An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 37 USS Ward received further information from USS Condor on where the submarine had been sighted and went back to search that area. Around 6.30am as USS Antares, tow- ing a target raft, approached the outer gates, a small conning tower following behind it just above the waves was spotted by the lookouts on USS Ward and by a Catalina aircraft, which dropped smoke markers on the contact. As USS Ward raced towards the submarine it fired a round at a range of about 100 yards that passed overhead its target. About 30 seconds later, when the range had fallen to 50 yards, she fired another shell that struck the base of the conning tower. Passing over the target USS Ward dropped four depth charges in quick succession. The crew of the Catalina, who had a grandstand view of the action, also dropped depth charges in accordance with their orders to 'Depth bomb and sink any subma- rines found in the defensive sea area without authority.' USS Ward signalled naval HQ: 'We have attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth charges upon submarine oper- ating in defensive sea area.' The submarine was the M-20 but USS Ward wasn't credited with her sinking until 2002 when her remains were found at the bottom of Pearl Harbour with her torpedoes still in their tubes and a shell hole in her conning tower. It's believed that the remains of her crew are still inside and she remains where she sank. When USS Ward's message arrived in naval HQ 25 minutes later, a lack of urgency and the fact that it was a Sunday meant that the message was not acted upon promptly and it was not until 7.50am that the ready-duty destroyer USS Monaghan was ordered to 'Get underway immediately and contact the [USS] Ward in the defensive sea area.' By this time USS Ward had detained a sampan acting suspiciously in the restricted area and depth charged another midget submarine contact. At 8.30am, with the air attack underway, M-22 was spotted enter- ing Pearl Harbour by a number of ships. Several minutes later USS Monaghan spotted the submarine's periscope and conning tower and increased her speed to ram. Meanwhile a torpedo fired by M-22 at the seaplane tender Curtiss missed and hit a dock. After being hit by a five-inch shell and raked by machine-gun fire, M-22 turned to face USS Monaghan, firing her second torpedo at the onrushing warship. The torpedo missed, eventually exploding against the Ford Island shoreline, before the Monaghan rammed her and pushed her down to the harbour bed. Two depth charges brought M-22 to the surface momentarily before she shipped beneath the waves for the last time. This submarine was later used as landfill for a pier and was uncovered again in 1952 but was so badly corroded that she was reburied at the same location. Her crew's remains are still entombed in her. M-18 was damaged by depth charges and her hull was found in 1960 east of the Pearl Harbour entrance with her conning tower hatch open with no trace of her crew and her torpedoes intact. Raised by the US Navy at the request of the Japanese Government, her hull was returned to Japan where missing portions were replaced and she is now on display at the Naval Tactical School, Hiroshima. M-16 made it into Pearl Harbour and fired her two torpedoes, one of which may have struck USS Oklahoma and accelerated her capsizing. After firing her torpedoes, the crew of M-16 scuttled her in West Lock to prevent her falling into American hands. A massive am- munition explosion in 1944 saw the remains of this submarine being scooped up with all the other debris and dumped at sea. In 2009 her remains were found during a seabed survey of the debris. HA-19, which was launched with a broken gyrocompass, reached the entrance to Pearl Harbour, struck a reef three times and ground- ed. The stranded submarine was spotted by USS Helm, which blasted her off the reef but failed to destroy her. When the submarine resur- faced she was attacked again by the Helm but managed to escape. HA-19 made another attempt to enter the harbour but struck the reef again where she was depth charged and so severely damaged that she could not fire her torpedoes. The crew tried to return to the mother ship but were overcome by fumes and she was carried away by the currents. Coming around and discovering themselves grounded on a reef, Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki ordered Chief Warrant Officer Kiyoshi Inagaki to abandon ship while he set the scuttling charges, which subsequently failed to detonate due to seawater damage. While Inagaki drowned, Sakamaki made it ashore and was found unconscious the next day, becoming the first Japanese pris- oner of war. (He died in 1999.) HA-19 was salvaged by the US Navy, subjected to a detailed techni- cal examination and sent to the US mainland on war bond tours. She is currently on display at the National Museum of the Pacific War, Fredericksburg, Texas. HA-19 Grounded on the Surf on Oahu I-22 with her crew still inside being used as landfill for a sea wall Japanese midget submarine crewmembers lost in the Pearl Harbour attack USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbour

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