The Navy Vol_70_No_4 Oct 2008 - Navy League of Australia

to locate targets for a future midget
submarine attack. On approaching
Newcastle on 13 May she surfaced
and fought a brief action with the
Soviet freighter Wellen. I-29 dived
after damaging Wellen and continued
towards Sydney Harbour. No search
was made for I-29 because NOIC-
Sydney, Rear Admiral Muirhead-
Gould, decided that she had left the
area and because all available ASW
ships were escorting a Port Moresby
bound troop convoy. I-29 completed
her mission on 23 May 1942. The
floatplane noted several ships in the
harbour but crashed on return to the
submarine.
The four submarines of the attack
force then gathered outside Sydney
Harbour and launched their midget
attack on the night of 31 May/1 June
1942. The attack resulted in the
sinking of the HMAS KUTTABUL and the loss of twentyone
lives. The three midget submarines were lost with all
six crewmen. After launching the midgets, the four ‘mother’
craft and I-29 sailed south to the area off Cape Banks to await
the return of the attack force. When the midgets failed to
rendezvous, the submarines split up. I-22 was sent to New
Zealand, I-27 went south to Tasmania, I-29 sailed for Brisbane
and I-21 with I-24 positioned themselves off Sydney. In
the following ten days the Japanese submarines made nine
separate attacks on shipping with both gunfire and torpedoes.
They succeeded in sinking three ships and badly damaging one
other. On the night of 8th June I-21 shelled Newcastle and
I-24 shelled Sydney, spreading fear and despondency among
the population.
The sinking of the SS Guatemala on 12th June, 40 miles south
off Newcastle by I-24 signalled the end of the first Japanese
submarine campaign against Australian shipping.
The consequences of the anti-shipping campaign along the
Australian coast were more than just ships sunk and lives or
cargoes lost. On 3 June, the Iron Chieftain, the first and largest
ship sunk off the East Coast, was torpedoed by I-24. The next
The standard Japanese submarine 5.5-inch (140mm) deck mounted gun.
Even by today’s standards this is a large gun.
day all shipping between Adelaide and Brisbane was suspended
except for ships sailing between Adelaide and Melbourne, and
from Melbourne to Tasmania. An inland convoy system was
introduced, the first convoy sailing on the 8 June from Sydney
to Brisbane. Also commenced was the sailing in convoy of
all ships from Sydney or Brisbane destined for New Zealand.
These convoys would be escorted out to 200 nautical miles then
allowed to proceed independently to rendezvous with escorts
200 nautical miles from New Zealand. Vessels under 1200
tons and faster than 12 knots were exempt from the convoys
and could proceed independently, however they had to zigzag
and were not allowed to sail at night.
A lull now descended upon the waters surrounding Australia.
The convoys continued to sail with their escorts. There were
some false sightings of submarines and even a surface attack
reported by a freighter that turned out to be nothing more lethal
than passing lightening. Signal intercepts establishing that the
submarines had cleared the area resulted in the convoy system
being dropped on 15 July, on the understanding that it would be
re-activated immediately if required. However, to support the
Japanese landings on Papua on 21 July, the Submarine Force
Commander, Vice Admiral Komatsu ordered the resumption
The Japanese submarine I-26 on the surface. I-26 opened the 1943 campaign by sinking the 4,732 ton Recina and its cargo of 8,000 tons of iron ore. Two
weeks later she sunk a second ship. Both these ships had been in convoy with naval escorts. I-26 successfully evaded the counter-attacks made by the escorts.
32 VOL. 70 NO. 3 THE NAVY