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Japanese submarine I-30

History
Name: I-30
Builder: Kure Naval Arsenal
Laid down: 7 June 1939
Launched: 17 September 1940
Completed: 28 February 1942
Fate: Sunk by mine, 13 October 1942, later salvaged and scrapped, 1959-1960
General characteristics
Class and type: Type B1 submarine
Displacement:
  • 2,584 long tons (2,625 t) surfaced
  • 3,654 long tons (3,713 t) submerged
Length: 108.9 m (357 ft)
Beam: 9.3 m (31 ft)
Draft: 5.14 m (16.9 ft)
Propulsion:
  • 2 × Diesel engines, 12,400 hp (9,200 kW)
  • Electric motors, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW)
Speed:
  • 23.5 knots (44 km/h) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h) submerged
Range: 14,000 nmi (26,000 km) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Test depth: 100 m (330 ft)
Complement: 94 officers and men
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 1 × Yokosuka E14Y floatplane

I-30 was a Type B1 submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. After operating in the Indian Ocean she participated in a Yanagi mission, aimed at connecting Japan and Nazi Germany by submarine. She was the first Japanese submarine to reach Europe, arriving at Lorient, France in August 1942. I-30 returned to Singapore loaded with military technology and information, but hit a mine outside the harbour and sank. Only part of her cargo was salvaged.

The submarine was laid down at the Kure Naval Arsenal on 7 June 1939, launched on 17 September 1940, completed on 28 February 1942, and commissioned with Commander Endo Shinobu in command.

On 27 March 1942 the German Kriegsmarine naval staff requested that the Imperial Navy launch operations against Allied convoys in the Indian Ocean, and on 8 April the Japanese agreed to dispatch a detachment of submarines to the East Coast of Africa. Submarine Squadron 8's 1st Division was withdrawn from its base at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands and assigned the task.

On 11 April, I-30 departed Kure for Penang, Malaya, arriving on the 20th. Two days later she sailed from Penang accompanied by the auxiliary cruiser and supply ship Aikoku Maru to reconnoitre selected points on the East African coast for possible attack. In May I-30 sailed along the coast of Africa, launching its Yokosuka E14Y floatplane on a series of reconnaissance flights over Aden, Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, and Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Simon's Town in South Africa searching for targets.


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