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Japanese submarine I 60

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Name
  
I-60

Completed
  
24 December 1929

Launched
  
24 April 1929

Builder
  
Sasebo Naval Arsenal

Laid down
  
10 October 1927

Construction started
  
10 October 1927

Length
  
101 m

Japanese submarine I-60

Fate
  
Sunk by HMS Jupiter, 17 January 1942

Class and type
  
Kaidai-class submarine (KD3B Type)

Displacement
  
1,829 t (1,800 long tons) surfaced 2,337 t (2,300 long tons) submerged

The Japanese submarine I-60 was a Kaidai-class cruiser submarine of the KD3B sub-class built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1920s. The boat supported Japanese forces during the Dutch East Indies campaign in early 1942 until she was sunk by a British destroyer on 17 January.

Contents

Design and description

The submarines of the KD3B sub-class were essentially repeats of the preceding KD3A sub-class with minor modifications to improve seakeeping. They displaced 1,829 metric tons (1,800 long tons) surfaced and 2,337 metric tons (2,300 long tons) submerged. The submarines were 101 meters (331 ft 4 in) long, had a beam of 8 meters (26 ft 3 in) and a draft of 4.9 meters (16 ft 1 in). The boats had a diving depth of 60 m (200 ft) and a complement of 60 officers and crewmen.

For surface running, the boats were powered by two 3,400-brake-horsepower (2,535 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 900-horsepower (671 kW) electric motor. They could reach 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) on the surface and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) underwater. On the surface, the KD3Bs had a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph); submerged, they had a range of 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph).

The boats were armed with eight internal 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes, six in the bow and two in the stern. They carried one reload for each tube; a total of 16 torpedoes. The submarines were also armed with one 120 mm (4.7 in) deck gun for combat on the surface.

Construction and career

Built by the Sasebo Naval Arsenal, I-60 was laid down on 10 October 1927, launched on 24 April 1929 and completed on 25 December 1929. The boat was refitting in late 1941 and did not conduct her first war patrol until 10 January 1942 when she departed Davao City, the Philippines, to search for Allies ships south of the Sunda Strait. In the course of this mission, I-60 was sunk by the British destroyer HMS Jupiter.

References

Japanese submarine I-60 Wikipedia