Japanese submarine I-53 (1925)
Sister ship I-55 in harbor
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Japan |
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| Name: | I-53 |
| Builder: | Kure Naval Arsenal |
| Laid down: | 1 April 1924, as Submarine No. 64 |
| Launched: | 5 August 1925 |
| Completed: | 30 March 1927 |
| Renamed: |
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| Struck: | 20 November 1945 |
| Fate: | Scuttled, May 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Kaidai-class submarine (KD3A Type) |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 100 m (328 ft 1 in) |
| Beam: | 8 m (26 ft 3 in) |
| Draft: | 4.82 m (15 ft 10 in) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: |
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| Range: |
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| Test depth: | 60 m (200 ft) |
| Complement: | 60 |
| Armament: |
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The Japanese submarine I-53, later I-153, was a Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD3A sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1920s. She supported Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya in December 1941 and the Dutch East Indies campaign in early 1942.
Contents
Design and description
The submarines of the KD3A sub-class were the first Japanese-designed cruiser submarines, based on experience with earlier designs based on British and German cruiser submarines.[1] They displaced 1,829 metric tons (1,800 long tons) surfaced and 2,337 metric tons (2,300 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 100 meters (328 ft 1 in) long, had a beam of 8 meters (26 ft 3 in) and a draft of 4.82 meters (15 ft 10 in). The boats had a diving depth of 60 m (200 ft) and a complement of 60 officers and crewmen.[2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 3,400-brake-horsepower (2,535 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 900-horsepower (671 kW) electric motor. They could reach 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) on the surface and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater. On the surface, the KD3As had a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph); submerged, they had a range of 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph).[3]
The boats were armed with eight internal 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes, six in the bow and two in the stern. They carried one reload for each tube; a total of 16 torpedoes. They were also armed with one 120 mm (4.7 in) deck gun for combat on the surface.[4]
Construction and commissiong
Built by the Kure Naval Arsenal, I-53 was laid down on 1 April 1924 as Submarine No. 64 and renamed I-53 on 1 November.[5] The boat was launched on 5 August 1925 and completed on 30 March 1927.[2]
Service history
Pre-war
Upon commissiong, I-53 was attached to the Kure Naval District. On 5 September 1927, Submarine Division 18 was established within the district, and she was assigned to the new division.[5]
I-53 was operating on the surface in limited visibility in the Pacific Ocean off Honshu, Japan, on 27 February 1936 when she suffered an engine failure and the submarine I-56 accidentally rammed her 32 nautical miles (59 km; 37 mi) southeast of Daio Saki lighthouse. Both submarines suffered minor damage.[5]
By November 1941, Submarine Division 18, which also included I-54 and I-55, was a part of Submarine Squadron 4.[5]
World War II
First war patrol
All three submarines departed their base at Samah on Hainan Island, China, on 1 December 1941 for their patrol area off the coast of the Malay Peninsula, and on 7 December I-53 began a patrol north of the Anambas Islands to support Operation E, the Japanese invasion of Malaya. Hostilities began in East Asia on 8 December 1941 (7 December across the International Date Line in Hawaii, where Japan began the war with its attack on Pearl Harbor). After an uneventful patrol, I-53 arrived at Cam Ranh in Japanese-occupied French Indochina.[5]
Second war patrol
I-53 began her second war patrol on 29 December 1941, departing Cam Ranh, but suffered damage in heavy seas, forcing her to return to Cam Ranh on 31 December for repairs. Her repairs completed, she again departed Cam Ranh on 6 January 1942 and took up a patrol position northwest of Java. She returned to Cam Ranh on 24 January.[5]
Third war patrol
I-53 departed Cam Ranh on 7 February 1942 to begin her third war patrol. She transited the Lombok Strait on 20 February and entered the Indian Ocean, where she torpedoed and sank the Dutch 917-gross-regster-ton auxiliary tanker Ben 2 – which was on a voyage from Surabaya, Java, to Australia with a cargo of 150-millimeter (5.9 in) artillery shells – 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) southwest of Banyuwangi, Java, on 27 February. On 28 February, she torpedoed the British 8,917-gross-register-ton armed cargo ship City of Manchester in the Indian Ocean at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., inflicting further damage on the ship with gunfire. The burning City of Manchester soon sank.[5]
I-53 completed her patrol on 8 March 1942, arriving at Staring Bay, Celebes.[5]
Kure
Submarine Squadron 4 was disbanded on 10 March 1942, and I-53 was assigned to the Kure Guard Unit. Departing Staring Bay on 16 March, she arrived at Kure, Japan, on 25 March, and assumed duties as a training ship. She suffered minor damage when the submarine tender Chōgei grazed her in the Inland Sea on 6 May 1942, and on 20 May 1942 she was renumbered I-153.[5]
On 5 January 1943, I-153 took part in a Naval Submarine School submarine camouflage experiment in the Inland Sea in which she and the submarine I-156 had a black camouflage scheme applied to their upper hulls and conning tower sides.[5]
Submarine Division 18 was deactivated on 31 January 1944, and I-153 was placed in reserve and transferred to the Hirao Branch of the Ōtake Submarine School to serve as a training hulk. She was laid up at Hirao on 15 August 1945, the day hostilities ceased.[5]
Disposal
I-153 was surrendered to the Allies and was stricken from the Navy list on 30 November 1945. Apparently, she was among several captured Japannese submarines sunk as gunnery targets by the Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Quiberon and the Royal Indian Navy sloop HMIS Sutlej in the Inland Sea on 8 May 1946,[6][7][8] although some sources say she was scrapped in 1948 rather than sunk.[5]
Notes
- ↑ Jentschura, Jung & Mickel, p. 170
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Carpenter & Polmar, p. 93
- ↑ Chesneau, p. 198
- ↑ Bagnasco, p. 183
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 Hackett & Kingsepp
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Anonymous, "Remaining Jap Subs Sunk", Townsville Daily Bulletin, May 10, 1946, p. 1.
- ↑ Anonymous, "Jap Submarines Demolition Convoy Caught in Gale", Kalgoorlie Miner, May 14, 1946, p. 3.
References
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