Japanese submarine I - 58 I - 58 was a Japanese B3 type cruiser submarine that served in the final year of World War II . Modified to carry Kaiten manned torpedoes , she damaged two enemy destroyers with them , but her most significant success was the , sunk with conventional torpedoes on 30 July 1945 . The submarine surrendered in September 1945 , and was later scuttled by the United States Navy . Service history . The submarine was laid down on 26 December 1942 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal , and launched on 30 June 1943 . During construction her 14 cm / 40 11th Year Type naval gun was removed , making room for four Kaiten manned suicide torpedoes . The submarine was completed on 7 September 1944 and command was given to " Kaigun Shōsa " ( Lieutenant Commander ) Mochitsura Hashimoto . " I - 58 " was assigned to the Sixth Fleet ' s Submarine Squadron 11 for training in the Inland Sea before being assigned to the 15th Submarine Division on 4 December 1944 . A few days later she was assigned to the " Kongo " ( " Diamond " ) group , with " I - 36 " , " I - 47 " , " I - 48 " , " I - 53 " and " I - 56 " , to launch Kaiten attacks on five different U . S . fleet anchorages . " I - 58 " was assigned to attack Apra Harbor , Guam . Attack on Guam . After a week of exercises " I - 58 " took on fuel , provisions and torpedoes , and embarked four Kaiten and their crews , before departing Kure with " I - 36 " on 31 December 1944 . Between 03 : 10 and 03 : 27 on 12 January 1945 , eleven miles west of Apra , she launched all four Kaiten . The last Kaiten detonated immediately after launching , but at 05 : 30 , as " I - 58 " was leaving the area , she observed two pillars of smoke . She arrived at back at Kure on 22 January 1945 and was credited with sinking an escort carrier and a large oiler , but the attack was not successful . Operation Tan No . 2 . After the American invasion of Iwo Jima in February 1945 , " I - 58 " and " I - 36 " joined the " Shimbu " group formed to counterattack American forces . She departed Kure on 1 March carrying four Kaiten . On the 7th the operation was cancelled , and two days later she was redirected to the area west of Okinotorishima to support Operation Tan No . 2 , an air attack on the anchorage at Ulithi . The submarine jettisoned two Kaiten and proceeded at full speed . On 11 March " I - 58 " was stationed off Okinotorishima to act as a radio relay ship for 24 Yokosuka P1Y " Frances " twin - engined kamikaze bombers . Only six aircraft reached Ulithi , and one crashed into the carrier . Operation Ten - Go . After returning to Kure for further training , " I - 58 " was attached to the " Tatara " group , with " I - 44 " , " I - 47 " and " I - 56 " , formed to attack American shipping anchored off Okinawa as part of Operation Ten - Go . " I - 58 " was unable to penetrate the intense U . S . anti - submarine defences , and was forced to return to Kyushu on 10 April to recharge batteries . She made another attempt , but repeated attacks by enemy aircraft made any attack impossible . The submarine was ordered to an area between Okinawa and Guam on the 14th , but had no success . The operation was cancelled on the 17th , and " I - 58 " returned to Kure on the 30th . In May 1945 the submarine was sent to Kure Navy Yard to refit . Her aircraft catapult and hangar were removed , enabling her to carry six Kaiten . She was also fitted with a snorkel . On 22 June 162 B - 29s of the U . S . Twentieth Air Force bombed Kure . " I - 58 " was undamaged , although there were several near - misses . Attack on " Wild Hunter " and " Lowry " . " I - 58 " was then attached to the " Tamon " group with " I - 47 " , " I - 53 " , " I - 363 " , " I - 366 " and " I - 367 " , and on the evening of 18 July she sailed for an area east of the Philippines . On 28 July , 300 miles north of Palau , " I - 58 " sighted the 6 , 214 - ton cargo ship " Wild Hunter " , escorted by the destroyer . Two Kaiten were launched , but " Wild Hunter " sighted a periscope , opened fire with her 3 - inch gun , and the periscope disappeared . The " Lowry " rammed and sank the other Kaiten , receiving minor damage . Aboard " I - 58 " , two explosions were heard , but a rain squall prevented any visual verification . The submarine eventually surfaced , but detected no ships on radar , and reported both as sunk . Sinking of " Indianapolis " . At 23 : 00 on 29 July 1945 " I - 58 " surfaced 250 miles north of Palau and headed south . Shortly afterwards the navigation officer Lt . Tanaka spotted a ship approaching from the east , making 12 knots and not zigzagging . Lt . Cdr . Hashimoto ( incorrectly ) identified the target as an " Idaho " - class battleship . She was in fact the heavy cruiser , and had sailed from Guam for Leyte the previous day , after having delivered parts and nuclear material for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs to Tinian from San Francisco . " Indianapolis " was not equipped with sonar or hydrophone s , or provided with a destroyer escort . " I - 58 " submerged and prepared to attack with Type 95 torpedo es . After manoeuvering into position , at 23 : 26 ( JST ) the submarine fired a spread of six torpedoes at 2 - second intervals . At 23 : 35 , Lt . Cdr Hashimoto observed three equally spaced hits on the cruisers starboard side . The ship stopped , listed to starboard , and was down by the bow , but Hashimoto decided to attack again and dived to 100 feet to open the range and reload torpedo tubes . While the submarine was submerged , at 00 : 27 on 30 July , " Indianapolis " capsized and sank at . When " I - 58 " made a periscope check , the target was gone . The submarine surfaced , and departed the area at full speed , heading north while recharging batteries , leaving the crew of the " Indianapolis " stranded for over 3 days in shark infested waters Attack on Task Group 75 . 19 . On the morning of 9 August , 260 miles north - east of Aparri , Luzon , " I - 58 " sighted a zigzagging " convoy of ten transports " escorted by three destroyers , and Kaiten No . ' s 4 and 5 were launched . In fact the " convoy " was the hunter - killer team Task Group 75 . 19 led by the escort carrier , carrying out anti - submarine sweeps between Leyte and Okinawa . The destroyer escort sighted and attacked Kaiten No . 5 with her guns , and then attacked Kaiten No . 4 with depth charges . Kaiten No . 5 was sunk by fire from her 5 - inch stern gun . Kaiten No . 4 sighted again over an hour later and again attacked with depth charges which resulted in a violent explosion , throwing water 30 feet into the air . " I - 58 " came to periscope depth after her hydrophones reported a distant explosion . In Hashimoto ' s opinion , the previously sighted destroyer had disappeared . He headed northwards to evade pursuit . The crew of " Johnnie Hutchins " were later awarded the Navy Unit Commendation . Attack on " Oak Hill " and " Thomas F . Nickel " . Around 17 : 00 on 12 August 1945 , 360 miles south - east of Okinawa , while " I - 58 " was running northwards on the surface at 12 knots , her Type 3 radar detected multiple targets . Soon after ships were sighted on the horizon . The submarine dived , and at 17 : 16 , the crew sighted what they believed to be a seaplane carrier escorted by a destroyer . In reality , the " seaplane carrier " was the dock landing ship , escorted by the en route from Okinawa to Leyte . At 18 : 26 , " Oak Hill " sighted a periscope , and the " Nickel " attacked at flank speed . The " Nickel " fired depth charges , and attempted to ram , sustaining minor damage to her hull . A Kaiten broke surface astern of " Oak Hill " and exploded . Half an hour later the " Nickel " sighted another periscope astern of " Oak Hill " , and fired depth charges . An explosion followed , throwing a black geyser of oil and water 50 feet into the air . An oil slick was also sighted . The end of the war . On 18 August " I - 58 " , arrived back at Kure . On 2 September Japan surrendered . On 1 April 1946 in " Operation Road ' s End " " I - 58 " , stripped of all usable equipment and material , was towed from Sasebo to an area off the Gotō Islands by the submarine tender and scuttled at .