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Old 06-28-08, 10:01 PM   #6
cgjimeneza
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Default fate of I-7

Quote:
Originally Posted by Raptor1
Okay, I got some data on sinkings:

I-7, a J3, was scuttled on 24/06/1943 (Can't remember why)
I-22, a C1, disappeard mysteriously (Last contact 12/11/1942)
I-19, a B1, was sunk by USS Radford (DD-446) on 25/11/1943 (NOTE: This submarine sunk the USS Wasp (CV-7) on 15/09/1942)
I-17, a B1, was damaged by the Bird-class Minesweeper HMNZS Tui and finished off by VS-57s Kingfishers on 19/08/1943

I'll have more including those which did not sink later
I found this on your I-7 , hope it helps
http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-7.htm

20 June 1943:
The I-7 makes a landfall off Kiska, but LtCdr Nagai decides not to enter Gertrude (Tanabata) Cove in Vega Bay because of a dense fog. He contacts the 51st Base Unit on Kiska and learns that the radio beacon will be deactivated after 0100, 21 June.


21 June 1943:
At 1330 (I), the I-7 surfaces in a heavy fog and proceeds towards the anchorage at Gertude Cove. LtCdr P. H. Horn's patrolling USS MONAGHAN (DD-354) picks up the I-7 on her SG radar at 13,000 meters and tracks it until about 1400. One mile S of the anchorage, she opens radar-directed fire. The shelling comes in from the starboard side of the I-7 and lasts about 10 minutes. The I-7 takes two 5-inch direct hits that rip her decks and devastate the conning tower. LtCdr Nagai, Captain Tamaki, Navigator Lt Hanabusa Yoshio and three other crewmen are killed and the communications officer is wounded. The pressure hull is penetrated in the conning tower area and the main ballast tanks are holed. The I-7 fires back with her 13.2 mm machine guns. The damage to the I-7 is such that she is unable to submerge. The Exective Officer, Lt Sekiguchi Rokuro takes command. At 1515, he runs the I-7 aground at Bukhti (Asahi) Point.

Earlier, the 51th Base Force sent a Daihatsu barge to unload the I-7's cargo. The Daihatsu, sailing in the thick fog, tries to contact the I-7 using a blinker gun. Instead, she receives a hail of machine gun bullets from the MONAGHAN that had spotted this new target 40 minutes after her last shot at the I-7. The barge doubles back, informs HQ of the I-7's grounding and then returns to the submarine. She takes aboard an officer from the I-7 who coordinates the unloading efforts.


22 June 1943:
By 0300 (I), with the help of a group of IJA soldiers, the I-7's cargo is unloaded at Hita Bay. During that time, the water is pumped out. By 1445, the I-7 is refloated and moved to the entrance of Gertrude Cove. By 1830, emergency repairs are completed but the submarine is still unable to submerge. After a brief discussion Lt Sekiguchi decides to return to Paramushiro on the surface since the I-7's speed is not impaired.

At 2000, the I-7 starts back to Yokosuka. She makes only about 10 miles when at 2125 she is suddenly attacked by no less than three vessels from all forward quadrants. In the next few minutes, she takes more hits in the conning tower while firing back from her guns and machine guns. The acting CO Lt Sekiguchi, Engineering Officer Lt Handa Masao and Lt (j.g.) Mori Yoshisaburo are killed as are many crewmen. The submarine makes a U-turn at full speed. During this second engagement, the I-7 fires 70 of her main caliber shells and about 1,000 machine-gun rounds.

The Chief Gunnery Officer, Lt (j.g.) Shindo Yoshio assumes command and cons the submarine from her wrecked conning tower. The I-7's lookouts spot what they take to be a small fire on one of the attackers. For a while it is thought that the enemy has lost contact, but star shells are sighted and the Japanese sailors decide there is no way to escape.

At 2300, Shindo runs the I-7 aground on the Twin (Futagoiwa) rocks. Fifty feet (15 meters) of the bow protrude out of the water and she develops a heavy list to port. The I-7's stern remains intact in only 100 feet of water. Forty-three survivors (including 10 wounded) are evacuated by another Daihatsu.

23 June 1943:
S of Kiska Harbor. The I-7 is abandoned at Vega Bay at 51-49N, 177- 20E. Eighty-seven officers and crewmen are killed. A bag containing code books and other secret documents is left suspended on a ladder at her No. 3 after access hatch, but her crew makes no attempts to scuttle her.

24 June 1943:
A Daihatsu from Kiska scuttles the bow of the I-7 in the midst of the fog, using demolition charges. The crew attempts to locate the code books prior to the scuttling, but fails to retreive them. The explosion breaks the hull of the submarine into two parts. Captain Tamaki is promoted Rear Admiral, posthumously and LtCdr Nagai is promoted Commander, posthumously.

20 August 1943:
Removed from the Navy List.

26 August 1943:
The fleet tug USS UTE (ATF-76) is sent to investigate the reported sinking. Her divers find the submarine lying on her port side in 10 fathoms of water. The conning tower is damaged but the I-7's hull number is visible on a tarp on the side of the conning tower.

7 September 1943:
The submarine rescue ship USS FLORIKAN (ASR-9) arrives at Kiska from Midway. She carries out a month-long diving operation on the I-7's hulk. Seven divers enter the submarine and recover important intelligence documents.
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