One day during World War II, an advanced Japanese submarine was waiting underwater in the Pacific Ocean for prey to pass, and in the waters 15 kilometers away from it, two U.S. aircraft carrier formations were slowly approaching. A battle between heavy torpedoes and depth charges is about to take place.
It was September 15, 1942, and the area of the incident was around Solomon Island in the South Pacific. The Japanese and Americans have been fighting here for half a year, fighting for control of Guadalcanal.
However, since the Battle of Midway, the surface and air power of the Japanese army have weakened a lot, and finally the American army defeated the Japanese and took control of Guadalcanal. The Japanese were not willing to lose, so they sent advanced Type B submarines to this area, and the submarines were named after "Yi".
The Type B submarine is not simple, it is 106 meters long, 9.3 meters wide, has a range of 22,300, and there is also a small water reconnaissance aircraft in the boat. Its attack power is very powerful, equipped with the famous 530 mm Type 95 torpedo, driven by pure oxygen, fast and well concealed. The torpedo warhead was loaded with 406 kilograms of explosives and could sink a destroyer with just one.
The I-19 is one of the more special submarines, as its captain, Mu Liying, is a seafaring professional, not a military attaché. It is precisely because of his nautical expertise that he has a unique ability to command submarines.
At about 8:00 a.m. on September 15, the I-19 submarine discovered the US aircraft carrier formation through the periscope. However, the carrier fleet is still 15 kilometers away from its position and is not in the attack range.
The U.S. fleet observed by the I-19 submarine consisted of the aircraft carriers Bumblebee and Wasp leading their respective destroyers and battleships. They split into two teams and drove on a balance line 10 kilometers apart.
Captain Muli Eagle did not dare to drive too fast, for fear of being discovered by the other sonar. He observed the powerful American fleet and spotted a possibility of an attack. That is, the U.S. fleet is repeatedly curved, which means that even if the submarine stays in place, the U.S. fleet may take the initiative to come to him.
Sure enough, as Expected, the US aircraft carrier formation actually came to a place not far from the "Yi 19" submarine after three curves (Figure 6). In particular, the wasp is only about 900 meters away from the submarine, and the speed is only 12 knots.
Realizing that this was a perfect opportunity to attack, He immediately ordered the submarine to adjust 45 degrees, and then fired six Type 95 torpedoes in a row at a time interval of two seconds. The torpedo was rapidly firing at 49 knots towards the carrier.
Although the submarine is only more than 900 meters away from the aircraft carrier, it can be reached in a short time, but the wooden pear eagle they do not know whether it hit or not. Because, as soon as the torpedo was fired, he ordered the submarine to dive and evacuate. However, he still heard a sharp sound of metal breaking through the sonar, indicating that the torpedo had hit the target.
However, the people of the "I-19" submarine never imagined that they fired six torpedoes and hit three ships dramatically, creating a miracle in the history of naval warfare. However, they did not witness this achievement themselves, but observed it in the distant "Yi 15" submarine.
Three of the six Type 95 torpedoes hit the right side of the Wasp carrier, just near the oil depot. The aircraft carrier exploded and caught fire, and the fire detonated the ammunition depot. The violent explosion engulfed the surrounding U.S. forces in an instant, and the aircraft carrier tilted, leaking more oil, triggering a raging fire.
Dramatically, two of the other three torpedoes hit the fleet of the Hornet about 10 kilometers away. The shots were the destroyer O'Brien and the battleship North Carolina.
The O'Brien destroyer had a large opening in the bow (Figure 3) and, despite rescue, sank the next day. Although the battleship "North Carolina" was towed back to the harbor and barely repaired, it was later sunk by a rupture in a wind and wave, mainly because of the damage caused by the bullet.
In other words, the six Type 95 torpedoes fired by the "Yi 19" submarine actually sank three US warships one after another.
However, this result later sparked controversy. The U.S. military does not believe that a submarine firing six torpedoes can sink an aircraft carrier, a destroyer, and seriously damage a battleship. The US military believes that it must be caused by the sneaky knife repair of the "Yi 15" submarine next to it.
The Submarine I-15 was indeed present, but he was a spectator. He saw a U.S. ship caught fire and thought it was a torpedo fired by the Air Force. Based on the report of the "Yi-15" submarine and the analysis of the submarine's position at that time, the Japanese command determined that it was the achievement of the "Yi-19" submarine attack.
Later, German submarine expert Lowell analyzed that the attacks on the three submarines were all caused by the I-19 submarine, but in addition to the Wasp aircraft carrier, the attacks on the other two destroyers and battleships were accidental.
This is determined by the characteristics of the Type 95 torpedo, which has a range of about 10 kilometers at a speed of 49 knots and a range of up to 12 kilometers at a speed of 45 knots. And the torpedo has no self-detonation device, it did not hit the Wasp carrier, then it will continue to move forward, hitting the ships of the Hornet aircraft carrier formation about 10 kilometers away.
Another magic of this naval battle is that the I-19 submarine successfully escaped after firing the torpedo at close range. In fact, it had been discovered by the destroyer Adams at that time, and nine depth charges were dropped on the submarine's location in a short period of time, but the submarine attacked and dived in time, and the wood pear eagle had a wealth of navigation knowledge, allowing him to escape the depth charge.
It has to be said that in order to win the battle, in addition to people, weapons and the right timing, luck is also very important. However, although the achievements of the "Yi 19" submarine led by Mu Liying were amazing, they could not play a role in reversing the entire war situation.
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