View source for Japanese submarine I-32

{{short description|Type B1 submarine}}
{{One source|date=September 2020}}
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=Japan
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=''Submarine No. 145''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Sasebo Naval Arsenal]], [[Sasebo]],&nbsp;[[Japan]]
|Ship laid down=20 January 1940
|Ship renamed=''I-39''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship launched=17 December 1940
|Ship renamed=''I-32'' on 1&nbsp;November&nbsp;1941
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship completed=26 April 1942
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=26 April 1942
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship fate=*Missing after 23&nbsp;March&nbsp;1944
* Probably sunk 24&nbsp;March&nbsp;1944
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship struck=10 June 1944
|Ship reinstated=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Type B1 submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*2,584&nbsp;tons surfaced
*3,654&nbsp;tons submerged
|Ship length={{convert|108.7|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|9.3|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|5.14|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 diesels: {{convert|12400|hp|abbr=on}}
*Electric motors: {{convert|2000|hp|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|23.5|kn|km/h}} surfaced
*{{convert|8|kn|km/h|0}} submerged
|Ship range={{convert|14000|nmi|km|-3}} at {{convert|16|kn|km/h|0}}
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth={{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=94
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*6 × {{convert|533|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} forward [[torpedo tube]]s
*17 [[torpedo]]es
*1 × [[14 cm/40 11th Year Type naval gun]]<ref name="campbell">Campbell, John ''Naval Weapons of World War Two'' {{ISBN|0-87021-459-4}} p.191</ref>
|Ship aircraft=1 [[Yokosuka E14Y]] seaplane
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''''I-32''''' was an [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[B1 type submarine]]. Completed and commissioned in 1942, she served in [[World War II]], operating in the [[Pacific Ocean]] and [[Indian Ocean]] and supporting Japanese forces in the [[New Guinea campaign]] and the [[Guadalcanal campaign]] before she was sunk in March 1944.

==Construction and commissioning==

''I-32'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 20 January 1940 by at the [[Sasebo Naval Arsenal]] at [[Sasebo]], [[Japan]], with the name '''''Submarine No. 145'''''.<ref name=combinedfleetI32>{{cite web |url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-32.htm |title=IJN Submarine I-32: Tabular Record of Movement |first1=Bob |last1=Hackett |first2=Sander |last2=Kingsepp |work=combinedfleet.com |year=2012|access-date=29 August 2020}}</ref> She had been renamed '''''I-39''''' by the time she was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 17 December 1940.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> Renamed '''''I-32''''' on 1 November 1941,<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> she was completed and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 26 April 1942.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

==Service history==
Upon commissioning, ''I-32'' was attached to the [[Kure Naval District]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> On 30 May 1942, she was reassigned to Submarine Division 15 in Submarine Squadron 1 in the [[6th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|6th Fleet]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She departed Kure on 16 June 1942 and proceeded to [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

===First war patrol===
On 30 June 1942, ''I-32'' set out from Truk on her first war patrol, assigned a patrol area off [[Australia]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She conducted a reconnaissance of [[Port Vila]] on [[Efate]] in the [[New Hebrides]] on {{nowrap|9 July 1942}} and of [[New Caledonia]] between 13 and 15 July 1942.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She then passed around the south of Australia.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She was in the [[Indian Ocean]] {{convert|200|nmi}} south-southeast of [[Esperance, Western Australia|Esperance]], [[Western Australia]], on 4 August 1942 when she surfaced at around 19:10 and attacked the Australian armed [[Troopship|troop transport]] ''Katoomba'' with gunfire.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> ''Katoomba'', which was on a voyage from [[Fremantle]], Western Australia, to [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]], transmitted a [[distress signal]] and returned fire while attempting to escape at flank speed.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> ''I-32'' pursued her for thee hours before giving up the chase, having scored no hits on ''Katoomba''.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> ''I-32'' concluded her patrol with her arrival on 28 August 1942 at [[George Town, Penang|George Town]] on [[Penang Island]] in Japanese-occupied [[British Malaya]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She left Penang on 6 September 1942 and proceeded to Truk, which she reached on 18 September 1942.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

===Second war patrol===
With a [[Yokosuka E14Y]]1 ([[World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft|Allied reporting name]] "Glen")  [[floatplane]] embarked, ''I-32'' got underway from Truk on 30 September 1942 to begin her second war patrol and was reassigned to the 2nd Picket Unit day.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> Her patrol area was in the vicinity of New Caledonia, and she was tasked to launch her plane on 17 October 1942 to make a reconnaissance flight over [[Nouméa]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> On 3 October 1942, she was reassigned to the 1st Picket Unit, but she developed a [[diesel fuel]] leak soon afterward and received orders to abort her patrol and return to Truk, where she called from 6 to 7 October 1942 before getting back underway bound for Kure, which she reached on 13 October 1942. She underwent repairs at Kure.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

===New Guinea campaign, December 1942–January 1943===

With her repairs complete, ''I-32'' left Kure on 4 December 1942 bound for Truk, then got underway from Truk on 14 December 1942 making for [[Rabaul]] on [[New Britain]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> During her voyage, she was submerged in the [[Bismarck Sea]] off the [[Admiralty Islands]] on 16 December 1942 when she detected a surfaced [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] submarine at 22:00 and began an approach, but the submarine dived before she could attack.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She arrived at Rabaul on 17 December 1942.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

Upon arrival at Rabaul, ''I-32'' was assigned to Submarine Group B, and she began a series of supply runs to [[New Guinea]] to support Japanese forces fighting in the [[New Guinea campaign]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> Carrying a cargo of 22 tons of food and ammunition, she departed Rabaul on her first run on 19 December 1942, arrived off the [[Mambare River]] estuary at [[Buna, Papua New Guinea|Buna]] on the coast of New Guinea on 24 December 1942, got back underway the same day after unloading her cargo, and returned to Rabaul on 26 December 1942.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> Her second supply run was unsuccessful: She departed Rabaul on 27 December and arrived at the Mambare River on 29 December, but after failing to contact any Japanese forces ashore she headed back to Rabaul, arriving there with her cargo still aboard on 31 December 1942.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

''I-32'' made two more supply runs in January 1943, departing Rabaul on 7 January, arriving off the Mambare River estuary to unload her cargo and embark 43 passengers on 9 January, calling at Rabaul from 11 to 12 January, and returning to the Mambare River on 14 January, where she unloaded 22 tons of food and ammunition.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She then headed for Truk, where she arrived on 18 January 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

===Third and fourth war patrols===

On 24 January 1943, ''I-32'' departed Truk to begin her third war patrol, assigned to a submarine patrol line south of [[Guadalcanal]], where the six-month [[Guadalcanal campaign]] was in its final stages.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> It concluded while ''I-32'' was on patrol, when the Japanese completed [[Operation Ke]], the evacuation of their forces from the island, on 8 February 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> On 11 February, ''I-32'' sighted a U.S. [[aircraft carrier]] steaming eastward, but otherwise her patrol was quiet.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She returned to Truk on 22 February 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

Assigned to Submarine Group B on 25 March 1943, ''I-32'' departed Truk that day for her fourth war patrol, in which she operated in the vicinity of [[Fiji]] and the [[Samoan Islands]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> After an uneventful patrol, she returned to Truk on 1 June, then got underway on 3 June bound for Kure, which she reached on 10 June 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

===July–December 1943===

[[Towing]] an ''Unkato'' supply container — a {{convert|135|ft|m|adj=on|1}} submersible cargo container that could carry up to 377 tons of supplies, designed for a one-way trip in which the cargo′s recipients released, recovered, and unloaded it<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-38.htm |title=IJN Submarine I-38: Tabular Record of Movement |first1=Bob |last1=Hackett |first2=Sander |last2=Kingsepp |work=combinedfleet.com |year=2017|access-date=3 September 2020}}</ref> — ''I-32'' departed Kure on 30 July 1943 and set course for Rabaul, arriving there in early August 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> While at Rabaul, she was reassigned to the [[Southeast Area Fleet]] on 9 August 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> On 5 September 1943, she set out for New Guinea, towing an ''Unkato'' container, and she made her first visit to [[Lae]], New Guinea, to deliver supplies.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> After that, she proceeded to the New Caledonia area, where she attempted to launch her embarked Yokosuka E14Y1 floatplane off Nouméa for a reconnaissance mission on 25 September 1943, but a [[Aircraft catapult|catapult]] malfunction forced cancellation of the flight.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She next made her way to the waters off Australia′s east coast, and she was off [[Coffs Harbour]] on the [[Mid North Coast]] of [[New South Wales]] on 7 October 1943 when she attacked [[Convoy]] PG.72, an Australian convoy on a voyage from [[Sydney]] in New South Wales to [[Brisbane]] in [[Queensland]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> All of her [[torpedo]]es missed.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> After sighting one of them surfacing several times between herself and the convoy, one of the convoy′s escorts, the [[Royal Australian Navy]] [[corvette]] {{HMAS|Glenelg|J236|6}}, achieved an [[asdic]] contact on ''I-32'', but then lost it before she could mount a counterattack against the submarine.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

Reassigned to Submarine Group B on 19 October 1943, ''I-32'' received an order on 20 October to attempt another reconnaissance flight over Nouméa, but this order later was cancelled.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> Instead, she was detached from Submarine Group B on 26 October 1943 and ordered to join other submarines in intercepting a convoy of six U.S. Navy [[fleet oiler]]s that the submarine {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-36||2}} had sighted, but the interception effort was unsuccessful.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She next received orders to reconnoiter [[Pago Pago]] on [[Tutuila]] in [[American Samoa]] and conducted a [[periscope]] reconnaissance of the anchorage there on 7 November 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She suffered a [[diesel engine]] breakdown on 12 November and on 13 November 1943 was ordered back to Truk, which she reached safely.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

Departing Truk on 24 November 1943, ''I-32'' called at [[Kwajalein]] from 27 November to 5 December 1943.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She returned to Truk on 8 December 1943, took aboard torpedoes from the auxiliary [[submarine tender]] {{ship||Heian Maru|1930|2}} on 10 December, then put to sea on 14 December 1943 bound for Japan, where she arrived at Kure on 20 December 1943 for an overhaul.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

===February–March 1944===

With her overhaul complete, ''I-32'' departed Kure on 28 February 1944 bound for Truk, which she reached on 8 March 1944.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> During her stay in Japan, American forces had captured [[Kwajalein]], [[Majuro]], and [[Eniwetok]] in the [[Marshall Islands]], leaving some bypassed Japanese garrisons in the islands isolated.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> On 15 March 1944, ''I-32'' departed Truk on a run to carry supplies to the isolated garrison on [[Wotje Atoll]], with orders to follow delivery of the supplies with an anti-shipping patrol in the Pacific Ocean east of the Marshalls.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> During her voyage to Wotje, she reported sighting an American carrier plane {{convert|200|nmi}} south-southwest of [[Kusaie]] at 14:30 [[Japan Standard Time]] on 17 March 1944,<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> and on 23 March 1944 at 22:21 Japan Time she reported sighting an Allied [[task force]].<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> It was the last time that the Japanese ever heard from ''I-32''.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

===Loss===

[[Station HYPO|Fleet Radio Unit Pacific]], a U.S. Navy [[signals intelligence]] and [[cryptanalysis]] organization in [[Hawaii]], intercepted and decrypted ''I-32''′s 23 March 1944 message.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> Based on the information, a U.S. Navy [[hunter-killer group]] made up of the [[destroyer]] {{USS|Halsey Powell|DD-686}}, the [[destroyer escort]] {{USS|Manlove|DE-36}}, and the [[submarine chaser]] {{USS|PC-1135}} rendezvoused at [[Erikub Atoll]] and set out to intercept ''I-32''.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

At 04:22 on 24 March 1944, ''Manlove'' detected a surfaced submarine {{convert|50|nmi}} south of Wotje on [[radar]] at a range of {{convert|5|nmi}}.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> ''Manlove'' closed with the submarine, which submerged when she was {{convert|3,000|yd|m|sigfig=2}} away, causing ''Manlove'' to lose radar contact.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>  ''Manlove'' quickly gained [[sonar]] contact on the submarine, however, and ''Halsey Powell'' moved in, expending all of her [[depth charge]]s in a series of attacks.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> ''Manlove'' and ''PC-1135'' then attacked, ''Manlove'' dropping depth charges and firing [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] salvos and ''PC-1135'' attacking with [[Mousetrap (weapon)|Mousetrap]] projectiles.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> The submarine sank at {{coord|08|30|N|170|10|E|name=''I-32''}}.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

The submarine ''Halsey Powell'', ''Manlove'', and ''PC-1135'' sank probably was ''I-32''.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> On 24 March 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared her to be presumed lost with all hands.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/> She was stricken from the Navy list on 10 June 1944.<ref name=combinedfleetI32/>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* Hackett, Bob & Kingsepp, Sander.  [http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-32.htm IJN Submarine I-32: Tabular Record of Movement].  Retrieved on August 29, 2020.
*{{cite book |last1=Milanovich |first1=Kathrin |editor1-last=Jordan |editor1-first=John |title=Warship 2021 |date=2021 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-1-4728-4779-9 |chapter=The IJN Submarines of the I 15 Class|pages=29–43}}
{{B1 type submarine}}
{{March 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:I-032}}
[[Category:Type B1 submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built by Sasebo Naval Arsenal]]
[[Category:1940 ships]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese submarines lost during World War II]]
[[Category:Warships lost in combat with all hands]]
[[Category:Submarines lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Missing submarines of World War II]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in March 1944]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]