Wreck of HIJMS I-44

 Second World War 1939-1945, shipwreck

 Upload a photo

Laid down in January 1943 at the Yokosuka Navy Yard as a Type B2 Submarine, the I-44 commissioned into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy on January 31st, 1944 assigned to Submarine Division 11, IJN Sixth Fleet based at Yokosuka.

Engaged in training maneuvers for the first months of her service, the I-44 was the first Japanese Submarine fitted with the Type 13 air-search radar system in April and spent much of the next month experimenting with its operations. While engaged in such operations in May the I-44 was spotted on the surface by an American aircraft which then attacked the sub with complete surprise, indicative of her crews inexperience with radar. Damaged by near-miss bomb impacts, the I-44 dove to safety but endured several hours of depth charging before she escaped heavily damaged and returned to Japan for over five months of repairs. Ready for operations once again in October, the I-44 put to sea and made for the Philippines to support the fight against the American Invasion at Leyte, but an onboard explosion in her aft automatic trim system pressure tank which killed three of her crew and cost the sub propulsion forced her return to Japan once again.

Converted in drydock to a 'Kaiten' human torpedo carrier, the I-44 departed Otsujima anchorage on February 22nd, 1945 bound for Iwo Jima to carry out Kaiten attacks on the massed American fleet invading the island. Three days later while surfaced and charging her batteries in preparation for her assault, the I-44 was spotted by American Destroyers and forced under, where she and her crew endured over 47 straight hours of depth charging and a nearly toxic buildup of carbon dioxide but survived. Surfacing to change out the air onboard, the I-44 was again spotted by American aircraft and forced under once more, this time withdrawing from the area to regroup and eventually returning to Japan when the mission was cancelled on March 5th.

Rearmed and reprovisioned at Otsujima for another 'Kaiten' mission, the I-44 stood out for operations in support of Japanese forces fighting on the now contested island of Okinawa on April 4th, 1945. After 17 days of fruitless effort by her fellow submarines, the mission was called off by IJN Sixth Fleet Command on April 21st, and all submarines were ordered to return to base. Eight days later, the I-44 was heading North during the early evening of April 29th when her wake was spotted by a US Avenger aircraft from the USS Tulagi (CVE-72) on anti-submarine patrol. Again unaware of enemy aircraft despite having onboard radar, the I-44 and her crew made no effort to submerge as the sound of an aircraft became audible, allowing the pilot of the American aircraft to fly directly over the sub above the cloud deck and begin a dive towards her. Finally understanding the gravity of the situation, the I-44's crew were ordered to crash-dive the sub but were far too late to prevent a depth charge from being dropped by the diving Avenger onto the sub. Landing alongside her conning tower as it began to submerge, the depth charge exploded, seriously damaging I-44's tower and hull. Flooding began immediately aboard the sub, but the order to submerge was maintained in an effort to elude the aircraft, which at the time had circled around and was coming in for a second attack. As the I-44 dove past 30ft the Avenger's pilot released a single Mark 24 "Fido" acoustic homing torpedo as he neared the I-44's position and watched as it as it acquired, tracked and impacted the I-44's hull, blowing the submarine in two pieces and sinking her with all 130 of her crew and four 'Kaiten' pilots at this location on April 29th, 1945.

www.combinedfleet.com/I-44.htm