Japanese Submarine I-25 - First Patrol

First Patrol

In World War II, I-25 served under the command of Lieutenant Commander Meiji Tagami who had graduated from Class 51 at Etajima, Hiroshima. 26-year-old Lieutenant Tatsuo Tsukudo was the Executive Officer(XO) on I-25. I-25 departed Yokosuka on 21 November 1941 in preparation for hostilities.

I-25 and three other submarines patrolled a line 222 km (120 nmi; 138 mi) north of Oahu during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After the Japanese aircraft carriers sailed west following the attack, I-25 and eight other submarines sailed eastwards to patrol the west coast of the United States. I-25 patrolled off the mouth of the Columbia River. A scheduled shelling of American coastal cities on Christmas eve of 1941 was canceled because of the frequency of coastal air and surface patrols.

I-25 attacked a cargo ship 16 km (9 nmi; 10 mi) off the US coast. The ship managed to escape but ran aground at the mouth of the Columbia River. I-25 then returned to Kwajalein atoll, arriving on 11 January 1942 to refuel and be refurbished.