Japanese submarine I-27

History
Empire of Japan
Name	I-27
Builder	Sasebo Naval Arsenal
Laid down	5 July 1939
Launched	6 June 1940
Commissioned	24 February 1942
Fate	Sunk February 12, 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	Type B1 submarine
Displacement	2,631 tonnes (2,589 long tons) surfaced 3,713 tonnes (3,654 long tons) submerged
Length	108.7 m (356 ft 8 in) overall
Beam	9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
Draft	5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Installed power	12,400 bhp (9,200 kW) (diesel) 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) (electric motor)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric 1 × diesel engine 1 × electric motor
Speed	23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph) surfaced 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range	14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) surfaced 96 nmi (178 km; 110 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged
Test depth	100 m (330 ft)
Crew	100
Armament	6 × bow 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes 1 × 14 cm (5.5 in) deck gun 2 × single 25 mm (1 in) Type 96 anti-aircraft guns
Aircraft carried	1 × floatplane
Aviation facilities	1 × catapult

I-27 was a submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy which saw service during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. I-27 was commissioned at Sasebo, Japan on February 24, 1942 and sunk on February 12, 1944, after torpedoing the troopship SS Khedive Ismail.

On May 31, 1942, I-27 launched midget submarine M-14 as the leading submarine for the attack on Sydney Harbour in Australia.

On June 4, 1942, Iron Crown while en route Whyalla-Newcastle was torpedoed and sunk 44 miles SSW of Gabo Island by I-27. Thirty eight of her forty two crew were lost, with the survivors being picked up by SS Mulbera.^[1]

On March 20, 1943, Fort Mumford was torpedoed and sunk in the Indian Ocean (10°00′N 71°00′E / 10.000°N 71.000°E / 10.000; 71.000) by I-27.^[2][3] The sole survivor of this sinking made no comment as to the fate of the crew,^{[citation needed]} although some publications suggest that they may have been killed by the crew of I-27.^[4][5] There is no conclusive evidence either way, but there is also no evidence of I-27 taking such action on other occasions.

On June 3, 1943, I-27 torpedoed and sank SS Montanan in the Indian Ocean.^[6][7] Five of Montanan's crew were killed and 58 were rescued.^[8]

On July 5, 1943 I-27 torpedoed and sank the Alcoa Protector, sailing as part of convoy PA44 in the Gulf of Oman. The turbine engines of this ship were later salvaged and used to propel the Great Lakes freighter Kinsman Independent.^{[citation needed]}

On November 8, 1943, I-27 sank the Liberty ship SS Sambridge. The survivors made it safely to lifeboats and the second officer Henry Scurr was taken prisoner.^[9] A burst of machine-gun fire was heard by the survivors, but its reason is unknown as Scurr was eventually freed from Changi prison camp at the end of the war.^[10]

The submarine torpedoed and sank the Allied steamship SS Khedive Ismail near the Maldives on February 12, 1944, killing 1,297 passengers and crew. After the attack, I-27 attempted to hide under Khedive Ismail's survivors who were floating in the water. Nevertheless, the British destroyers HMS Paladin and HMS Petard located the submarine and destroyed it with depth charges, ramming, and torpedoes at 01°25′N 72°22′E / 1.417°N 72.367°E / 1.417; 72.367. Ninety-nine of I-27's crew were killed. One survivor was captured by the British.^[11]

• Hashimoto, Mochitsura (1954). Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet 1942 – 1945. Colegrave, E.H.M. (translator). London: Cassell and Company. ASIN B000QSM3L0.
• Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp (2003). "HIJMS Submarine I-27: Tabular Record of Movement". Sensuikan!. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
• Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp (2003). "Type B1". Sensuikan!. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
• Milanovich, Kathrin (2021). "The IJN Submarines of the I 15 Class". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2021. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. pp. 29–43. ISBN 978-1-4728-4779-9.

01°25′N 72°22′E / 1.417°N 72.367°E / 1.417; 72.367