© 2001-2011 Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp Revision 1
12 February 1945:
Kure Navy Yard. The "Sen-Taka" (submarine, high speed)
class attack submarine I-202 is completed and commissioned in the IJN. Lt Imai
Kenji is the Commanding Officer.
14 February 1945:
Assigned to SubDiv 33, Kure SubRon.
10 April 1945:
Kure. The I-202 is reassigned to Rear Admiral Nishina
Kozo's (former ComSubDivs 9, 18) SubRon 11 in Vice Admiral Miwa Shigeyoshi's
(former CO of CL KINU) Sixth Fleet (Submarines).
1 May 1945:
Vice Admiral, the Marquis, Daigo Tadashige (former CO of
ASHIGARA) relieves Vice Admiral Miwa of command of the Sixth Fleet.
4 June 1945:
The I-202 arrives at Maizuru with the submarine depot
ship CHOGEI.
30 July 1945:
Carrier aircraft from Vice Admiral (later Admiral) John
S. McCain's Task Force 38 attack Maizuru Bay. They sink the minelayer TOSHIMA
and the cargo ship TARUYASU MARU. They damage the I-153, frigate TAKANE, the
CHOEGI, Coast Defense Vessel No. 2, minelayer TATSUMIYA MARU and merchants
SHOTAI MARU and FUKUAN MARU.
The I-202 is attacked by 15 planes that score nine near misses. Her No.
13 ballast tank floods and her periscope lens shatters. The damages are so
severe that she cannot dive and is drydocked for repairs.
15 August 1945:
Maizuru. The I-202, I-201 and I-203 are reassigned to
SubDiv 15. That same day, Emperor Hirohito (Showa) broadcasts an Imperial
Rescript from the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The Emperor calls for an end to the
hostilities.
13 October 1945:
At Maizuru with the I-121 and the I-201.
30 November 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
26 March 1946: Submarine Officers Conference, Washington, DC:
The attendees, including former ComSubPac Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, are told that "orders are being issued to dispose of all Japanese submarines by sinking. Those in Japan will be sunk at once, those in Pearl Harbor when authorized by SCAP and at the discretion of CinCPAC
dispose of all captured Japanese submarines by sinking."
5 April 1946:
The I-202 is scuttled 13 nautical miles off Kongo
(Kougo) Point.
Authors' Note:
Thanks go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan and to Derek Waller of UK for info about the Submarine Officers Conference.
– Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp.
