The legendary battle of kiwi minesweeper in New Zealand

Talking about the legendary World War I of the New Zealand Minesweeper Kivi In the magnificent World War II, New Zealand, as a member of the Commonwealth, had a low sense of existence, far unlike Australia, Canada and even India, which were members of the Commonwealth. In the Royal New Zealand Navy, there are a number of small tonnage minesweepers that are equally inconspicuous, but these boats, like their comrades-in-arms, follow the slogan of the Royal Navy that "every enemy must fight", and they will never back down even in the face of stronger and bigger opponents than themselves. In a night encounter along Guadao coast at the end of 1943 1, two New Zealand minesweepers fought tenaciously against their own Japanese submarines in terms of tonnage, speed, firepower and even sailors' combat experience. Only after continuous impact did they completely defeat the Japanese and finally won a great victory! ▲ New Zealand War Poster-The story of loyal dog with Maori pattern begins with 1943. On the southwest Pacific front, the US military is taking the initiative, and the Japanese officers and men on Gua Island have run out of ammunition and supplies. For the Japanese base camp, how to smuggle materials to Guadao under the tight blockade of the US military has become a top priority. In view of the strength of allied surface ships, the Japanese army began to consider using submarines to transport materials at night. According to the Japanese idea, the submarine can secretly transport the materials near the coastline of Guadalcanal Island at night, and then transport them to the shore by the Dafa ship on board, that is, the landing craft, and then transport them away by the land support personnel. In order to carry out this secret transportation, the Japanese navy has modified some large ocean-going submarines, including the submarine "I-1", the protagonist of this paper. This is a submarine launched in the 1920s, with a full displacement of 2 135 tons on the surface and 279 1 ton underwater, with 60 crew members. The main weapons are a Dazheng 1 1 year140mm main gun and six 533mm torpedo tubes located at the front and rear of the control tower. In order to carry the big boat, the Japanese navy dismantled the140mm main gun at the back of the I-1 submarine control tower, making a lot of space. ▲ The Japanese Navy's submarine "I-1" has two front and rear main guns140mm, and the bright flag at the stern is clearly visible ▲ This is a big ship captured by the Allied Forces, which can carry 70 infantry or1/ton of cargo 19438. At this frontier fortress, the submarine accepted the task of transporting to Guadao, and filled it with enough food for 3,000 people for two days, including rice, bean paste, curry, bacon and sausage. These foods are sealed in rubber tubes and then stuffed into Dafa ship. 65438+1At about 16 on October 24th, the "I-1" secretly left rabaul, and its target was Kambo Bay in Guadalcanal. For the Japanese submarine transport, the Allies are not ignorant. Two days after the "I-1" set out, that is, on 26 October, 65438/Kloc-0, the United States Navy Command of Solomon Islands received wind, informing all ships on Guadalcanal Island and Tulaji Island that Japanese troops were likely to send submarines to Japanese ground forces near Kambo Bay on the night of 27 or 29 October, 65438/Kloc-0. According to this information, the Royal New Zealand Navy's 25 Minesweeper Sub-fleet accepted the task of conducting anti-submarine operations at night near Cambo Bay. 65438+1On the evening of October 29th, "I- 1" was near Guadao. At this time, there is heavy rain along the coast, and the bad weather makes the visibility extremely low. Every sailor in the Japanese submarine is secretly pleased. It seems that there should be no danger in tonight's mission. At 20: 30, the submarine "I-1" sailed through the water to approach Kambo Bay in the storm, and the hill-like waves on the dark sea kept scouring the submarine deck. Because the allied forces have almost completely blocked the coastline of Guadalcanal, the Japanese army dare not slack off too much. The submarine's small control tower is crowded with observation platforms and regularly monitors the sea surface. ▲ Cambo Bay can be seen in the picture. The red arrow next to it is the direction in which the Japanese remnants suddenly retreated a few days later, and the lookout in the stern direction of the warning boat exclaimed: "Two enemy torpedo boats have been found!" Captain Sakamoto Yi Rong Shaozuo ordered the submarine to dive to a depth of about 30 meters, and at the same time turned left rudder in an attempt to get rid of the allied surface ships. The torpedo boats discovered by the Japanese army were the Kiwi and the Fear Bird of the 25th Minesweeper Sub-fleet of the Royal New Zealand Navy. These are two bird-class minesweepers with a standard displacement of 607 tons. The main weapons are 1 door102mm front main gun, 2 25mm air-breathing case guns and 40 depth charges. It is worth mentioning that these two warships arrived in New Zealand only for about half a year, and they were still in the running-in period when the naval battle broke out. ▲ The Royal New Zealand Navy "Kivi" minesweeper However, even without experience, the allied sailors still performed well. 2 1: 05, Captain Graham, the sonar officer of Kiwi, reported that the sonar detected a suspicious target at a maximum distance of 3,000 yards (about 2,700 meters). The captain, Major Gordon BuRisdon, immediately ordered a battle alarm to be sounded, and informed the sister ship "Bird Fear" with light signals. Then, Major Bu riston ordered the kiwi to turn quickly and hit the sonar contact point at full speed, trying to find out whether it was a misjudgment or a Japanese submarine. As the distance between the two sides gradually shortens, the sonar echo becomes clearer and clearer, indicating that this is probably a submarine! About 1 mile from the coast of Guadalcanal, kiwi finally caught its target. At this time, New Zealand sailors can even see with the naked eye that the submarine hull under the water surface is covered with a layer of phosphorescence (fish in tropical oceans or lagoons often emit flickering phosphorescence when swimming, which is a unique natural phenomenon in tropical oceans). Kiwi did not hesitate to attack. In the first round, it dropped six depth charges in the direction of submarine periscope. The kiwi quickly passed the position of the submarine, then immediately turned at full speed and attacked the submarine with six deep bombs in the second round. ▲ Major Gordon riston, Captain of the Kivi Minesweeper. At this time, the submarine I-1 at the bottom of the sea did not know that its whereabouts had been clearly seen by its opponents and was bombed red-handed! The submarine was shocked by the violent explosion at close range, and some sailors fell to the ground uncontrollably, and the rear hull was damaged, and the storage room began to fill with water. Two rounds of deep bomb attacks failed the water pump, steering gear and left motor. In addition, the explosion broke the high-pressure flow valve and sprayed fine fog in the control room, which caused some lines of the main distribution board to be short-circuited and all the lights went out. In the blink of an eye, the submarine began to sink involuntarily at an angle of 45 degrees, and soon sank to the depth of 180 meters, which greatly exceeded the submarine's 70-meter deep diving limit, and there was a serious leak in the torpedo compartment at the bow. Just as the kiwi was preparing for the third round of deep-water bomb attack, the Japanese couldn't stand it. Captain Yi Rong Sakamoto ordered the use of compressed air to exhaust the main ballast tank. At the same time, another engine that was still running at full speed reversed and the submarine stopped sinking. However, the troubles of the Japanese have just begun. The seawater that flooded into the cabin flooded the battery pack, and a chemical reaction took place, releasing deadly chlorine gas-if you stay at the bottom of the sea, you can only be poisoned alive! In desperation, Sakamoto was forced to order to float. The submarine emerged from the sea with a strange attitude that the stern came out first, immediately started the starboard diesel engine and sailed to the shore at the speed of 1 1, trying to rush to the beach and run aground. At the same time, Sakamoto ordered the cannon group on the foredeck and the 13.2 mm machine gun group on the control tower to be in place, and he personally took the helm. All this was clearly seen by New Zealand sailors, and the kiwi soon found the submarine about 2000 yards (about 1800 meters) in front of her right. The kiwi swerved quickly and bit the submarine I-1 at close range. Its102mm main gun and the 20mm Irbil cannon at the bow began to turn to aim at the target. In order to see more clearly in the dark, kiwi kept firing flares and illuminated its opponent with the 10 inch searchlight on the bridge. The nearby "Fear of Birds" also frequently fired flares to assist the attack of sister ships. Under the bright light, the gunner of the Kivi quickly aimed at I-1 and opened fire on the superstructure of the submarine. 20 mm shells hit the submarine bridge continuously, killing Sakamoto Yirong and most gunners on the spot. The submarine lost control and began to turn slowly to the right. ▲ "I-1"submarine map, notice that the main gun on the back deck has been removed. At this time, the pilot of the submarine "I-1" climbed onto the bridge carefully to check the situation, and was shocked to find that the people on the bridge were either dead or injured. According to the regulations of the Japanese navy, the submarine was commanded by the acting captain, Zhi Yizhen, the torpedo captain. The fanatical militarist did not hesitate to order the crew to prepare for the dock battle-he wanted to launch a jump and help the melee, and win kiwi in one fell swoop! Under the command of Zhi, the reserve gunner in the crew boarded the deck to control the front140mm main gun to fight back. Several crew members with the best marksmanship were assigned to four 38 rifles, and all officers pulled out dense and recognizable sabers to prepare for close combat! At 2 1: 20, the captain of Kivi, Major Bu riston, felt that the situation was getting more and more difficult: the tonnage of our warship was too small-in fact, it was only a quarter of that of our opponent, and the firepower of naval guns could not overwhelm the Japanese submarine's 140 mm cannon, and the distance between the two sides had been shortened to 150 yards. He is determined to carry out the impact. With the roar of the engine, the kiwi broke through the waves and the bow hit the port side of I-1 near the control tower. There was a deafening noise, and the sailors on the two warships were staggered by the earthquake. The New Zealand minesweeper was even hit-it was a dead corner. The boundary of the140mm deck gun on the Japanese submarine was blocked by its own control tower, so it was impossible to turn the muzzle and bombard the Kiwi! ▲ This painting shows the moment when the Kivi minesweeper crashed into the I-1 submarine. Next, kiwi began to reverse at full speed and then left. At this time, the Japanese on the submarine were able to adjust the angle of the gun and began to fire at the Kiwi. The gunners shot at random in the dark and soon reported that a shell hit one of the two enemy ships and set the other on fire! In fact, the Japanese army didn't even hit a shot in the whole battle. Two shells flew over the kiwi, and the other three shells almost missed the distant Mimo. At the same time, the observation post on the submarine began to alarm nervously, claiming that three torpedoes had grazed the submarine. In the panic, the acting captain Zhi Yizhen was completely at a loss. He could only turn the rudder desperately to avoid a torpedo that didn't exist, and ordered the deck gun to continue firing at the Kivi. After adjusting the angle, the kiwi immediately went ahead at full speed and began its second impact. However, this round of "I-1" unexpectedly hides the past, but the hull is scraped obliquely and the front horizontal rudder is damaged. Japanese riflemen deployed on the bridge seized the opportunity of two ships approaching and shot at the bridge of Kiwi. A bullet hit Campbell Buchanan, the signalman who operated the searchlight. Despite being seriously injured, Buchanan insisted on operating the searchlight until the end of the battle. Because of his injuries, he died heroically and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross after the war. When Buchanan, the signalman who died heroically on the Kivi, passed the two ships, the navigator's small universe broke out on the deck of I-1. I saw him shouting at the top of his lungs, holding a saber in one hand and grasping the handrail of kiwi's bow in the other, and jumping on kiwi's deck! The master of the third section of kendo brushed and pulled out the discerning saber, and roared and prepared to kill. However, his solo performance ended here-the "Jiwei" retreated at full speed, he lost his foothold, shook his body and plunged back into the wet deck of the submarine. The Japanese have no more opportunities. The third impact of "Kiwi" actually hit the starboard side of the submarine again, seriously damaged one of the main ballast tanks of the submarine, and then scraped the back deck of the submarine and lost contact. In the continuous impact, the bow and sonar detector of the kiwi were also seriously damaged, so it had to leave the battlefield and return to the rear for maintenance. However, the injury of the submarine "I-1" is even more serious. Except for one bilge drainage pump, all other drainage pumps failed, and a large amount of water inflow made the submarine's right deviation more and more serious. ▲ The violent impact caused the kiwi's bow to be severely deformed. After Kivi withdrew from the battle, Mimo continued to chase the dying submarine. Flares and searchlights made the submarine hide, and the "Fear of Birds" bombed the submarine continuously, but most of them failed to hit. On the contrary, the spray generated by the near explosion helped the Japanese put out the raging fire on the back deck, and several shells that hit directly were also bounced back from the turtle shell structure of the hull. At 23: 00 15, the fast-moving "I-1" hit a rock about 300 meters from the shore in the northern part of Kampo Bay, and could not move any more. At this time, half of the submarine's hull has been flooded, and the right deviation is becoming more and more serious. In desperation, the acting captain Zhi had to give an order to abandon the ship. In this way, the submarine finally plunged into the bottom of the sea, leaving only the bow of about 3 meters above the water at a 45-degree angle. ▲I- 1 submarine wreckage (1)▲I- 1 submarine wreckage (2) "The secret transport mission of I-1"failed in such a shameful way. Twenty-seven people were killed, including captain Yi Rong Shaozuo Sakamoto, and the remaining 66 people were covered by heavy rain and dark night. Although soaked to the skin, these sailors finally escaped from the sky and were lucky enough to join the Japanese army at dawn the next day. When abandoning the ship, the quartermaster of the submarine took the JN-25D- 13 codebook and destroyed it immediately after landing. Soon after, the Japanese were horrified to find that the quartermaster only destroyed the password book currently used by the Japanese navy, and another suitcase containing password-related materials and the navy flag of the submarine "I-1" was missing! When the sun rose in the early morning of 654381October 30, the "Bird of Fear" did not leave Cambo Bay, but it was still hovering around the wreckage of the submarine, waiting patiently for it. When New Zealand soldiers inspected the submarine wreckage, they found two survivors, one of whom was killed by a flexible gunner and the other was captured. In addition, New Zealand sailors also seized the log book and some charts of the I-1 submarine. Then, "Fear of Birds" was satisfied and returned to the base happily. ▲ The "Terror Bird" that finally cleaned up the mess turned around and said that the Japanese army was coming. On February 1943, 1 day, most of the survivors of the submarine "I-1" boarded the first destroyers that returned to rabaul. At the rear base camp, they were immediately questioned by the liaison officer of the Joint Fleet Command, admitting that the other passwords of the submarine had not been brought out and might have been leaked. The Joint Fleet Command was deeply shocked by this, because the password book is related to the life and death of the entire Japanese submarine force. Without a moment's hesitation, the headquarters ordered the wreck of the submarine "I-1" to be destroyed at all costs. On the night of February 2 19, two other officers and two sailors of Chi and the submarine, as well as the soldiers of the Army 1 Regiment1Kloc-0/returned to the wreckage of the submarine on a Dafa boat. They installed two depth charges and four small explosives in the bow and torpedo compartment of the submarine, hoping to detonate them. However, after several loud noises, the Japanese were disappointed to find that the explosion did not induce torpedoes, but the explosion of the deep-water bomb was enough to cause great damage to the submarine, so that it could not be salvaged again. On February 10, in view of the failure of the first sabotage operation, the Japanese army organized the second operation. This time, Guadao has been completely controlled by the US military. In order to destroy this submarine, the Japanese paid a huge price-nine Type-99 dive bombers set off from Boone base in Papua New Guinea and headed straight for Cambo Bay under the cover of 28 Type-0 fighters. In the afternoon 14: 45, the fleet arrived over the target area. After hovering for a while to determine the wreckage of the submarine, nine 99 bombers lowered their noses and rushed to the target one after another. However, in the third year of the war, Japanese pilots were no longer the elite of those years, and most of the bombs dropped by bombers failed completely. Only a 250kg bomb dropped by No.3 aircraft driven by Yi Company for Erkongcao landed near the submarine control tower, but this almost missing bomb still failed to completely destroy the "I-1" submarine. At this time, the US military also began to pay attention to the wreckage of the I-1 submarine-since the Japanese spent so much effort to completely destroy this pile of wreckage, there may be something very important in it! On February 1 1, American intelligence personnel inspected the "I-1" wreckage on the PT65 torpedo. ▲ American torpedo boat PT65 is checking the wreckage of I-1 submarine. On February 13, the American submarine rescue ship Outland arrived at the wreckage of I-1 submarine and conducted a comprehensive search for it. American divers found some submerged records from the submarine control tower and handed them over to the American military base on Guadalcanal Island, and then these data were immediately sent to Pearl Harbor. These materials * * * have five cipher books, including a JN-25 cipher book which has been replaced by a new cipher, and a list of radio call signs (ships and ports) implemented by the Japanese Navy since 1942. In this way, due to the warning of the Japanese, the allies always seized as many as 200,000 pages of various materials from the wreckage of the "I-1" submarine and returned with a full load. At about the same time, the Japanese navy submarine "I -2" sailed into Campo Bay, ready to launch a third sabotage operation, but failed to find the wreckage and left angrily. 1943 February 15, the submarine "I -2" sneaked into Kambo Bay again with an immortal heart, in an attempt to carry out the destruction task. At one time, the boat approached only 1.4 miles from the coastline, but it was finally discovered by allied torpedo boats. Under the attack of depth charges, the "I -2" was thrown out of the bay in chaos. This was the last attempt by the Japanese army to destroy the submarine "I-1", and this attempt was aborted again. In desperation, the military command department of the Japanese navy felt that several passwords carried by the submarine "I-1" were likely to be leaked, so there was no need to go to great lengths to update the three main passwords, and at the same time, the password book jointly used by the German and Japanese navies was abolished. It can be said that this is the greatest achievement of Kivi besides sinking a Japanese submarine. In addition, because of his outstanding performance in the battle, Captain Gordon BuRisdon was awarded the Cross for Outstanding Service and the Cross for the United States Navy. This ups and downs of submarine collision war eventually became a brilliant legend in the history of naval warfare. ▲ After the war, the crew of "Kiwi" participated in * * * activities with high morale.