IJN Submarines All Classes

[Brian James]

Type L3 Class Submarine (license production model of the British L Class Submarine Group 2.) Ro 58 pictured at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on March 20th 1924.

[Brian James]

Ha-3 Class Submarine Ha-5 波号第五潜水艦 pictured under construction at Kure Naval Arsenal on March 27th 1911.

[Brian James]

Junsen III Type Cruiser Submarine I-7 pictured departing Kure Naval Arsenal on completion, March 31st 1937..

[Brian James]

I-121 Class Submarine I-21 pictured departing Kawasaki Shipyards,Kobe on March 31st 1927....She served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. During the latter conflict, she conducted operations in support of the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, the bombing of Darwin, the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and the New Guinea campaign. She surrendered at the end of the war in 1945 and was scuttled in 1946.

[Brian James]

Kaichū Type III Submarines No 38 and No 39 pictured fitting out at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on November 20th 1920.

[Brian James]

Kaichū Type III Submarine No 38 pictured on sea trials...Tokyo Bay on November 17th 1921.

[Brian James]

KD3A Sub Class, Kaidai Class Cruiser Submarine I-58 pictured fitting out at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on September 20th 1927. She supported Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya in December 1941 and was instrumental in tracking Force Z, the two British capital ships that attempted to intercept the Japanese invasion forces, so they could be sunk by torpedo bombers.
The boat sank a few Dutch merchant ships in early 1942 during the Dutch East Indies campaign and was then was transferred to the Central Pacific in May to support the fleet during the Battle of Midway in early June. Upon her return to Japan the following month, she became a Training Ship until early 1945 when she was modified to serve as a Carrier for Kaiten manned torpedoes. I-158 survived the war to be scuttled in 1946.

[Brian James]

Ha-1 Class Submarine No 8 pictured at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on April 20th 1909.

[Brian James]

KD6A Sub Class, Kaidai Type Cruiser Submarine I-73 pictured at Ariake Bay (Near Nagasaki) on April 24th 1939...After participating in the IJN's attack on Pearl Harbor, she was sunk by the long range Tambor Class Submarine USS Gudgeon on January 27th 1942...I-73 became the first warship to be sunk by a USN Submarine; USS Gudgeon fired three torpedoes at I-73 and destroyed it. Gudgeon claimed at the time that the torpedoes only damaged I-73, but Station HYPO confirmed the loss....Station HYPO, also known as Fleet Radio Unit Pacific (FRUPAC) was the USN signals monitoring and cryptographic intelligence unit in Hawaii during World War II.

[Brian James]

The salvaged Kaichū III Subclass Submarine No-23 pictured in dry dock No 6 at Sasebo Naval Arsenal on April 28th 1924...She was laid down as Submarine No. 43 on February 19th 1920 at Sasebo Naval Arsenal. Launched on July 17th 1920, she was completed and commissioned on October 25th 1921...On March 19th 1924, she was taking part in manoeuvers off the harbour at Sasebo when she collided with Tenryū Class Light Cruiser Tatsuta who, sliced through her conning tower...she sank 3 nautical miles off Sasebo in 156 feet of water. Using a telephone floated from the sunken Submarine, a rescue party on the surface established contact with the crewmen trapped aboard her, who reported ever-deteriorating conditions before falling silent about ten hours after she sank, her entire crew of 46 suffocated.
She was partially raised and towed to Sasebo, where she arrived on April 13th 1924 so that salvage operations could be completed in the protected waters of the harbour. She was fully refloated on April 25th 1924 and on April 26th was decommissioned and placed in reserve in Sasebo Naval District to undergo repairs. While under repair, she was renamed Ro-25 on November 1st 1924. Her repairs were completed on May 4th 1925, and on March 1st 1926 she was recommissioned and returned to service in both Submarine Division 22 and the Sasebo Defense Division. On December 1st 1927 she was reassigned directly to the Sasebo Naval District and subsequently was used for trials...Ro-25 was stricken from the Navy list on April 1st 1936. She subsequently was scrapped during 1936.