''I-19'' was a Japanese Type B1 submarine which damaged and destroyed several enemy ships during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

while serving in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

. During the Guadalcanal Campaign, with a single torpedo salvo, the submarine sank the aircraft carrier and the destroyer and damaged the battleship .

Service history

Attacks off California

''I-19'' attacked the SS ''H.M. Storey'' as she was bringing oil to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

on 22 December 1941, chasing the ship for an hour. Two miles off

Point Arguello Point Arguello ( Spanish: ''Punta Argüello'') is a headland on the Gaviota Coast, in Santa Barbara County, California, near the city of Lompoc. The area was first used by the United States Navy in 1959 for the launch of military and soundin ...

California, 55 miles north of Santa Barbara, the captain of ''I-19'', Narahara, fired three torpedoes at ''H.M. Storey''. All missed. A

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

plane saw the sub and dropped depth charges. The sub was forced to dive and end the attack.

Operation K

On 23 February 1942, ''I-19''s

Yokosuka E14Y The Yokosuka E14Y ( Allied reporting name Glen) was an Imperial Japanese Navy reconnaissance seaplane transported aboard and launched from Japanese submarine aircraft carriers such as the during World War II. The Japanese Navy designation was ...

(Glen) floatplane made a night reconnaissance over

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

in preparation for

Operation K was a Japanese naval operation in World War II, intended as reconnaissance of Pearl Harbor and disruption of repair and salvage operations following the surprise attack on 7 December 1941. It culminated on 4 March 1942, with an unsucces ...

, the second attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy. On 4 March, she arrived at the

French Frigate Shoals The French Frigate Shoals ( Hawaiian: Kānemilohai) is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the sh ...

to serve as a radio beacon for the

Kawanishi H8K The Kawanishi H8K was a flying boat used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was "Emily". The Kawanishi H8K was a large, four-engine aircraft designed ...

(Emily) flying boats that were to attack Pearl Harbor. ''I-19'' did not otherwise participate in the attack, which was carried out by two of the planned five H8Ks. No damages were inflicted by either H8K due to weather obscuring the target.

Aleutian Islands campaign

In early June 1942, ''I-19'' took part in the opening stages of the Aleutian Islands campaign.

Sinking of USS ''Wasp'' and USS ''O'Brien''

On 15 September 1942, while patrolling south of the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

during the Guadalcanal Campaign under the command of Commander Takakazu Kinashi, ''I-19'' sighted and attacked the U.S. carrier , firing a spread of six torpedoes. Three of the torpedoes hit the ''Wasp'', causing heavy damage. With power knocked out, ''Wasp’s'' damage-control teams were unable to contain fires. She was abandoned and

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

. The remaining three torpedoes from the spread hit the U.S. battleship and the destroyer , the latter of which later sank on 19 October 1942 ''en route'' for repairs. ''North Carolina'' sustained significant damage and underwent repairs at Pearl Harbor until 16 November 1942. ''I-19'''s torpedo salvo sank an aircraft carrier and a destroyer and severely damaged a battleship, making it one of the most damaging torpedo salvos in history.

"Tokyo Express"

From November 1942 until February 1943, ''I-19'' assisted with nocturnal supply and reinforcement deliveries and, later, evacuations for Japanese forces on Guadalcanal. Such missions by Japanese ships to Guadalcanal were called the "

Tokyo Express The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the ...

" by Allied forces.

Fiji

Between April and September 1943, ''I-19'' was stationed off Fiji. During this time, the submarine, under the command of Kinashi Takakazu, sank two Allied cargo ships and heavily damaged one. After sinking the SS ''William K. Vanderbilt'' on 16 May 1943, ''I-19'' surfaced and machine-gunned the surviving crew members in their lifeboats, killing one of them.

Loss

On 25 November 1943, at 20:49, west of Makin Island, destroyer detected ''I-19'' on the surface with radar. After ''I-19'' submerged, ''Radford'' attacked with depth charges. ''I-19'' was lost with all hands in this attack.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:I-019 Type B1 submarines Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 1939 ships World War II submarines of Japan Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign Japanese submarines lost during World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Ships lost with all hands Maritime incidents in November 1943