I-200 class submarine
Encyclopedia
The were submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. These submarines were of advanced design, built for high underwater speed, and were known as or . They were one of the fastest submarine class built during World War II, second only to Walter Type XVII closed-cycle powered submarines.
Twenty-three units were ordered from the Kure Navy Yard under the 1943 construction program. Due to the deteriorating war situation, only eight boats were laid down, and only three, numbered I-201, I-202 and I-203, were completed before the end of the war. None of them saw operational use.
Background
In 1938 the Imperial Japanese Navy constructed an experimental high-speed submarine for evaluation purposes, which was designated Vessel Number 71Submarine No.71
Submarine No.71 was an experimental submarine of the Japanese Imperial Navy completed in 1938. The submarine was capable of a submerged speed of 21 knots, five years before the famous German type XXI U-boats achieved speeds of around 18 knots...
(（:ja:第71号艦) for security purposes. Based on previous experience with high-speed, short-range midget submarines, Number 71 displaced only 230 tons surfaced with a length of 140 ft (42.7 m). She could attain a submerged speed of over 21 kn (11.4 m/s), making her the fastest submarine of her day. The results gained from experiments with Number 71 formed the basis for the I-201 class submarines.
Design
By late 1942 it had become apparent to the IJN that conventional submarines were unable to survive the new ASWAnti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
techniques coming into service, such as radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, HF/DF
Huff-Duff
High-frequency direction finding, usually known by its abbreviation HF/DF is the common name for a type of radio direction finding employed especially during the two World Wars....
, sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
, and new depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
projectors. New submarines were required, with a higher underwater than surface speed, quick-diving capability, quiet underwater running, and a high underwater operational radius.
The IJN General Staff made an official request for high-speed submarines in October 1943 and among the ships planned in 1944 to be constructed in 1945 were 23 "underwater high speed submarines" (Sentaka) temporarily designated "Ships No. 4501–4523".
The General Staff's final requirements were stated in Order No. 295 dated 29 October 1943 to the Navy Technical Department. These included an underwater speed of 25 kn (13.6 m/s) which was reduced to 20 kn (10.9 m/s) for practical reasons. Nevertheless, they were the fastest submarines of World War II, outpacing even the German Type XXI
German Type XXI submarine
Type XXI U-boats, also known as "Elektroboote", were the first submarines designed to operate primarily submerged, rather than as surface ships that could submerge as a means to escape detection or launch an attack.-Description:...
.
To meet the requirement for high underwater speed the designers had to:
- Adopt a single-hull structure
- Locate the main ballast tank higher than previous submarines to give a higher centre of gravity and improve dynamic stability
- Give the pressure hull and casing a highly streamlined form
- Make the conning towerConning towerA conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
as small as possible - Replace fixed deck guns with guns housed in closable recesses
- Use steel plates for the upper deck rather than wood
- Install underwater charging system (snorkelSubmarine snorkelA submarine snorkel is a device which allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface. Navy personnel often refer to it as the snort.-History:...
) - Fit large horizontal fins at the stern
The I-201 class bore little resemblance to earlier I-boats, which were optimized for long range and high surfaced speed. By contrast, the I-201 emphasized submerged performance. It featured powerful electric motors, streamlined all-welded hulls, and a large capacity battery consisting of 4,192 cells. The maximum underwater speed of 19 knots (37 km/h) was double that of contemporary American designs. The I-201s, like other Japanese submarines of the period, were also equipped with a crude snorkel
Submarine snorkel
A submarine snorkel is a device which allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface. Navy personnel often refer to it as the snort.-History:...
, allowing underwater diesel operation while recharging batteries.
I-201 displaced 1,291 tons surfaced and 1,451 tons submerged. It had a test depth of 360 feet (110 m). Armament consisted of four 21 in (53.3 cm) torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s and 10 Type 95
Type 95 torpedo
The Type 95 torpedo was a torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy.It was based on the formidable Type 93 torpedo but had a smaller warhead, shorter range and a smaller diameter...
torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es. The two 25 mm anti-aircraft guns were housed in retractable mounts to maintain streamlining. The submarine was designed for mass production, with large sections prefabricated in factories and transported to the slip for final assembly.
Fate
Two submarines, I-201 and I-203, were seized and inspected by the US Navy at the end of the hostilities. They were part of a group of four captured submarines, including the giant I-400I-400 class submarine
The Imperial Japanese Navy submarines were the largest submarines of World War II and remained the largest ever built until the construction of nuclear ballistic missile submarines in the 1960s. They were submarine aircraft carriers able to carry three Aichi M6A Seiran aircraft underwater to their...
and I-401, which were sailed to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
by US Navy technicians for further inspection.
On 26 March 1946, the US Navy decided to scuttle these captured Japanese submarines to prevent the technology from falling into the hands of the Soviet Union at the beginning of the Cold War. On 5 April 1946, I-202 was scuttled in Japanese waters. On 21 May 1946, I-203 was torpedoed and sunk by submarine off the Hawaiian Islands. On 23 May 1946, I-201 was torpedoed and sunk by . The Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory
Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory
The Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory is a regional undersea research facility under the auspices of the U. S. government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Undersea Research Program and administered by the University of Hawaii. Its headquarters are at University of...
found the wreck of the I-201 near Hawaii using submersible craft in 2009.
Boats in class
| Sub class | Boat # | Boat | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Decommissioned | Fate |
| I-201(Pr. S563) | 4501 | I-201 Japanese submarine I-201 The Japanese submarine I-201 was a World War II, diesel-powered submarine. It was captured at the end of the war by American forces. After examination of its design, it was sunk off Oahu in 1946. It was discovered in 2009 by the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory.The submarine was one of the... |
Kure Naval Arsenal Kure Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. -History:The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the Japanese home islands along with the establishment of the... |
1 March 1944 | 22 July 1944 | 2 February 1945 | 30 November 1945 | Sunk as a target off the Hawaiian Islands by USS Queenfish USS Queenfish (SS-393) USS Queenfish , a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the queenfish, a small food fish found off the Pacific coast of North America.... on 23 May 1946 |
| 4502 | I-202 Japanese submarine I-202 I-202 was one of only three I-200 class submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy to be completed during World War II. The I-200 class were of advanced design, and had been built for high underwater speed... |
Kure Naval Arsenal | 1 May 1944 | 2 September 1944 | 12 February 1945 | 30 November 1945 | Scuttled by U.S. Navy off Gotō Islands Goto Islands The are Japanese islands in the East China Sea, off the western coast of Kyūshū. The islands are a part of Nagasaki Prefecture.- Geography :There are 140 islands in total, including five main islands:,,,, and.... on 5 April 1946 |
|
| 4503 | I-203 | Kure Naval Arsenal | 1 June 1944 | 20 September 1944 | 29 May 1945 | 30 November 1945 | Sunk as a target off the Hawaiian Islands by USS Caiman USS Caiman (SS-323) USS Caiman , a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the caiman, a fresh water alligator inhabiting the Amazon River area.... on 21 May 1946 |
|
| 4504 | I-204 | Kure Naval Arsenal | 1 August 1944 | 16 December 1944 | 90% complete, sunk by air raid on 22 June 1945, salvaged and scrapped at Kure February-May 1948 | |||
| 4505 | I-205 | Kure Naval Arsenal | 4 September 1944 | 15 February 1945 | 80% complete, sunk by air raid on 28 July 1945, salvaged and scrapped at Kure May-August 1948 | |||
| 4506 | I-206 | Kure Naval Arsenal | 27 October 1944 | 26 March 1945 | 85% complete, construction stopped on 26 March 1945, scrapped at Kure October 1946-January 1947 | |||
| I-207(Pr. S56B) | 4507 | I-207 | Kure Naval Arsenal | 27 December 1944 | 20% complete, construction stopped on 17 April 1945, scrapped at Kure April-May 1946 | |||
| 4508 | I-208 | Kure Naval Arsenal | 17 February 1945 | 5% complete, construction stopped on 17 April 1945, scrapped at Kure April-May 1946 with I-207 | ||||
| 4509-4523 | Constructions were not started until the end of the war. | |||||||
Influences
The I-201 design and technology influenced Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force Oyashio (1959, SS-511)Japanese submarine Oyashio (SS-511)
Oyashio was a submarine of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, named after the Oyashio Current, a cold current that comes down through the Bering Strait.-Development:...
.
In fiction
A refurbished I-203 is used by the characters in the film Hell and High WaterHell and High Water (film)
Hell and High Water is a 1954 Cold War drama film starring Richard Widmark, Bella Darvi and Victor Francen. The film was made to showcase CinemaScope being used in the confined sets of a submarine.Before the credits, an off-screen, voice-over narrates:...
(1954).
See also
- German Type XXI submarineGerman Type XXI submarineType XXI U-boats, also known as "Elektroboote", were the first submarines designed to operate primarily submerged, rather than as surface ships that could submerge as a means to escape detection or launch an attack.-Description:...
- Ha-201 class submarineHa-201 class submarineThe was a small size-high underwater speed submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy , serving during 1945. The official designation of the submarine was .-Construction:...
- Vessel Number 71Submarine No.71Submarine No.71 was an experimental submarine of the Japanese Imperial Navy completed in 1938. The submarine was capable of a submerged speed of 21 knots, five years before the famous German type XXI U-boats achieved speeds of around 18 knots...
- JDS Oyashio (1959, SS-511)Japanese submarine Oyashio (SS-511)Oyashio was a submarine of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, named after the Oyashio Current, a cold current that comes down through the Bering Strait.-Development:...