service and commissioned her on 10 March 1926.
Service history Early service On the day of her commissioning, I-1 was attached to the Yokosuka Naval District. On 1 August 1926, she and her sister ship were assigned to Submarine Division 7 in Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet. On 1 July 1927, the division was reassigned to the Yokosuka Defense Division in the Yokosuka Naval District, and on 15 September 1927, when Submarine Division 7 began another tour with Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet, I-1 was removed from the division and reassigned directly to the Yokosuka Naval District. She returned to the division on 10 September 1928 during its assignment to Submarine Squadron 2. At 10:35 on 28 November 1928, as Submarine Division 7 returned to Yokosuka, Japan, in heavy seas and limited visibility, I-1 ran aground off Yokosuka. She suffered minor damage. No flooding occurred, but she was drydocked at Yokosuka to have her hull inspected. On 5 November 1929, I-1 was decommissioned and placed in reserve, and on 30 November 1929 Submarine Division 7 was again assigned to the Yokosuka Defense Division in the Yokosuka Naval District.
While in reserve, the I-1 underwent modernization, in which her German-made diesel engines and entire battery installation were replaced. On 1 August 1930, Submarine Division 7 began an assignment to Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet, and, with her modernization work completed, I-1 was recommissioned on 15 November 1930 and rejoined the division.
On 1 October 1931, Submarine Division 7 was reassigned to the Yokosuka Defense Division in the Yokosuka Naval District, but it began another tour of duty in Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet on 1 December 1931. It completed this assignment on 1 October 1932 and again was assigned to the Yokosuka Defense Division in the Yokosuka Naval District, then returned to Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet for a third time on either 15 November 1933 or 15 November 1934, according to different sources.
I-1 got underway from Sasebo, Japan, in company with the other vessels of Submarine Squadron 1 — I-2 and of Submarine Division 7 and , , and of Submarine Division 8 — on 29 March 1935 for a training cruise in Chinese waters. The six submarines concluded the cruise with their return to Sasebo on 4 April 1935. On 15 November 1935, the division was reassigned to the Yokosuka Defense Squadron in the Yokosuka Naval District, and that day I-1 again was decommissioned and placed in reserve to undergo reconstruction.
While I-1 was out of commission, her American-made sonar was replaced by a sonar system manufactured in Japan and her conning tower was streamlined. Submarine Division 7 returned to duty with Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet on 20 January 1936 and, after her reconstruction was complete, I-1 was recommissioned on 15 February 1936 and rejoined the division. On 27 March 1937, I-1 departed Sasebo in company with I-2, I-3, I-4, I-5, and I-6 for training in the vicinity of Qingdao, China. The six submarines concluded the training cruise with their arrival at Ariake Bay on 6 April 1937.
Second Sino-Japanese War On 7 July 1937 the first day of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident took place, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War. In September 1937, Submarine Squadron 1 was reassigned to the 3rd Fleet,Boyd and Yoshida, p. 54. which in turn was subordinated to the China Area Fleet for service in Chinese waters. The squadron, consisting of I-1, I-2, I-3, I-4, I-5, and I-6, deployed to a base at Hong Kong with the submarine tenders and in September 1937. From Hong Kong, the submarines began operations in support of a Japanese blockade of China and patrols of China′s central and southern coast. From 20 or 21 (according to different sources) to 23 August 1937, all six submarines of Submarine Squadron 1 operated in the East China Sea as distant cover for an operation in which the battleships , , , and and the light cruiser ferried troops from Tadotsu, Japan, to Shanghai, China.
Submarine Squadron 1 was based at Hong Kong until the autumn of 1938. In an effort to reduce international tensions over the conflict in China, Japan withdrew its submarines from Chinese waters in December 1938.
1938–1941
Submarine Division 7 was reassigned to the Submarine School at Kure, Japan, on 15 December 1938, and was reduced to the Third Reserve in the Yokosuka Naval District on 15 November 1939. While in reserve, I-1 underwent a refit, during which impulse tanks were installed on her Type 15 torpedo tubes and her collapsible radio masts were removed. Along with the rest of her division, I-1 returned to active service on 15 November 1940, when the division was resubordinated to Submarine Squadron 2 in the 6th Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet.
On 10 November 1941, the commander of the 6th Fleet, Vice Admiral Mitsumi Shimizu, gathered the commanding officers of the fleet′s submarines together for a meeting aboard his flagship, the light cruiser , anchored in Saeki Bay. His chief of staff briefed them on the upcoming attack on Pearl Harbor, which would bring Japan and the United States into World War II. As the Imperial Japanese Navy began to deploy for the upcoming conflict in the Pacific, the rest of Submarine Squadron 1 got underway from Yokosuka on 16 November 1941, bound for the Hawaiian Islands. At the time, I-1 was undergoing repairs—during which a very low frequency receiver was installed aboard her—at Yokosuka, so her departure was delayed, but on 23 November 1941 she too left Yokosuka. After an overnight stop in Tateyama Bight, she got underway for Hawaii, proceeding at flank speed to catch up with her squadron mates and remaining on the surface until within of Oahu.
By 6 December 1941, Submarine Squadron 1 was on station across a portion of the Pacific Ocean stretching from northwest to northeast of Oahu, and I-1 arrived in her patrol area, in the westernmost part of the Kauai Channel between Kauai and Oahu, that day. The submarines had orders to attack any ships which sortied from Pearl Harbor during or after the attack, which was scheduled for the morning of 7 December 1941.
World War II First war patrol At 07:30 on 7 December 1941, I-1 sighted an Aichi E13A1 (Allied reporting name "Jake") floatplane returning to the heavy cruiser after a reconnaissance flight over Lahaina Roads off Maui. In the following days, she was attacked repeatedly by aircraft; although she suffered no damage, she began to keep her negative buoyancy tank flooded when surfaced so that she could dive more quickly. While on the surface at 05:30 on 10 December 1941 she sighted a United States Navy aircraft carrier—probably — north-northeast of Kahala Point on Kauai but was forced to submerge and was unable to transmit a sighting report for almost 12 hours. She often is credited with a bombardment of Kahului, Maui, on 15 December 1941, although it actually was the submarine that shelled Kahului that day.
On 27 December 1941, I-1 received orders from the commander of Submarine Squadron 2 aboard his flagship to bombard the harbor at Hilo on the island of Hawaii on 30 December 1941. She arrived off Hilo on 30 December and conducted a periscope reconnaissance of the harbor, sighting the U.S. Navy seaplane tender —which she misidentified as a small transport—moored there. After dark, she surfaced and fired ten rounds from her deck guns at Hulbert. One shell hit the pier next to Hulbert and another started a fire near Hilo Airport. None hit Hulbert, and Hulbert and a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps battery returned fire. Mistakenly claiming moderate damage to Hulbert, I-1 ceased fire and left the area.
I-1 attacked a transport south of the Kauai Channel on 7 January 1942, but scored no hits. On 9 January 1942, she was ordered to divert from her patrol and search for the United States Navy aircraft carrier , which the submarine had sighted northeast of Johnston Island. but she did not find Lexington. She arrived at Kwajalein in company with I-2 and I-3 on 22 January 1942. The three submarines departed Kwajalein on 24 January 1942 bound for Yokosuka, which I-1 reached on 1 February 1942.
Second war patrol While I-1 was at Yokosuka, Submarine Squadron 2—consisting of I-1, I-2, I-3, I-4, I-5, I-6, and I-7—was assigned to the Dutch East Indies Invasion Force in the Southeast Area Force on 8 February 1942. I-1 departed Yokosuka on 13 February 1942 bound for Palau, which she reached on 16 February. After refueling from the oiler Fujisan Maru, she got back underway for the Netherlands East Indies on 17 February 1942 in company with I-2 and I-3. She stopped at Staring Bay on the Southeast Peninsula of Celebes just southeast of Kendari, then put back to sea at 17:00 on 23 February 1942 to begin her second war patrol, bound for the Timor Sea and Indian Ocean. Shortly after she left Staring Bay, her starboard diesel engine′s crankshaft broke down, but she pushed on, conducting most of her patrol on only one shaft.
I-1 was on the surface in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia northwest of Shark Bay early on the morning of 3 March 1942 when she sighted smoke from Dutch 8,806-ton armed cargo ship Siantar, which was on a voyage from Tjilatjap, Java, to Australia. She submerged and fired a torpedo at Siantar. It missed. At 06:30, she surfaced on Siantars port beam and opened fire with her forward deck gun. Siantar worked up to full speed and fired back at I-1 with her 75-millimeter gun, but it jammed after only a few shots. I-1s second hit knocked down Siantars radio antenna. A fire broke out aboard Siantar, and her crew abandoned ship. After scoring about 30 hits on Siantar, I-1 fired another torpedo at her, and about ten minutes later Siantar sank by the stern at around 07:00 at . Out of her crew of 58, Siantar suffered 21 killed.
On 9 March 1942, I-1 captured a canoe carrying five Australian Army personnel trying to reach Australia from Dutch Timor. On 11 March 1942, she reached Staring Bay, where she moored alongside the submarine tender Santos Maru. She transferred her prisoners to a hospital ship. On 15 March 1942 she got underway for Yokosuka, which she reached on 27 March 1942.
March–June