Those Mysterious Midgets By Lieutenant Commander A. J. Stewart, U. S. Navy
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Those Mysterious Midgets By Lieutenant Commander A. J. Stewart, U. S. Navy Much has been said and written about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and of the use of midget submarines in concert with the carrier-borne aircraft that fateful day. No comprehensive study of the facts concerning these two-man submersibles has been made from the numerous documents and original data sources available. Consequently, accounts of these boats have been marred by confused and nonsensical distortions in books and periodicals. This article attempts to present the sequence of events which took place before, during, and after the attack. In November 1941, Japanese submarines suitable for use as first-line strength consisted of 30 units of the newest type and 18 older submarines of almost equal efficiency. Backup strength consisted of 12 obsolete craft which could only be deployed in the coastal waters of Japan or be used for training purposes. Additionally, the Japanese had under construction at that time, 18 submarines scheduled for completion by the end of 1942 with 11 to be completed by the close of 1943. Approval had been granted for the construction of an additional 38 submarines after the end of 1942. These figures exclude the numbers of midgets which were considered by most naval leaders to be little more than a novelty. While some scoffed at the potential of small undersea craft, others were deadly serious in a belief in their capability of dealing destructive blows to the enemy. In 1934, two midget submarines had been built by Captain Kishimoto Kaneji at Kure Navy Yard for experimentation. Initially intended for use as auxiliary weapons to be carried aboard fast surface vessels, these first models were torpedo-shaped and had no conning tower. As a result of further experiments, a small conning tower was fitted to each of them. For security purposes they were called "A-targets" (A-hyoteki in Japanese). In 1936, another pair had been constructed and, in 1937 successfully launched from the seaplane tender Chitose. Mass production of this type was started in Kure under strict secrecy. Training commenced for selected elite crews to operate these small boats, and at the end of October 1941, Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, at the urging of Captain Hankyu Sasaki, consented to the use of Type A midgets in the Pearl Harbor operation. For this purpose, fleet-type submarines 1-16, 1-18, 1-20, 1-22, and 1-24 of the First Submarine Squadron, Sixth Submarine Fleet, were each hastily reconfigured to accommodate a midget submarine abaft the conning tower. They were assigned the responsibility for delivering the midgets to the proximity of Pearl Harbor, and collectively designated the "Special Attack Unit." No generators were installed in Type A midgets, and recharged batteries could only be fitted by a shipyard or a tender. These midgets were driven by a single-shaft electric motor of 600 horsepower to a top speed of 23 knots on the surface or 19 knots submerged. Their range was extremely short at top speed as the batteries could only sustain this rate for 55 minutes. However, at a speed of two knots submerged, they could travel approximately 100 miles. The restricted radius of action dictated that they be released from their "mothers" close to their target. They were 80 feet long overall, with a maximum hull diameter of six feet, and displaced 46 tons (submerged). Each carried two 18-inch torpedoes which were fired from breech loaded, superimposed bow tubes. Type A midgets had a complement of two-a junior officer who conned the boat, and a perry officer who manipulated the valves and ballast for diving and trim. The Carrier Strike Force, under Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, consisted of six carriers, two battleships, two cruisers, eleven destroyers, three submarines, and eight auxiliaries. These ships sortied from Kure Naval Base on Japan's Inland Sea in echelons, between 10 and 18 November 1941. By 22 November, the Strike Force had rendezvoused in Tankan Bay (Hitokappu Wan) on Etorofu, largest of the Kurile Islands. From here, the Strike Force departed on 2 December in a high-speed dash across the Pacific toward Pearl Harbor, keeping well north of the U. S. bases at Wake and Midway Islands. In addition to those submarines attached to the Carrier Strike Force, the First, Second, and Third Submarine Groups, consisting of 20 boats, together with the five fleet submarines of the Special Attack Unit, took part in the Pearl Harbor operation. The mission of the Submarine Force was to render the air attack more effective. Its principal operational duties included the secret preliminary reconnaissance of Lahaina anchorage and of strategic points in the Aleutians and the South Pacific areas, the tracking down and destruction of enemy fleet units which might flee Pearl Harbor to escape the air attack, the interception of any counterattack against the Carrier Strike Force by the enemy fleet; and the rescue of airmen who might be forced down at sea. The mission also included the penetration of Pearl Harbor by the Type A midgets of the Special Attack Unit to unleash their torpedoes against capital ships during the air attack. High hopes were pinned on the success of the midgets. In mid-November, the crews of the Special Attack Unit, having completed months of intensive training were frantically attending to last-minute details of preparing their craft. On the moonless night of 25 November, the five I-class submarines and their midget spawn stealthily left Kure. Due to the lateness of their departure, and because speed was reduced by their curious deck cargoes, the mother-ship flotilla set a direct course across the North Pacific to Pearl Harbor. The Special Attack Unit reached a point within 100 nautical miles of Pearl Harbor at sunset on 5 December, where preparations for launching the midget submarines were completed. The mother submarines slowly closed to within ten nautical miles of the harbor's entrance, deployed themselves in a fan pattern, and awaited the time for launch. The midgets' attack was to be delivered between the first and second waves of the air assault by the planes of the Carrier Strike Force. Each midget was to circumnavigate Ford Island in a counterclockwise direction once inside Pearl Harbor. Charts for navigation within the harbor were brought up to date with the latest intelligence information received by the mother ships on 6 December. This information, showing current positions of ships within the harbor, was penciled in, together with certain navigational aids. After launching its torpedoes, each midget submarine was to proceed out of the harbor to attempt a return to its mother at a prearranged rendezvous. The mother submarines were to surface some seven nautical miles west of Lanai Island on the night of the attack to pick up midget submarine crews. However, if the rescue was not possible on the first night, another attempt was to be made the following evening. The crews of the Special Attack Unit could watch the dancing neon signs along Waikiki Beach. Rows of landing lights at Hickam Air Base and John Rogers Airfield blazed like jewels. Haunting strains of jazz music drifted from shore radios and honky-tonks, but all were too excited and busy to notice. A malfunctioning gyrocompass in the midget carried by I-24 remained defective in spite of all efforts to fix it. The midget's young skipper, Ensign Sakamaki, was asked by I-24's Commander if he still wanted to go. Determined to perform the mission for which all his military training had prepared him, he replied without hesitation, "Captain, I am going ahead .. . On to Pearl Harbor!" Shortly after midnight of December 6-7, the heavy steel clamps which secured the midgets to their carrier clanked open. The larger craft submerged from under their passengers, the five small submarines were on their own. Ensign Sakamaki immediately found himself in trouble. In poor trim, his midget nosed down sharply and began to sink. He barked orders to his assistant, Petty Officer Inagaki, who began to shift the 11-pound lead ballast pigs aft, while Sakamaki feverishly manipulated controls to right his craft. The midget's thin pressure hull allowed her to go no deeper than 100 feet and she rapidly approached that limit. With her counter-rotating propellers backing at flank speed, they were at last able to reverse the downward plunge. When the midget finally regained the surface with some semblance of trim, Sakamaki discovered that he was heading away from the beckoning lights on Oahu's shore. He reversed course, remained at periscope depth to overcome the loss of his gyrocompass, and slowly crept toward land. Meanwhile, Admiral Nagumo's Carrier Strike Force approached a point some 200 nautical miles north of Oahu where, at 0600 on the morning of the 7th, the air strike was launched. The first plane, a dive bomber, streaked in low from the south over Pearl Harbor at 0755, with its consorts close behind. Within a few minutes the entire attack force struck at virtually every prominent naval and air installation on Oahu. An hour and 50 minutes later, it was all over. Nagumo withdrew, having lost a total of only 29 aircraft. His fleet, the strongest naval force ever assembled in the Pacific up to that time, was never sighted by U. S. forces. The surprise was complete; the blow crippling. Adding co the ego of Japanese carrier-borne pilots was the fact that submarines with their "elite" crews contributed little to the damage inflicted. In the predawn hours of 7 December, the small minesweeper USS Condor, was engaged in a routine sweep southwest of the Pearl Harbor entrance buoy. From her bridge the watch officer, Ensign R. C. McCloy, spotted what appeared co be the telltale white "feather" wake of a submarine periscope. The Condor's skipper, called co confirm the sighting, concurred in McCloy's evaluation. The inshore patrol destroyer, the USS Ward, was close by, and at 0355, the Condor signaled her by blinker light that she had spotted a submarine in an area forbidden to submerged operations of U. S. boats. With her gong raucously announcing general quarters, the Ward immediately closed with the Condor but, listening as intently as they could, they were unable to establish a sound contact. This elusive craft was Japanese Midget 'B' which was able to pass through the opened gate in the antisubmarine net guarding the entrance to Pearl Harbor, and to make its perilous way down the long channel to the inner harbor without further detection. There she settled to the bottom to await the air attack. The Ward, although conditioned to false reports of submarine sightings during the preceding months of war scare, remained alert and continued to patrol. At 0600, the USS Antares, an ancient "Hog Island" freighter converted to the mundane duties of tending targets, wheezed past the Ward with a target barge in tow. They exchanged signals and the Antares slowly continued through the choppy seas toward Honolulu harbor. As the Ward's helmsman watched the receding Antares, he noticed something in her wake. At first it appeared to be a buoy, but it held a constant speed behind the target barge. He excitedly related this fact to Lieutenant (j.g.) Goepner, who had the deck at the time. Goepner wasted no time as he turned to the door of the emergency cabin aft of the wheelhouse and requested the captain's presence on the bridge. The Ward's skipper, Lieutenant Commander W. W. Outerbridge, sleeping restlessly after the earlier alert, responded immediately. It was apparent to Outerbridge that the buoy-like object was the conning tower of a submarine trying to sneak into Honolulu under cover of the Antares. Again, the Ward went to general quarters. At flank speed and with a "bone in her teeth," she bore down on the unsuspecting Japanese Midget Submarine 'A'. A Navy PBY patrol plane from Kaneohe also spotted the intruder, circled and dropped two smoke pots to mark its position. The Ward rapidly closed the target. Her 4-inch gun crews ready for action, she opened fire at close range. The first salvo passed harmlessly over the submarine but a second round pierced the junction between the conning rower and the hull. The mortally wounded midget heeled over and disappeared. For good measure, a series of depth charges were rolled from the Ward's stern rails over the spot where the submarine had been. Thus, paradoxically, the first shots of the Pacific war were fired at a Japanese naval craft more than an hour before the air attack began at Pearl Harbor. The first casualties were Japanese, too, for Midget 'A' and her zealous crew of two were sent to the bottom in 1,200 feet of water which still embraces the steel coffin. Moments later, the Ward sent the following message to the Fourteenth Naval District headquarters: WE HAVE DROPPED DEPTH CHARGES UPON SUBS OPERATING IN DEFENSIVE SEA AREA. After reflecting on the contents, Outerbridge decided that its wording was too vague, and at 0653 he sent a second message: WE HAVE ATTACKED, FIRED UPON, AND DROPPED DEPTH CHARGES UPON SUBMARINE OPERATING IN DEFENSIVE SEA AREA. STAND BY FOR FURTHER MESSAGES. After some delay in decoding, the message was passed by ComFourteen's duty officer, Lieutenant Commander Harold Kaminski, to the District Commandant, Rear Admiral C. C. Bloch. Sensing an urgency, Admiral Bloch, at 0751, ordered the ready inshore patrol destroyer, USS Monaghan, to sortie and support the Ward. It was then four minutes before the air attack. The Monaghan's skipper, Lieutenant Commander W. P. Burford, and his crew made hasty preparations to depart and at 0827 got underway. Steaming at slow speed north of Ford Island eight minutes after casting off her lines, a signalman noticed that the moored seaplane tender, the USS Curtiss, was flying a signal which indicated the presence of an enemy submarine. What her incredulous lookouts had spotted was indeed an enemy submarine—for as the air attack began, the crew of Midget 'B' brought their small craft to the surface in search of suitable targets. Two minutes later, the midget, under fire from the Curtiss and the repair ship, USS Medusa, was sighted by the Monaghan. Oblivious to the destroyer's presence, the midget launched a torpedo at the Curtiss, which missed, hitting a dock at Pearl City. As the Monaghan drew into range of the two auxiliaries, they checked their fire. The destroyer's first shot was high and ricocheted into a derrick barge moored off Beckoning Point. The midget's skipper then unleashed his second torpedo at this new menace, which missed the Monaghan and detonated against the shore of Ford Island. At high speed, the Monaghan rammed the midget at 0843. The glancing blow sent the midget reeling. The Monaghan finished the job with depth charges which detonated so close to her stern that for a time it was feared that the destroyer had damaged herself. By now the Monaghan was making such speed that she could not slow in sufficient time to avoid hitting the derrick barge which had been set ablaze by her earlier high round. She backed away from this second embarrassing blow to the barge just as another submarine alarm was sounded. One shot was fired at what proved to be a black buoy. The Monaghan then stood out of the harbor. Badly damaged, Midget 'B' was later retrieved from the harbor's bottom and, because fill material was needed for a new landside pier being constructed at the submarine base at Pearl Harbor, the silt-laden hulk, of no further use, was dropped into the excavation. A military funeral was held over the submarine and the battered craft, with its two-man crew still aboard, was buried. Thus, ironically, Midget 'B' became a permanent part of the naval base which she tried so desperately co attack. Ensign Sakamaki was still having trouble with his boat, the capricious Midget 'C'. Steering a course for Pearl Harbor in the pre-dawn hours without an accurate gyrocompass proved co be an almost impossible task. Aided by a magnetic compass and brief glimpses through an intermittently raised periscope, he had managed co gain only a few miles before the sun began co lighten the skies. At 0700, Sakamaki's glance through the periscope produced the chilling sight of two patrol craft (Ward and Condor) between his midget and the harbor entrance. He decided that his only chance to enter in time co carry out his mission during the air attack, scheduled co begin in less than an hour, was to run the gauntlet. Timing his run so as co pass through the wake between the two U. S. vessels as they crossed one another's path, Sakamaki, and his assistant Inagaki, raced for the entrance channel at maximum speed. The crew of the Ward, alert from earlier action, picked up a new sound contact and sent five depth charges flying in the direction of Midget 'C'. Although no hits were scored, the explosions violently shook the small craft. Sakamaki fell, striking his head, and lost consciousness. The submarine was filled with smoke as he gradually regained his senses. Desperate now, Sakamaki decided to press the attack. Viewed through the periscope, dense pillars of black smoke rising from within the harbor signaled that the attack had begun. But he also noted that the destroyer was behind them—the midget had pierced the screen. As they once again ran full speed toward their target, another misfortune thwarted their efforts. At the harbor's entrance they struck a submerged coral reef. The impact lifted the midget's bow out of the water. One of the torpedoes was damaged by the impact but did not explode. Neither the Ward nor any other U. S. craft spotted the exposed bow. Using maximum reverse power, Sakamaki freed his submarine on the fourth attempt. Gas from the batteries made the air inside the boat increasingly noxious. Sakamaki and Inagaki, both extremely weary, were determined to gain the harbor. After getting underway again, the boat hit a reef for a second time. Attempts to back off proved futile and they had to resort ro the grim task of transferring lead ballast aft. Electrolyte leaked from the canted batteries and Sakamaki and his assistant received electric shocks as they crawled back and forth across the flooded deck. The situation was critical. Moving the 11-pound pigs through half the length of the boat, across slippery, canted decking in an atmosphere that was hot and indescribably foul became an almost superhuman task. But, at last, their persistence was rewarded as their craft slipped free from the coral. At that point, and to their further dismay, it was discovered that the torpedo-firing mechanism no longer functioned. Their sole weapon was useless, but Sakamaki could not bring himself to give up. If the tubes would not fire, he could still deliver their destructive force by employing his submarine as a manned torpedo. It was past noon when Midget 'C' headed for a final try at the capital ships within the harbor. But she again ran into trouble, for her maneuverability had been destroyed by the concerted forces of the depth charges and the repeated groundings. Try as they might, Sakamaki and Inagaki could not make the midget answer her helm and she began to swing about erratically. Sakamaki dung doggedly to the periscope, dizzied by the sweeping scene. The hull reeked with the acrid fumes of smoke and battery gas. He choked for breath and his eyes burned. As he later wrote, "…the realization that I had failed tortured my mind and bitter tears rolled down my face…" Sakamaki could recall nothing of that afternoon. He and Inagaki were finally overcome by contaminated air, fatigue, and despair. The midget drifted uncontrollably to sea without notice. That night, Sakamaki revived, not knowing where he and his boat were. The hatch was raised to admit the cool, refreshing air of the island trade winds. A small landmass stood out from the black horizon. Sakamaki believed that by some good fortune the boat had reached its rendezvous point off Lanai. What he actually spotted was Manana Island near Bellows Field on Oahu's eastern shoreline. Sakamaki tried to use the motor to speed them toward the island, but the batteries were low and with a final shower of sparks, went dead. At that moment the submarine struck another coral reef. Without power to back off, it was apparent that the midget would fall into the hands of the enemy. To fail in their mission was shameful, but to allow one of Japan's "secret weapons" to be captured was unthinkable. For such an emergency, each midget was equipped with an explosive charge in the after battery room. After preparing to hastily exit their craft, Sakamaki lit the detonator fuse. He and Inagaki jumped into the foaming surf and began to swim the mile to shore. The water was colder and more turbulent than either had expected. They quickly lost sight of each other in the darkness. Sakamaki called to Inagaki, but the encouragement fell on deaf ears. Inagaki had disappeared. His drowned body was found in the surf the following day. While Sakamaki waited for the explosion, the worst of all possible things happened; the charge failed to detonate. Sakamaki attempted to return to his boat for another try at lighting the fuse, but the incoming breakers were too strong, and he was too exhausted. The lone survivor of the Special Attack Unit was pounded into unconsciousness and washed ashore by the surf. He was found and taken prisoner by Army Sergeant David M. Akui, who informed him that he was in Waimanalo Bay, 50 miles from Pearl Harbor. Thus, on 8 December 1941, Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki became America's first prisoner of war. The abandoned Midget 'C' was spotted and attacked by a Navy patrol bomber. Its near misses served only to dislodge the submarine from the reef and she then drifted in to shore where a group of naval investigators climbed aboard later char day and retrieved several documents, including the navigational chart of Pearl Harbor which was to confuse the experts. The track which her crew penciled in around Ford Island, together with projected rimes for circuiting, gave rise to a general belief that the midget had actually penetrated the harbor for reconnaissance a day or two before the arrack. While Sakamaki steadfastly refused r\to reveal any critical information to intelligence officers upon his capture, he did admit at the war's end that he had never gotten inside the harbor and that the plotted track was drawn for navigational and target location purposes. Paradoxically, Sakamaki's boat, like Midget 'B', provided aid to its enemy. After experts had completed studies of this craft to assess its capabilities, it was taken to the mainland where it was trailer-mounted for participation in a number of war bond drives. As a symbol of that government which had caused the death and destruction attendant to America's entry into World War II, it helped perpetuate the electrifying phrase, "Remember Pearl Harbor." Midget 'C' was thus used to raise funds in support of the fight against the nation which had given it birth. As Japan surrendered, Midget 'C' sat rusting, forgotten, and unwanted at the Navy Pier in Chicago, the city of its last war bond drive. It was not long without a home, however. The Commanding Officer of the Submarine Base at Key West, Florida, hearing of its availability, asked that it be transferred to his activity. His request was approved by the CNO and the midget was barged to Key West, arriving there on 20 January 1947. For nearly 18 years Midget 'C' was on display at the Key West Submarine Base. Then on 2 December 1964, it was placed on indefinite loan to Key West's Lighthouse Museum, where to the delight of its many visitors, it may be seen today. On 13 June 1960, Scuba diver trainees, under instruction from U.S. Naval Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor, were involved in a long-distance diving exercise outside Keehi Lagoon, near the entrance to the harbor. Because of tidal action, the water is generally murky. But on that Monday morning, the water was clear. Instructor GM/ 2 Jerry Galloway, decided to rake his students into deeper water. Minutes after the training had commenced, one of the divers, SK/1 C. F. Buhl, surfaced. He claimed to have sighted what appeared to be the sunken hull of a submarine. In subsequent dives, Buhl and Galloway confirmed that the hulk was indeed that of a submarine—one resembling those used by the Japanese in the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was sitting upright in 76 feet of water at Latitude 21° 17' 48" North, Longitude 157° 56' West. Midget 'D' had been located. Her torpedoes were still in their tubes, her hatch was unclogged and, although her hull was encrusted with coral, she appeared to be structurally sound and a determination was made to raise her. The USS Current (ARS-22) was assigned the salvage task. Bridles were slipped around the submerged hull on the morning of 13 July 1960, and on the following day the Current raised Midget 'D' to the surface and rowed her back to the base. There followed the first, dramatic entry into the submarine as Captain H. A. Thompson, of the ComSubPac staff pried open the conning rower hatch and climbed down into the submarine. In the dark, muddy interior, bent piping, a door twisted off its hinges, her large electric motor torn from its mountings, and much shattered glass gave mute evidence that Midget 'D' had suffered great damage from depth charges. However, no trace of documents or crew was found. No bone fragments or teeth were found. Experts agree that even if human remains had disintegrated over two decades, the victim's teeth would have resisted the water's corrosive effects. Second, a study of the small lengths of time fuse found, along with three detonators, indicated that inasmuch as sulfur was still present in the fuse, the scuttling charge had never been activated. Fragments of plastic charge totaling 50 pounds, still stable, were taken from the hull. More dangerous were her two torpedoes, each containing 790 pounds of explosive. All efforts to remove them from their tubes failed, owing to corrosion. It was decided that the bow section should be unbolted from the remainder of the hull and dumped at sea. This proved an easy task as the bolts turned freely even after 7,000 days in salt water. Masayaki Harigai, Japanese consul general in Hawaii, indicated that his government would like to have Midget 'D' returned to its homeland as a World War II memorial. His request was granted and arrangements for her transfer were completed. The Japanese LST, Shiretoko, arrived at Pearl Harbor on 19 June 1961 to claim her cargo. Crewmen chained the submarine co the LST's deck for the long ride back to Japan. Thus, bowless, Midget 'D' began her 3,500-mile journey home. A new bow was fabricated and attached to Midget 'D'. She was then placed on permanent display near Memorial Hall at the Maritime Self-Defense Force Service School at Eta Jima where the ten young officers of the Special Attack Unit received their early military training. In a memorial service attended by family members of the crewmen who vainly died in craft of this type, Midget 'D' was unveiled on 15 March 1962. But what of her crewmen? As previously stated, the conning rower hatch of Midget 'D' was unclogged, an action that had to be accomplished from inside the boat. Little doubt exists that her two-man crew left the submarine. Whether or not they survived remains a mystery. If they were in the craft during the depth charge explosions which caused extensive internal damage, they probably suffered gross injury. If they escaped from their boat after it had settled to the bottom, it would have been possible for them to reach the surface. If they were able to swim the mile to shore across placid Keehi Lagoon, they could have easily melted into the local populace of Hawaii with its many orientals. Had they been able to do this, their determination to avoid capture might have caused them co seek aid from chose friendly to their cause—a difficult task indeed. Their devotion to Japanese ideology would likely have caused them to reveal to no one, either during or after the war, that they had failed in their mission. Therefore, it is a remote possibility that one or both may be alive today. And what of Midget 'E'? Four midgets have been accounted for; the fare of the fifth remains another mystery. The destroyers Blue, Helm, Breese, and Monaghan each reported attacks on submarines outside the harbor on 7-8 December 1941, all with inconclusive results. It is probable that one of these destroyers caused the fatal damage to Midget 'D', and it is likely that Midget 'E', too, fell victim to the relentless search and attack by alert and angry American crews. Perhaps, someday, Midget 'E' will be found with evidence co add a fin al chapter in the saga of these brave and dedicated crewmen. Each was posthumously elevated one rank by the Japanese Navy for their daring, if unsuccessful, exploit, to the chagrin of the aviators who succeeded at Pearl Harbor and were not so rewarded. A registered architect, Lieutenant Commander Stewart returned to active duty from private practice in 1967. From 1967 to 1969 he served as Deputy District Civil Engineer, Fourteenth Naval District. He then served as Staff Civil Engineer for Studies and Observations Group, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. From 1970 to 1973 he was Public Works Officer for U.S. Naval Training Command, Morocco. As a qualified submariner, Lieu· tenant Commander Stewart earlier served on board the USS Caiman (SS-323). He is now a student at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. tải về 59 Kb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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