Japanese submarine I-21

This article is about the second submarine named I-21. For the first submarine named I-21, see Japanese submarine I-121.

History
Japan
NameI-21
BuilderKawasaki shipyard, Kobe
Laid down7 January 1939
Launched24 February 1940
Completed15 July 1941
Fate
  • Lost after 27 November 1943.
  • Probably sunk 29 November 1943 by TBF Avengers from CVE USS Chenango off Tarawa.[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeType B1 submarine
Displacement
  • 2,584 long tons (2,625 t) surfaced
  • 3,654 long tons (3,713 t) submerged
Length108.6 m (356 ft 4 in)
Beam9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
Draft5.14 m (16 ft 10 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 × Diesel engines, 12,400 hp (9,200 kW)
  • Electric motors, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW)
Speed
  • 23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range14,000 nmi (26,000 km) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Test depth100 m (330 ft)
Complement94
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × Yokosuka E14Y floatplane

I-21 (伊号第二一潜水艦, I-gō Dai Nijū-ichi sensui-kan) was a Japanese Type B1 submarine which saw service during World War II in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She displaced 1,950 tons and had a speed of 24 knots (44 km/h). I-21 was the most successful Japanese submarine to operate in Australian waters, participating in the attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942 and sinking 44,000 tons of Allied shipping during her two deployments off the east coast of Australia.[3]

  1. ^ "Imperial Submarines". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  2. ^ Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 p.191
  3. ^ Stevens, David, ed. (2001). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (Vol. III). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. opp. p 112. ISBN 0-19-555542-2. OCLC 50418095.