Japanese submarine I-70

I-70 was laid down on 25 January 1933 at the Sasebo Naval Arsenal in Sasebo, Japan, and launched on 14 June 1934 with Vice Admiral Yonai Mitsumasa — who later served as Minister of the Navy from 1937 to 1939 and as Prime Minister of Japan from January to July 1940 — in attendance for her launching ceremony. She was completed and commissioned on 9 November 1935. ==Service history==

Pre-World War II On the day of her commissioning, I-70 was attached to the Kure Naval District and assigned to Submarine Division 12 as the division′s new flagship. The three submarines departed Mako in the Pescadores Islands off Formosa on 4 August 1936 for a training cruise in the Amoy area off China, returning to Mako on 6 September 1936. Submarine Squadron 3 was reassigned to the 6th Fleet on 15 November 1940. Assigned to support Operation Z, I-70 got underway from Kwajalein on 23 November 1941 and set course for the Hawaiian Islands. I-6 attempted to attack Enterprise, but was forced to go deep before she could. Several hours later she managed to transmit a sighting report, which resulted in the 6th Fleet ordering nine submarines — Submarine Squadron 1 and several other submarines, including I-70 — to attempt to intercept Enterprise, which the Japanese assumed was bound for the United States West Coast. After 06:00 on 10 December, an SBD-2 Dauntless dive bomber of U.S. Navy Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6) from Enterprise sighted I-70 on the surface northeast of Cape Halawa on the eastern end of Molokai and attacked with a bomb, scoring a near-miss that inflicted damage on I-70 that prevented her from diving. During the afternoon, another VS-6 SBD sighted I-70 on the surface in the same area. While the dive bomber climbed to to gain altitude for an attack, I-70 began a slow starboard turn and opened fire on the Dauntless with her machine gun; the Dauntless pilot later incorrectly reported that the submarine fired at his aircraft with two deck guns, although I-70 had only one such gun. The dive bomber attacked, its bomb landing alongside I-70 amidships and blowing several of her crew overboard. I-70 went dead in the water and sank on an even keel at 45 seconds after the bomb exploded. The Dauntless′s crew observed four men struggling in the water and saw a bubble of oil and foamy water appear on the surface, followed by two more bubbles containing oil and debris. The 6th Fleet's headquarters was unable to contact I-70, although it continued to try even after the other two submarines of her division returned to Kwajalein. The Imperial Japanese Navy declared I-70 to be presumed lost with all 93 hands off Hawaii and on 15 March 1942 removed her from the Navy list. She was the first Japanese warship sunk by U.S. aircraft during World War II and the first fleet submarine lost in the Pacific campaign of World War II. ==References==