Japanese submarine I-26
Encyclopedia
I-26 was a Japanese B1 type submarine
which saw service in the Imperial Japanese Navy
during World War II
. She was completed and commissioned at the Kure
Dockyard on 6 November 1941, under the command of Commander Yokota Minoru.
— the first American merchant ship to be sunk by a Japanese submarine in the war. I-26 had orders not to commence hostilities until 0330 8 December (Tokyo time) -- the anticipated time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
. I-26 found Cynthia Olson prior to that time, but remained submerged until surfacing near the freighter at 0330 Tokyo time (0800 7 December Hawaiian time or 0900 in the +9 time zone of the sinking.) I-26 fired a warning shell over Cynthia Olson from its 14-cm deck gun. Cynthia Olson stopped and radioed they were being attacked by a submarine. I-26 sunk Cynthia Olson by gunfire after the crew abandoned ship in lifeboats. The steamship Lurline heard the radio message from Cynthia Olson but the crew of the sunken ship perished at sea while attention was focused on the simultaneous bombing of Pearl Harbor.
After searching unsuccessfully for the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2)
following the attack on Pearl Harbor, I-26 patrolled off the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca
. A scheduled shelling of American coastal cities on Christmas
eve of 1941 was canceled because of the frequency of coastal air and surface patrols. I-26 was in Yokosuka drydock number 5 on 18 April 1942 when one of the Doolittle Raid
B-25 Mitchell
bombers damaged Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūhō
in adjacent drydock number 4.
On Sunday 7 June 1942 the 3286-ton freighter Coast Trader departed Port Angeles, Washington
bound for San Francisco with a cargo of newsprint. I-26 torpedoed Coast Trader as it left the Strait of Juan de Fuca that afternoon, and the ship sank in 40 minutes. One crewman died of exposure before the remainder were rescued over the following two days. The United States Navy apparently did not want to acknowledge Japanese submarine activity off the Pacific Coast during the Second Happy Time
and officially attributed the sinking of Coast Trader to "an internal explosion."
In the evening of 20 June 1942, while patrolling two miles off the coast of British Columbia
, I-26 surfaced and shelled the lighthouse
and radio-direction-finding (RDF)
installation at Estevan Point
. This simple act caused a disproportionate effect on coastal shipping, as all lighthouses along the coast were then extinguished for fear of their use by enemy vessels. I-26 returned to Yokosuka on 7 July 1942.
USS Saratoga
(CV-3) at 10°34′S 164°18′E with one torpedo
hit (out of six launched).
On 13 November, during the Third Battle of the Solomon Sea (American: Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
), she also hit the badly-damaged cruiser
USS Juneau
(CL-52) at 10°33′S 161°03′E. I-26’s torpedo set off Juneau’s magazine
, blowing the ship in half; only ten of the 650-man crew were ultimately rescued. All five Sullivan brothers
died either in the initial explosion on floating in the water awaiting rescue.
On the night of 25 October – 26 October 1944, in the aftermath of the Battle off Samar
, I-26 attacked USS Petrof Bay
(CVE-80) off Leyte. I-26 was sunk by either USS Coolbaugh
(DE-217) or USS Richard M. Rowell
(DE-403).
The last contact with I-26 was on 25 October; she was officially presumed lost east of Leyte on 21 November 1944.
I-26 was finally removed from the Navy List on 10 March 1945.
I-26 was the IJN's third highest scoring submarine in terms of tonnage sunk, sinking more than 51,500 tons.
B1 type submarine
The Type B1 submarine were the most numerous submarine class of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II...
which saw service in the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was completed and commissioned at the Kure
Kure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
Dockyard on 6 November 1941, under the command of Commander Yokota Minoru.
Patrols on the US and Canadian West Coast
On 7 December 1941, the I-26 sank the 2140-ton U.S. Army chartered lumber freighter Cynthia Olson 300 nmi (550 km) off the coast of CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
— the first American merchant ship to be sunk by a Japanese submarine in the war. I-26 had orders not to commence hostilities until 0330 8 December (Tokyo time) -- the anticipated time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
. I-26 found Cynthia Olson prior to that time, but remained submerged until surfacing near the freighter at 0330 Tokyo time (0800 7 December Hawaiian time or 0900 in the +9 time zone of the sinking.) I-26 fired a warning shell over Cynthia Olson from its 14-cm deck gun. Cynthia Olson stopped and radioed they were being attacked by a submarine. I-26 sunk Cynthia Olson by gunfire after the crew abandoned ship in lifeboats. The steamship Lurline heard the radio message from Cynthia Olson but the crew of the sunken ship perished at sea while attention was focused on the simultaneous bombing of Pearl Harbor.
After searching unsuccessfully for the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2)
USS Lexington (CV-2)
USS Lexington , nicknamed the "Gray Lady" or "Lady Lex," was an early aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the lead ship of the , though her sister ship was commissioned a month earlier...
following the attack on Pearl Harbor, I-26 patrolled off the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
. A scheduled shelling of American coastal cities on Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
eve of 1941 was canceled because of the frequency of coastal air and surface patrols. I-26 was in Yokosuka drydock number 5 on 18 April 1942 when one of the Doolittle Raid
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid, on 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II. By demonstrating that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack, it provided a vital morale boost and opportunity for U.S. retaliation after the...
B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
bombers damaged Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūhō
Japanese aircraft carrier Ryuho
The was a Japanese Light aircraft carrier. Sole ship of her class, she was converted from a submarine tender. During World War II she operated mainly as aircraft transport but did participate in the First Battle of the Philippine Sea.-Conversion and commission:...
in adjacent drydock number 4.
On Sunday 7 June 1942 the 3286-ton freighter Coast Trader departed Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles is a city in and the county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 19,038 at the 2010 census. The area's harbor was dubbed Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles by Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza in 1791, but by the mid-19th century the name had...
bound for San Francisco with a cargo of newsprint. I-26 torpedoed Coast Trader as it left the Strait of Juan de Fuca that afternoon, and the ship sank in 40 minutes. One crewman died of exposure before the remainder were rescued over the following two days. The United States Navy apparently did not want to acknowledge Japanese submarine activity off the Pacific Coast during the Second Happy Time
Second happy time
The Second Happy Time , also known among German submarine commanders as the "American shooting season" was the informal name for a phase in the Second Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis submarines attacked merchant shipping along the east coast of North America...
and officially attributed the sinking of Coast Trader to "an internal explosion."
In the evening of 20 June 1942, while patrolling two miles off the coast of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, I-26 surfaced and shelled the lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
and radio-direction-finding (RDF)
Radio direction finder
A radio direction finder is a device for finding the direction to a radio source. Due to low frequency propagation characteristic to travel very long distances and "over the horizon", it makes a particularly good navigation system for ships, small boats, and aircraft that might be some distance...
installation at Estevan Point
Estevan Point
Estevan Point is a lighthouse located on the headland of the same name on the Hesquiat Peninsula on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada....
. This simple act caused a disproportionate effect on coastal shipping, as all lighthouses along the coast were then extinguished for fear of their use by enemy vessels. I-26 returned to Yokosuka on 7 July 1942.
Pacific actions
On 31 August 1942, she crippled the aircraft carrierAircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
USS Saratoga
USS Saratoga (CV-3)
USS Saratoga was the second aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the fifth ship to bear her name. She was commissioned one month earlier than her sister and class leader, , which is the third actually commissioned after and Saratoga...
(CV-3) at 10°34′S 164°18′E with one torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
hit (out of six launched).
On 13 November, during the Third Battle of the Solomon Sea (American: Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...
), she also hit the badly-damaged cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
USS Juneau
USS Juneau (CL-52)
The first USS Juneau was a United States Navy Atlanta-class light cruiser sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. In total 687 men, including the five Sullivan brothers, were killed in action as a result of its sinking....
(CL-52) at 10°33′S 161°03′E. I-26’s torpedo set off Juneau’s magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
, blowing the ship in half; only ten of the 650-man crew were ultimately rescued. All five Sullivan brothers
Sullivan brothers
The Sullivan brothers were five siblings who were all killed in action during or shortly after the sinking of the light cruiser USS Juneau , the vessel on which they all served, on November 13, 1942, in World War II....
died either in the initial explosion on floating in the water awaiting rescue.
On the night of 25 October – 26 October 1944, in the aftermath of the Battle off Samar
Battle off Samar
The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on 25 October 1944...
, I-26 attacked USS Petrof Bay
USS Petrof Bay (CVE-80)
USS Petrof Bay was an Casablanca class escort carrier of the United States Navy.She was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington, 15 October 1943; launched 5 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. J. G. Atkins; acquired 18 February 1944 and...
(CVE-80) off Leyte. I-26 was sunk by either USS Coolbaugh
USS Coolbaugh (DE-217)
USS Coolbaugh , a of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Lieutenant Walter W. Coolbaugh , who was killed in an aircraft accident on 19 December 1942. He was a recipient of the Navy Cross....
(DE-217) or USS Richard M. Rowell
USS Richard M. Rowell (DE-403)
USS Richard M. Rowell was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort acquired by the United States Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket...
(DE-403).
The last contact with I-26 was on 25 October; she was officially presumed lost east of Leyte on 21 November 1944.
I-26 was finally removed from the Navy List on 10 March 1945.
I-26 was the IJN's third highest scoring submarine in terms of tonnage sunk, sinking more than 51,500 tons.