Imperial Submarines

SENSUIKAN!
(Type B1 submarine - colorized photo by Irootoko Jr)

HIJMS Submarine I-27: Tabular Record of Movement
© 2002-2010 Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp
Revision 4

5 July 1939:
Laid down at Sasebo Navy Yard as Submarine No. 140.
6 June 1940:
Launched and renumbered I-29.
31 October 1941:
Cdr (later Captain) Yoshimura Iwao (51)(former CO of I-57) is appointed the Chief Equipping Officer (CEO).
1 November 1941:
I-29 is renumbered I-27.
15 December 1941:
Cdr Yoshimura is appointed the CEO of I-32 (until 31 January 1942) as additional duty.
15 January 1942:
Cdr Yoshimura is appointed the CO of RO-31 (until 31 January 1942) as additional duty.
24 February 1942:
I-27 is completed at Sasebo Navy Yard, commissioned and attached to Kure Naval District. Assigned to SubDiv 14, Sixth Fleet, with I-28. Cdr Yoshimura Iwao is the Commanding Officer.
27 March 1942:
The German naval staff requests the IJN to launch operations against Allied convoys in the Indian Ocean.
8 April 1942:
The Japanese formally agree to dispatch submarines to the East Coast of Africa.
15 April 1942:
I-27 is in Captain (later Rear Admiral) Sasaki Hankyu's Eastern Advanced Detachment: Sasaki's SubDiv 3 with I-21, I-22 and I-24 and Captain Katsuta Haruo's SubDiv 14 with I-27, I-28 and I-29. Departs Kure.
18 April 1942: The First Bombing of Japan:
Vice Admiral (later Fleet Admiral) William F. ("Bull") Halsey's Task Force 16's USS HORNET (CV-8), cruisers, destroyers and an oiler accompanied by ENTERPRISE (CV-6), cruisers, destroyers and another oiler approach to within 668 nautical miles of Japan. Led by LtCol (later Gen/Medal of Honor) James H. Doolittle, 16 Army North American B-25 "Mitchell" twin-engine bombers of the 17th Bomb Group takeoff from Captain (later Admiral) Marc A. Mitscher's HORNET and strike targets in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya and Kobe.
E of the Bonin Islands. I-27 is en route from Japan to Truk. Headquarters, Combined Fleet orders I-27 and the other submarines to intercept Task Force 16, but they are unable to make contact.
24 April 1942:
Arrives at Truk.
27 April 1942:
Departs Truk on her first war patrol to provide distant cover for the planned capture of Port Moresby and to patrol off Brisbane.
3 May 1942:
Arrives off Brisbane.
4 May 1942: Operation "MO" - The Invasions of Tulagi and Port Moresby:
Rear Admiral Kajioka Sadamichi's Port Moresby Attack Force departs Rabaul towards the Jomard Pass in the Louisiade Archipelago with DesRon 6's light cruiser YUBARI, four destroyers and a patrol boat escorting Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Abe Koso's Transport Force of 12 transports and a minesweeper.
That day, in the Battle of the Coral Sea, Rear Admiral (later Admiral) Frank J. Fletcher's Task Force 17 attacks Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Shima Kiyohide's Tulagi Invasion Force. Douglas SBD "Dauntless" dive-bombers and Douglas TBD "Devastator" torpedo-bombers from carrier YORKTOWN (CV-5) sink a destroyer, three minesweepers and damage four other ships.
5 May 1942:
Fletcher's force turns north to engage Vice Admiral (Admiral, posthumously) Takagi Takeo's (former CO of MUTSU) Carrier Strike Force. SBDs and TBDs from YORKTOWN and LEXINGTON (CV-2) sink Rear Admiral (Vice Admiral, posthumously) Goto Aritomo's (former CO of MUTSU) light carrier SHOHO off Misima Island. In turn, Japanese planes damage oiler USS NEOSHO (AO-23) and sink destroyer SIMS (DD-409).
8 May 1942:
SBD dive-bombers from YORKTOWN and LEXINGTON damage Vice Admiral Takagi's carrier SHOKAKU and force her retirement. ZUIKAKU's air group suffers heavy losses. Japanese carrier bombers and attack planes attack Task Force 17 and damage YORKTOWN and LEXINGTON that is further damaged when gasoline vapors are ignited, triggering massive explosions that cause her to be abandoned. Later, LEXINGTON is scuttled by destroyer PHELPS (DD-360). The Battle of the Coral Sea halts the Japanese thrust toward Port Moresby and they are forced to cancel Operation MO.
11 May 1942:
After the capture of Port Moresby is postponed, the CO, Advance Force, recalls I-27 to Truk with I-22, I-24 and I-28.
17 May 1942:
Returns to Truk. I-27 is assigned to Captain Sasaki's Special Attack Unit.
18 May 1942:
By 1830, I-27 embarks HA-14, a Type A midget submarine and its crew from seaplane/submarine carrier CHIYODA (later converted to a carrier). Departs Truk with I-22 and I-24 on her second war patrol to participate in the attack on Sydney. [1]
22 May 1942:
Around 0930, when recharging batteries on the surface, I-27 is attacked by a bomber, which misses her with two bombs.
24 May 1942:
I-27 receives a report from I-29 with the details of her floatplane recce flight over Sydney.
30 May 1942:
At 1800, I-27 receives the final instructions for the attack on Sydney from Captain Sasaki aboard I-29.
31 May 1942:
7 miles ESE of Sydney Harbor. At 1728, I-27 launches HA-14, piloted by Lt Chuman Kenshi with PO1C Omori Takeshi. I-22 and I-24 also launch their midget submarines. The plan calls for HA-14 to enter the harbor first at 1835, about 20 minutes after the moonrise.
After evading no less than four patrol boats, HA-14 crosses the inner indicator loop No. 12 at 2001, following the ferry from Manly to Circular Bay. Chuman then heads for the western end of the anti-torpedo boom net. Turning left, towards the center of the harbor, his craft becomes entangled in the next boom net between Georges Head and Watson's Bay, fouling its propellers. After HA-14 is spotted from the nearby floating crane around 2015, the harbor patrol boat HMAS LOLITA drops two depth charges that fail to explode in the shallow water.
At 2237, just prior to LOLITA's third pass, HA-14's crew detonates her forward scuttling charge to prevent capture. As a result of the blast LOLITA heels over, almost swamped; the debris from the midget are hurled more than 10 meters into the air. Later, both of its Type 97 torpedoes are salvaged and the crew is given a military funeral.
3 June 1942:
I-27 is assigned to patrol in Bass Strait area off Melbourne.
4 June 1942:
Eastern Bass Strait, 33 miles SSW of Gabo Island, NSW, Australia. At dawn, surfaced I-27 attacks the 4239-ton Australian interstate freighter BARWON, independently en route from Melbourne to Port Kembla. Cdr Yoshimura fires a torpedo, which passes under BARWON's keel and at 0535 explodes 220 yds off her starboard side. The entire ship is shaken by the violent blast and jagged torpedo fragments dislodge several hatch covers, but there is no other damage. BARWON alters course and escapes the area at best possible speed.
Off Cape Howe, 44 nm SSW of Gabo Island. In the afternoon I-27 intercepts Australian 3,353-ton armed ore carrier IRON CROWN (ex-EUROA) en route from Whyalla to Port Kembla with a cargo of iron ore. At 1645, IRON CROWN receives a torpedo hit to port, abaft the bridge, and sinks in less than a minute at 38-17S, 149-44E. Her skipper, 36 sailors and one gunner are lost; 5 sailors are rescued by British-Indian steamer MULBERA.
The crew of armed ore carrier IRON KING, steaming in company with IRON CROWN, opens fire from a 4-in deck gun, but misses.
An RAAF Lockheed "Hudson" patrol bomber of No. 7 Sqn. from Bairnsdale, piloted by F/Lt. Cyril C. Williams, witnesses IRON CROWN's sinking. Williams then spots the submarine and attacks it with two 250-lb anti-submarine bombs. I-27 is not damaged.
25 June 1942:
Arrives at Kwajalein.
17 July 1942:
Departs Kwajalein for Kure.
23 July 1942:
Arrives at Kure for overhaul.
5 August 1942:
LtCdr Kitamura Soshichi (55)(former CO of I-158) is appointed the CO.
15 August 1942:
Departs Kure for Penang.
24 August 1942:
Arrives at Penang.
29 August 1942:
Departs Penang to raid enemy communications in the Bay of Bengal on her third war patrol.
7 September 1942:
One of I-27's torpedomen develops symptoms of an acute appendicitis. The medical officer, Surgeon Lt(jg) Nakao Jinichi, performs an emergency appendectomy at 130-ft depth, using the officers' mess table.
9 September 1942:
I-27 attacks an unidentified merchant. After a negative tank flood valve is jammed, the CO orders the patrol terminated.
10 September 1942:
I-27 attacks an unidentified merchant.
11 September 1942:
Returns to Penang.
12 September 1942:
Departs Penang for Singapore.
13 September 1942:
Arrives at Singapore. Undergoes repairs at the 101st Repair Unit.
1 October 1942:
Departs Singapore for Penang.
3 October 1942:
Arrives at Penang.
4 October 1942:
Departs Penang to raid enemy communications in the Gulf of Oman on her fourth war patrol.
18 October 1942:
Gulf of Oman, near Ras al Hadd Harbor, Oman. I-27 attacks the 7,031-ton British armed steam merchant EMPIRE BOWMAN. Two torpedoes hit the merchant amidships, but neither explodes. EMPIRE BOWMAN escapes at best possible speed.
22 October 1942:
Gulf of Oman, near Masirah Island. I-27 torpedoes the US-built British armed steamer OCEAN VINTAGE (7,174 GRT), sailing independently from New York to Bandar Shapur with 9,300 tons of general cargo. After receiving one hit the steamer sinks at 21-37N, 60-06E. An RAF crash launch tows the lifeboats with the crew to Ras al Hadd Harbor.
7 November 1942:
Returns to Penang.
9 November 1942:
Departs Penang for Singapore.
10 November 1942:
Arrives at Singapore for overhaul.
27 November 1942:
Departs Singapore for Penang.
28 November 1942:
Arrives at Penang.
29 November 1942:
Reasigned to Southern Unit. Departs Penang to raid enemy communications in the Bay of Bengal on her fifth war patrol.
12 January 1943:
Returns to Penang.
27 January 1943:
Departs Penang for Singapore.
27 January 1943:
I-27 is damaged accidentally off Penang.
28 January 1943:
Arrives at Singapore for repairs and upkeep at the 101st Repair Unit.
31 January 1943:
At 1050, USN codebreakers intercept and decrypt a message that reads: "I-27 damaged. Required repairs including 15 days in No. 5 drydock."
5 February 1943:
Reassigned to Southwest Area Fleet.
18 February 1943:
Departs Singapore for Penang.
19 February 1943:
Arrives at Penang.
23 February 1943:
Penang. LtCdr (promoted Cdr 1 November; Rear Admiral, posthumously) Fukumura Toshiaki (54)(former CO I-159) is appointed the CO.
26 February 1943:
Departs Penang to raid enemy communications in the Bay of Bengal and Chagos Archipelago area on her sixth war patrol.
8 March 1943:
SW of Colombo. Around 0815, I-27 attacks an unescorted transport (in all likelihood the US Liberty ship JOSEPH WHEELER at 05-36N, 76-15E), but misses her with two torpedoes.
20 March 1943:
Indian Ocean, 500 miles NW of Ceylon. At 2106, I-27 torpedoes the 7,132-ton British armed merchant FORT MUMFORD, loaded with 6,649 tons of war supplies for the Mediterranean, on her maiden voyage from Vancouver, Canada. FORT MUMFORD sinks at 10N, 71E. The crew is able to abandon ship, but only one survivor, Seaman Gunner H. Bailey, survives the voyage and is later rescued by an Arab dhow.
24 March 1943:
NW of Chagos Archipelago. I-27 attacks an unidentified tanker.
9 April 1943:
Returns to Penang.
17 April 1943:
Reassigned to SubRon 8.
1 May 1943:
Departs Penang to raid enemy communications in the Gulf of Oman on her seventh war patrol.
7 May 1943:
Gulf of Oman, eastern entrance to the One and Half Degree Channel. At 0556, I-27 torpedoes the 6,608-ton Dutch motor vessel BERAKIT (ex-German VOGTLAND, captured in May 1940) en route from Colombo to Durban. The submarine surfaces and sinks the merchant with gunfire at 03-40N, 75-20E. Four sailors are lost, master M.S. Kruisinga is taken POW.
10 May 1943:
I-27 attacks an unidentified merchant.
26 May 1943:
I-27 attacks an unidentified merchant.
3 June 1943:
Gulf of Oman, 150 miles S of Masirah Island. At 0735, I-27 torpedoes 4,897-ton American armed freighter MONTANAN (ex-SANTA PAULA). MONTANAN sinks at 17-54N, 58-09E. Six sailors and two Armed Guards are lost. One boatload of survivors is picked up by a dhow, the remaining survivors land at Masirah Island.
24 June 1943:
Gulf of Oman, SE of Jask, Persia. I-27 torpedoes the 4,696-ton British armed tanker BRITISH VENTURE en route from Abadan to Bombay with a cargo of kerosene and gas oil. Two minutes after being torpedoed the tanker is ablaze and sinks at 0500 at 25-13N, 58-02E. 37 sailors and 5 gunners are lost, 18 sailors and one gunner rescued by British ship VARELA.
28 June 1943:
Gulf of Oman, Muscat harbor (Masquat). I-27 torpedoes the 1,974-ton Norwegian armed steamer DAH PUH (ex-CLARA JEBSEN), unloading a cargo of bitumen while en route from Basra to Karachi. Following an explosion at 0805, DAH PUH breaks in two; the stern sinks immediately and the bow several hours later. Some 44 sailors and local coolies are killed. The aft section of the torpedo fired by I-27 is recovered by the divers and dispatched to Kilindini for inspection.[2]
5 July 1943:
Indian Ocean. At 0610, I-27 attacks convoy PA-44 en route from Abadan, Iran to Montevideo, Uruguay and torpedoes the 6,797-ton American freighter ALCOA PROSPECTOR at 24-21N, 59-04E. The Royal Indian Navy minesweeper BENGAL takes on board the survivors. There are no casualties in the attack. The next day, ALCOA PROSPECTOR is reboarded by her crew as BENGAL stands by. BENGAL attempts to tow the damaged ship but fails. The following day, Anglo-Iranian oil company tugs arrive and tow the damaged freighter into Bandar Abbas, Iran.
14 July 1943:
Returns to Penang.
21 July 1943:
Departs Penang for Singapore.
23 July 1943:
Arrives at Singapore for an overhaul.
17 August 1943:
Departs Singapore for Penang.
19 August 1943:
Arrives at Penang.
29 August 1943:
Departs Penang to raid enemy communications in the Indian Ocean on her eighth war patrol.
7 September 1943:
Indian Ocean, E of One and Half Degree Channel. I-27 fires a spread of five torpedoes at the 7,176-ton American Liberty ship LYMAN STEWART, en route from Colombo, Ceylon, to Durban, South Africa, at 03-30N, 75-00E. The ship is hit by one dud and receives only minor damage. I-27 battle-surfaces, but when the gunners from LYMAN STEWART open fire, dives again. The Liberty ship escapes without casualties.
9 September 1943:
Indian Ocean, 250 miles W of Cape Comorin. I-27 torpedoes the 5,151-ton British armed motor vessel LARCHBANK on a voyage from Baltimore to Calcutta with 7,394 tons of general cargo and military stores, including 4 tanks, 2 MTBs (Nos. 284 and 285), 8 amphibious craft, and railway iron. LARCHBANK sinks within 2 minutes at 07-38N, 74-00E. 40 sailors and 6 gunners are lost; 19 sailors and 4 gunners land at Ceylon; the remaining crewmembers are rescued by TAHANIA and US ship PANAMAN.
24 September 1943:
Returns to Penang.
25 September 1943:
Departs Penang for Singapore.
26 September 1943:
Arrives at Singapore for an overhaul.
10 October 1943:
Departs Singapore for Penang.
11 October 1943:
Arrives at Penang.
19 October 1943:
Departs Penang to raid enemy communications in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea on her ninth war patrol.
30 October 1943:
Gulf of Aden. Reconnoiters the anchorage at Maqatin al Kabir, Yemen.
31 October 1943:
Gulf of Aden, south coast of Yemen. Reconnoiters the port of Al Mukalla (Khalf Harbor).
10 November 1943:
Gulf of Aden, SE of Hodeida, Yemen. I-27 torpedoes the 7,219-ton British SAM-class Liberty ship SAMBO (ex-EDWIN JOSEPH O'HARA), on her maiden voyage from Iquique, Peru, to Suez with nitrate and general cargo. SAMBO sinks at 12-28N, 43-31E. Three sailors and 9 gunners are lost, 34 sailors and 1 gunner are rescued by Norwegian HELGØY.
18 November 1943:
Gulf of Aden, SE of Aden. I-27 torpedoes the 7,176-ton British SAM-class Liberty ship SAMBRIDGE (ex-JOHN E. WILKIE) on her maiden voyage from Madras to Aden with 365 tons of general cargo and 1,000 tons of sand ballast. SAMBRIDGE sinks at 11-25N, 47-25E. Cdr Fukumura takes SAMBRIDGE's second officer H. Scurr aboard and lands him at Penang. 37 sailors and 11 gunners are rescued by British transport TARANTIA and HM frigate TEVIOT.[3]
27 November 1943:
The Strait of Bab al-Mandeb. Reconnoiters Perim Island and its anchorage.
29 November 1943:
Gulf of Aden. At 1630, I-27 torpedoes 4,824-ton Greek steamer ATHINA LIVANOS. She sinks at 12-23N, 44-00E. Nine sailors and 2 passengers are lost.
2 December 1943:
Gulf of Aden, S of Aden. At 2145, I-27 torpedoes 4,732-ton Greek steamer NITSA en route from Calcutta to Aden. NITSA sinks at 11-42N, 45-32E. Eleven sailors are lost.
3 December 1943:
Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia. At 2003, I-27 torpedoes and damages the 7,126-ton Canadian-built British freighter FORT CAMOSUN at 11-23N, 46-03E. FORT CAMOSUN transmits the SSSS signal and later proceeds to Calcutta. [4]
15 December 1943:
SubDiv 14 is deactivated. I-27 is directly attached to the Eighth Fleet.
17 December 1943:
Returns to Penang. Upon arrival Cdr Fukumura receives a personal citation for successful actions against enemy shipping from C-in-C Combined Fleet, Admiral Koga Mineichi.
4 February 1944:
Departs Penang to raid enemy communications in the Gulf of Aden on her tenth war patrol, with a crew of 98 and a war correspondent of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper aboard.
5 February 1944:
At 1340, British troop-carrying convoy KR.8 departs Kilindini, East Africa, for Colombo, Ceylon. Its five transports carry a total of 6,311 Army troops, Royal Navy personnel, medical staff, and members of the Women's Territorial Service (WTS).
The master of the 7,513-ton armed steamer KHEDIVE ISMAIL (ex-ACONCAGUA), Capt Roderick C. Whiteman, acts as the Commodore. During the departure the escort is provided by heavy cruiser HMS HAWKINS (D86), one corvette, and two anti-submarine cutters.
12 February 1944:
Indian Ocean, 60 miles SW of One and Half Degree Channel. KR.8, now escorted by HMS HAWKINS and destroyers HMS PALADIN (G.69) and PETARD (G.56, ex-PERSISTENT), is approaching the channel at 13 kts, when the convoy is sighted by submerged I-27.
Cdr Fukumura closes in from ahead to attack, probably intending to target heavy cruiser HAWKINS, the leader of the port column, from the starboard quarter of the convoy. He dives under the screening destroyers without being detected and raises his periscope for a snap shot only 50 yds astern of VARSOVA, the leading ship of the starboard column. Fukumura then fires a spread of four torpedoes at the cruiser, partially overlapped by KHEDIVE ISMAIL, the leading ship of the center column. [5]
Three gunners on the stern gun platform of VARSOVA sight a dark green periscope protruding some 3 ft above the water and traveling towards KHEDIVE ISMAIL at 4 kts. They attempt to target it, but their gun cannot be depressed deep enough.
At 1433 (convoy time), KHEDIVE ISMAIL receives a torpedo hit to her starboard side engine room and starts to list to starboard. The aft mast collapses and the adjacent superstructure caves in, while the after hatch covers are blown upwards. Approximately 5 seconds later the second torpedo strikes the boiler room forward, directly below the ship's funnel, causing a major explosion inside the ship.
Once on her beam ends, KHEDIVE ISMAIL breaks in two; the stern sinks first, the bow upends and then corkscrews beneath the surface only one minute and 40 seconds after the first hit, at 00-57N, 72-16E. Of 1,511 passengers and crew 1,279 are lost, including a total of 77 women.[6]
Two remaining torpedoes, one of them a surface runner, pass ahead and astern of HMS HAWKINS, forcing her to take evasive action. The two destroyers each turn 180 degrees outwards while the convoy scatters, to regroup at 02-41N, 74-49E.
Multiple periscope sightings are reported by different vessels and confusion ensues. At 1436, Lt Edward A.S. Bailey's HMS PALADIN first establishes an asdic (sonar) contact N of the position of the now-sunken KHEDIVE ISMAIL, dropping a pattern of ten depth charges near the stern of the retreating HMS HAWKINS. PALADIN then chases a false contact and at 1449 drops a single depth charge at a periscope detected by the steamer CITY OF PARIS. PALADIN's next attack with ten depth charges against an unreliable target fails, but then a new contact is detected. After her asdic operator reports hearing a noise resembling the blowing of ballast tanks, nine depth charges are dropped at 1502.
Cdr Rupert C. Egan's HMS PETARD likewise chases several contacts about a mile SW of the sinking. The first target is lost during the approach. At 1500, PETARD drops a pattern of seven depth charges, followed by eight depth charges five minutes later. After the final attack with nine depth charges at 1513, this contact is lost. Following an unsuccessful sweep to the westward, at 1536 Cdr Egan gives permission to pick up the survivors from KHEDIVE ISMAIL.
At 1620, the stationary I-27 suddenly surfaces about a mile and a half off PETARD's and PALADIN's starboard quarter, down by the stern. Both destroyers open fire from all guns, claiming numerous hits. PETARD passes close to I-27's stern and fires a pattern of three depth charges set to 50 feet. These cause no visible damage and the submarine starts to move, steering 250º at 4 kts and simultaneously correcting her trim. [7]
The CO of HMS PALADIN decides to ram the submarine to prevent her from diving again. At 1621, when 600 yds away from the submarine, he receives an order from PETARD not to ram. HMS PALADIN turns away to port, grazing the submarine's port foreplane with her starboard side. The impact tears an 80-feet long gash 12 inches below PALADIN's waterline, flooding her engine and gearing rooms, two fuel tanks, and the after magazine. The destroyer goes dead in the water, but fires two depth charges, one of which explodes right under the I-27's bows. Now fighting the increasing list, the destroyer lowers her scrambling nets to pick up the last survivors from KHEDIVE ISMAIL.
Two minutes later five gunners scramble from I-27's conning tower in an attempt to man the deck gun. PALADIN's No. 2 Oerlikon AA gun opens fire from 400 yds distance, blowing one of them overboard and killing the others. I-27 increases her speed to 8-10 kts, going round in circles and still down by the stern. PETARD fires a number of 4-in rounds that riddle I-27's conning tower, disable one of the periscopes and the deck gun.
Since the high-explosive shells seem to inflict no apparent damage to the submarine's pressure hull, the officers of PETARD discuss the possibility to board the I-27 and storm its conning tower with Sten guns and hand grenades, or to plant explosive charges on its hull. Both plans are given up as too dangerous.
At 1700, PETARD commences launching single torpedoes, six of which miss the target one by one. At 1723, the seventh torpedo finally strikes the crippled submarine, blowing her in half. As the column of water settles, the bow and stern are seen sinking at 01-25N, 72-22E. An oil slick and pieces of decking are sighted in the area, but no survivors.[8]
15 May 1944:
Presumed lost in the Indian Ocean. Cdr Fukumura is promoted Captain, posthumously.
25 May 1944:
Cdr Fukumura is promoted Rear Admiral, posthumously.
10 July 1944:
Removed from the Navy List.

Authors' Notes:
[1] For convenience, we have adopted the HA-type numeration to show the hull numbers of the pertinent midget submarines. Note that this system was not used by the IJN during the Pacific War.
[2] More details regarding the loss of DAH PUH can be found on Siri Lawson's Norwegian Fleet website (http://warsailors.com).
[3] SAMBRIDGE's 2nd officer H. Scurr was later awarded the Lloyd's War Medal for bravery at sea.
[4] FORT CAMOSUN had survived a similar encounter with I-25 on 20 June 1942.
[5] The account was compiled using several wartime action reports (including those from various vessels of KR.8), memoirs, and modern Japanese analyses of that action. Most of the details regarding the action of I-27 prior to her last attack are a result of educated guesses made by different historians, based on the doctrine and typical patterns of IJN submarine attacks. Prior to that action, HMS PALADIN had already sunk German U-205, while HMS PETARD had participated in the sinking of U-559 and Italian UARSCIEK.
[6] Different sources suggest different numbers for the personnel killed aboard KHEDIVE ISMAEL. We have followed the data provided in "Passage to Destiny" by Brian J. Crabb, the best detailed account of KHEDIVE ISMAIL's loss. Her sinking became the worst Allied disaster involving servicewomen in any war to date. Most military personnel aboard that ship belonged to the 301st Field Regiment, East African Artillery.
[7] Several post-war memoirs suggest that I-27 was either crippled by the third depth-charge attack made by HMS PETARD or that she had been rammed by the steamer CITY OF PARIS. Neither of these suggestions is confirmed by contemporary action reports. One recent theory speculates that I-27 might have surfaced as a result of the malfunctioning automatic trim system, which had repeatedly failed during the previous patrol.
[8] A message from HMS HAWKINS sent to the C-in-C Eastern Fleet at that time actually implied that one Japanese survivor had been recovered by HMS PETARD. While this is not confirmed by other sources, no less than four separate references to that Japanese survivor appear in British Admiralty War Diary reports.
Thanks go to Dr. Higuchi Tatsuhiro of Japan, Steve Eckardt of Australia and J. F. Masson of Canada, and to John Whitman of the USA for info on CNO intercepts of Japanese messages.
Thanks also go to Dr. Malcolm Cooper of the U.K. for providing info in the revision about I-27's sinking based on reports at the British National Archives by PALADIN and PETARD's COs.
– Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp.
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