| IJN
Junsen Type J1
(cruiser submarine)
Tons
2,135
Length
319'


February 11, 1943

1943

Justin Taylan 2003

Tom McLeod 2005
|
Ship History
Built by Kawasaki at Kobe. Construction began on October 15, 1924. Completed March 10, 1926. Commanded by Captain Lieutenant Commander Eiichi Sakamoto.
Wartime History
This submarine carrying a barge, rescued 71 Sasebo 5th
SNLF from Goodenough Island on October 3, 1942, where they were stranded after their origianal barges were strafed.
Sinking
History
On the night of January 29 1943 the I-1 was patrolling off Guadalcanal,
New Zealand corvettes detected the phosphorescent outline
of a submarine, and HMNZS Kiwi dropped
six depth-charges. Shortly after, HMNZS Kiwi dropped another six. The
sub was forced to the surface and made a run at the corvettes, exhanging gunfire.
During the short battle,
the submarine altered course to starboard just before HMNZS Kiwi rammed
it on the
port side
abaft
of the conning tower. Numerous hits were landed at this time. HMNZS
Kiwi again rammed the submarine and an officer, was seen to be
hit by machine-gun fire. A third ramming damaged both vessels and HMNZS Moa took up the chase, following the
submarine while continually firing its gun. More than two hours after
the first attack, the I-1 hit the reef
near Kamimbo Bay. The next morning, the wreck was projecting
40' to 50' out of the water at an angle of 45 degrees.
In reports, the sinking of the I-1 was claimed
by USS Gamble DD-123.
It would appear that somehow the submarines have been mixed up and
what was meant in the Gamble's reports was that it sank the I-123.
Salvage Attempts
In the late 1960s or early 1970s, Australian Wally Gibbons
blew up the bow section of the submarine in search of booty. Although this
caused a great deal of damage (there was still one or two live torpedoes
inside), the bow sections of the sub are still on-site, but
opened
up. The front one-third is basically destroyed with the
remaining section still virtually intact.
Ewan Stevenson adds:
"This wreck was very intact up
to 1969 or so. My Dad snorkelled this wreck 1964-1967. It was an incredible wreck back then. In 1999 speaking with the Veuru villagers they were rightly lamenting the loss of such an attraction. They were rather chagrined at loosing out on all the tourist dollars."
Condition of Wreck Today
On the sand adjacent to the vessel's port side near
the 15 meter level is a huge battery compartment with hundreds of wet-cell
batteries in and around it. Other interesting objects to be seen include
air-bank cylinders (used for discharging ballast tanks) and the huge
electric motors that powered the vessel underwater. It
is a simple matter to follow the debris to the main part of the wreck.
At about the
18
meter level
you can
enter the submarine and penetrate
right through to the stern. At the stern you can see the submarine's dive
planes, rudder and propeller shafts. The return dive can be done on the
outside. This is an excellent dive and like most of the wrecks around
Honiara, the coral and fishlife in the shallower sections
are very good.
Display
The pennant of the I-1 is part of the Museum
of the Pacific collection.
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Information
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5m bow
30m
stern |