I-62, later I-162, was a cruiser submarine of the KD4 sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1920s and completed in 1930. She served throughout World War II, supporting the Japanese invasion of Malaya, taking part in the Battle of Midway, carrying out diversionary operations in support of the evacuation of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal, and conducting war patrols in the Indian Ocean. Late in the war, she became involved in supporting and training for kaiten suicide attack torpedo operations. She surrendered to the Allies at the end of the war in 1945, and the United States Navy scuttled her in 1946.
Construction and commissioning Built by Mitsubishi at Kobe, Japan, I-62 was laid down on 20 April 1927 and launched on 29 November 1928. She was completed and accepted into Imperial Japanese Navy service on 24 April 1930.
Service history Pre-World War II Upon commissioning, I-62 was attached to the Sasebo Naval District and was assigned along with her sister ship to Submarine Division 29, in which she served until 1942. The newly commissioned submarine joined I-61 and I-62 in the division on 30 August 1930. Submarine Division 29 in turn was assigned to Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet, on 1 December 1930. Submarine Division 29 was reassigned to the Sasebo Defense Division in the Sasebo Naval District on 10 November 1932. On 15 November 1933, Submarine Division 29 was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet, also a component of the Combined Fleet.
I-62 departed Ryojun, Manchukuo, on 27 September 1934 in company with I-61, I-64, and the submarines I-56, I-57, I-58, I-65, I-66, and to conduct a training cruise in the Qingdao area off China. The nine submarines completed the cruise with their arrival at Sasebo, Japan, on 5 October 1934. On 7 February 1935, I-62 departed Sasebo in company with the other eight submarines of Submarine Squadron 2 — I-53, I-54, I-55, I-59, , I-61, , and I-64 — for a training cruise in the Kuril Islands. The cruise concluded with their arrival at Sukumo Bay on 25 February 1935. The nine submarines departed Sasebo on 29 March 1935 to train in Chinese waters, returning to Sasebo on . I-62 was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 21 October 1935.
While I-62 was in reserve, Submarine Division 29 began a second assignment to the Sasebo Defense Division in the Sasebo Naval District on 15 November 1935, and was serving in this capacity when I-62 was recommissioned on or about 10 April 1936 and rejoined the division. The assignment ended on 1 December 1936, when the division again began duty in Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet in the Combined Fleet, an assignment that lasted until 15 December 1938. Submarine Division 29 then served at the submarine school at Kure, Japan, from 15 December 1938 to 15 November 1939, when I-62 and I-64 were decommissioned and placed in the Third Reserve in the Sasebo Naval District.
While I-62 was in reserve again, her diesel engines and torpedo tubes were replaced. According to one source, she was recommissioned on or about 30 October 1940 and resumed service with Submarine Division 29, which was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 5 in the Combined Fleet on 15 November 1940, while another source claims that her modifications took place from 1940 to 1941 and she was recommissioned on or about 1 July 1941, when she rejoined Submarine Division 29.
As the Imperial Japanese Navy began to deploy in preparation for the impending conflict in the Pacific, Submarine Division 29, still made of I-62 and I-64, departed Sasebo, Japan, on 26 November 1941 bound for Palau along with the rest of Submarine Squadron 5, namely the submarines of Submarine Division 30 and the squadron's flagship, the light cruiser . While en route, the entire squadron was diverted to Samah on Hainan Island in China.
World War II First war patrol On 5 December 1941, I-62 departed Samah to begin what would become her first war patrol. When the Japanese invasion of Malaya began on 8 December 1941 — the first day of the war in East Asia — I-62 was in the South China Sea off Trengganu, British Malaya, operating on a patrol line with the submarines , , , and . Reassigned to Patrol Unit "B" on 26 December 1941, she concluded her patrol by arriving at Cam Ranh Bay in Japanese-occupied French Indochina on 27 December 1941.
Second war patrol As a unit of Patrol Group "B," I-62 was among submarines tasked with attacking Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean west of the 106 degrees East, operating from a new base at newly captured Penang in Japanese-occupied British Malaya. Accordingly, on 7 January 1942 I-62 departed Cam Ranh Bay to begin her second war patrol. With a large British minefield reported in the Strait of Malacca, she took a circuitous route to her patrol area in the Indian Ocean which took her along the south coast of Java. At 02:40 on 28 January 1942, she unsuccessfully attacked a tanker west of Ceylon. On 31 January 1942, she attacked and seriously damaged the British 9,463-gross register ton oiler Longwood west of Ceylon. Longwood survived and made it to Colombo, Ceylon. The Hellenic Navy destroyer and two Royal Navy ships — the sloop-of-war and the auxiliary patrol boat — began a search for I-62 but failed to find her.
I-62 attacked and damaged the British 7,402-gross register ton armed tanker Spondilus in the Indian Ocean at on 3 February 1942 after 23:00. Spondilus claimed to have damaged I-62 with gunfire. Falmouth and Okapi mounted another search for I-62, again without success, and I-62 concluded her patrol by arriving at Penang on 10 February 1942.
Third war patrol I-62 departed Penang for her third war patrol, again in the Indian Ocean, on 28 February 1942. On 10 March 1942 — the day on which Submarine Division 29 was dissolved and I-62 was reassigned to Submarine Division 28 — she sank the 235-gross register ton British sailing ship Lakshmi Govinda at with gunfire. She torpedoed the British 8,012-gross register ton motor tanker San Cirilo south of Colombo at at 11:32 on 21 March 1942, but San Cirilo survived and arrived at Colombo on 23 March 1942. I-62 torpedoed an unidentified passenger-cargo ship on 22 March 1942 in the Indian Ocean east of the northern entrance to Palk Strait at , but it also survived. She concluded her patrol with her arrival at Penang on 25 March 1942.
April–May 1942 On 2 April 1942, I-62 departed Penang bound for Sasebo. During her voyage, Submarine Division 28 was dissolved and she was reassigned to Submarine Division 3 on 10 April 1942. She arrived at Sasebo on 12 April 1942. On 28 May 1942 she departed Sasebo bound for Kwajalein, deploying in support of Operation MI, the planned invasion of Midway Atoll. During her voyage, she was renumbered I-162 on 20 May 1942. She arrived at Kwajalein on 28 May 1942.
Fourth war patrol: The Battle of Midway On 26 May 1942, I-162 departed Kwajalein to conduct her fourth war patrol, operating in support of Operation MI, the planned Japanese invasion of Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, in which Submarine Squadron 5 formed part of the Advance Expeditionary Force. She operated in a patrol line between and which also included the submarines , , , , , and . The Japanese suffered a decisive defeat on 4 June 1942 during the Battle of Midway, and that day the commander-in-chief of the 6th Fleet, Vice Admiral Teruhisa Komatsu, ordered the 15 submarines in the Japanese submarine patrol line to move westward.
After the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, ordered Komatsu to interpose his submarines between the retreating Japanese fleet and the opposing United States Navy aircraft carriers, the Japanese submarines, including I-162, began a gradual movement to the north-northwest, moving at by day and after dark. I-162 made no contact with enemy forces during the battle and returned to Kwajalein on 21 June 1942.
June–July 1942 I-162 got back underway on 24 June 1942 to return to Sasebo, where she arrived on 1 July 1942. During her stay at Sasebo, Submarine Squadron 5 was disbanded on 10 July 1942. On 14 July 1942, she was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 30 in the Southwest Area Fleet along with the submarines , , and I-166 and the submarine tender Rio de Janeiro Maru. For her new assignment, she departed Sasebo on 22 July 1942 bound for Penang, making a stop at Cam Ranh Bay along the way.
Fifth and sixth war patrols I-162 departed Penang on 23 August 1942 to conduct her fifth war patrol, targeting Allied shipping in the Bay of Bengal. The patrol was uneventful, and she returned to Penang on 12 September 1942.
I-162 got underway again from Penang on 28 September 1942 for her sixth war patrol, again in the Bay of Bengal. She was east of Visakhapatnam, India, at 14:52 on 3 October 1942 when she torpedoed the Soviet 2,332-gross register ton armed timber ship Mikoyan, which was bound from Calcutta to Karachi with a general cargo. A torpedo struck Mikoyan on her starboard side between holds 1 and 2. After Mikoyan′s pumps failed, her crew transmitted an SOS and abandoned ship. Mikoyan sank at 15:09 at .
At 16:24 on 7 October 1942, while southeast of Masulipatam, India, I-162 torpedoed the British 5,597-gross register ton armed steamer Manon, which was bound from Calcutta and Visakhapatnam to Colombo with a cargo of 7,100 tons of coal. Manon sank at with the loss of eight lives.
I-162 torpedoed the British 4,161-gross register ton steamer Martaban in the Bay of Bengal east of Dondra Head, Ceylon, at 16:20 on 13 October 1942 at . One of I-162′s torpedoes hit Martaban in her bow, killing two members of her crew and igniting a large fire. Martaban′s crew abandoned ship. Several Royal Australian Air Force Catalina flying boats arrived on the scene to assist Martaban′s crew and search for I-162, but I-162 evaded them. Ultimately, the Royal Australian Navy corvette rescued 61 survivors from Martaban, which remained afloat and later was towed to Colombo. I-162 concluded her patrol with her return to Penang on 18 October 1942.
Seventh, eighth, and ninth war patrols
In early November 1942, I-162 left Penang to begin another war patrol in the Indian Ocean, but had to return almost immediately for engine repairs. On 15 November 1942, she left Penang bound for Surabaya, Java, where she arrived on 21 November 1942. From Surabaya, she set out on 24 November 1942 to for her seventh war patrol, which had been moved to the Arafura Sea. It was uneventful, and she returned to Surabaya on 17 December 1942. On 7 January 1943, she again departed Surabaya for her eighth war patrol, this time in the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria. She again had no success, and returned to Surabaya on 13 January 1943.
For her ninth war patrol, I-162 deployed to support Operation Ke — the evacuation of Guadalcanal as the Guadalcanal campaign ended in a Japanese defeat — by conducting diversionary operations off the northwest coast of Australia. Departing Surabaya on 26 January 1943, she conducted a reconnaissance of Cocos Island in late January 1943. On 14 February 1943, the United States Navy submarine attacked her off the Lesser Sunda Islands east of Thwartway Island at . Thresher fired two Mark 14 torpedoes, one of which failed to detonate, while the other missed and exploded without damaging I-162. I-162 opened fire on Thresher with her deck guns, turned north, and escaped unharmed. She returned to Surabaya on 16 February 1943.
February–October 1943