of Guadalcanal, where she formed a patrol line with the submarines — which served as the force's flagship — I-16, I-17, I-20, , I-26, , and , targeting any Allied naval forces attempting to interfere with Operation Ke, the Japanese evacuation of their forces on Guadalcanal. On 2 February 1943, Submarine Force A received orders to intercept a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier task force southeast of San Cristobal, but they failed to find the task force. The Japanese completed Operation Ke on 8 February 1943. That day, Submarine Force A received orders to intercept a U.S. Navy force south-southeast of Rennell Island. Two of the submarines, including I-18, found and engaged the American force before losing contact with it. Later that day, the commander of Submarine Force A ordered all its submarines except for I-11 and I-17 to proceed to Truk. Loss On 11 February 1943, I-18 reported sighting an American task force in the Coral Sea south of San Cristobal. An OS2U Kingfisher floatplane of Cruiser Scouting Squadron 9 (VCS-9) from the light cruiser sighted her about from the task force, dropped a smoke marker to indicate her location, and summoned the destroyer . Fletcher gained sonar contact on I-18 directly ahead at a range of and dropped depth charges at 15:27. At 15:39, she saw a large bubble of oil and air reach the surface, and she heard a heavy explosion at 15:43. She dropped three more depth charges in the center of the oil slick. After 15:46, she saw cork, wood, and other wreckage rise to the surface in what had become a very large oil slick. It marked the end of I-18, sunk with the loss of all 102 men on board at . The Japanese declared I-18 missing on the day she was sunk. She was struck from the Navy list on 1 April 1943. After World War II, the U.S. Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee identified the submarine Fletcher sank on 11 February 1943 as . However, Ro-102 conducted patrols from Rabaul after 11 February and reported to Rabaul until 9 May 1943. Notes References 1939 ships World War II submarines of Japan Japanese submarines lost during World War II Ships built by Sasebo Naval Arsenal Type C1 submarines Shipwrecks in the Coral Sea World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Ships lost with all hands Maritime incidents in February 1943 Attack on Pearl