I-3 was an Imperial Japanese Navy J1 type submarine commissioned in 1926. She was a large cruiser submarine. She served in the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. During the latter conflict she operated in support of the attack on Pearl Harbor, conducted anti-shipping patrols in the Indian Ocean, supported the Indian Ocean raid, and took part in the Aleutian Islands campaign and the Guadalcanal campaign before she was sunk in December 1942.
Construction and commissioning
Built by Kawasaki at Kobe, Japan, I-3 was laid down on 1 November 1923 with the name SS-76. While she was on the building ways, she was renamed I-3 on 1 November 1924. She was launched on 8 June 1925 and was completed and commissioned on 30 November 1926.
Service history
1926–1937
Upon commissioning, I-3 was attached to the Yokosuka Naval District. She was assigned to Submarine Division 7 in Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet, joining her sister ships and in that division, but sources differ on whether this assignment began on her commissioning day or on 15 January 1927. On 1 July 1927, the division was reassigned to the Yokosuka Defense Division in the Yokosuka Naval District, and on 15 September 1927 it began another assignment to Submarine Squadron 2 in the 2nd Fleet. While in the Seto Inland Sea entering Moroshima Bay on the surface at on 12 July 1928, I-3 suffered a rudder failure and ran aground off Ōmishima Island at 10:11, damaging her bow fuel tank. She was refloated at 16:22 and proceeded to Kure to undergo repairs at the Kure Naval Arsenal.
On 1 May 1929, I-3 was reassigned directly to the Yokosuka Naval District, and on 1 August 1930, when Submarine Division 8 was created, she and her sister ship were placed in the new division. On 1 December 1930, Submarine Division 8 began duty with Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet, a component of the Combined Fleet. The division was reassigned to the Yokosuka Defense Division in the Yokosuka Naval District on 1 October 1931, but it began another tour of duty in Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet on 1 December 1931. It completed this assignment on 1 October 1932 and again was assigned to the Yokosuka Defense Division in the Yokosuka Naval District. On 15 November 1933, I-3 was transferred from Submarine Division 8 back to Submarine Division7, which began service in Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet that day.
The German naval attaché to Japan, Kapitän zur See Paul Wenneker, was scheduled to inspect I-2 and I-3 on 10 January 1935 while the two submarines were tied up at Yokosuka, Japan. Wenneker toured I-2 between 14:50 and 15:40, but his inspection of I-3 was cancelled due to bad weather. I-3 got underway from Sasebo, Japan, in company with the other vessels of Submarine Squadron 1 — I-1 and I-2 of Submarine Division 7 and I-4, , and of Submarine Division 8 — for a training cruise in Chinese waters on 29 March 1935. The six submarines concluded the cruise with their return to Sasebo on 4 April 1935.
On 15 November 1935, Submarine Division 8 was reassigned to the Yokosuka Defense Squadron in the Yokosuka Naval District, and I-3 was decommissioned and placed in reserve that day to undergo reconstruction, during which her American-made K-tube sonar was replaced by a sonar system manufactured in Japan and her conning tower was streamlined. While she was out of commission, Submarine Division 7 returned to service in Submarine Squadron 1 in the 1st Fleet on 20 January 1936, and after her reconstruction was complete, I-3 was recommissioned on 1 December 1936 and returned to duty with the division.
On 27 March 1937, I-3 departed Sasebo in company with I-1, I-2, I-4, I-5, and I-6 for training in the vicinity of Qingdao, China. The six submarines concluded the training cruise with their arrival at Ariake Bay on 6 April 1937. During scheduled upkeep in Sukumo Bay on the coast of Shikoku, Japan, on 18 May 1937, I-3 suffered an explosion in a lubricating oil sump tank that killed one man and injured 17 others. She proceeded to the Kure Naval Arsenal in Kure, Japan, for repairs.