Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy submarines originated with the purchase of five Holland type submarines from the United States in 1904. Japanese submarine forces progressively built up strength and expertise, becoming by the beginning of World War II one of the world's most varied and powerful submarine fleets.
Japanese submarine I-1
The Japanese submarine "I-1" was a "J1 type" submarine built by Kawasaki, Kobe, for the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was a large cruiser submarine displacing 2,135 tons and was the lead of four boats built in the class.
She was commissioned on 10 March 1926 and served in the Second World War. On 29 January 1943, during Operation Ke, the New Zealand naval trawlers "Kiwi" and "Moa" intercepted and wrecked her after a surface battle at Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal.On 29 January 1943 she encountered the New Zealand minesweepers, "Kiwi" and "Moa". Unable to penetrate "I-1"s hull with their deck guns, the minesweepers rammed and chased her to shallow water, eventually driving her aground on the reef at Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal. The wreck partially protrudes from the water.