The was an early class of

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

Background

Along with placing orders with

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

in the UK for two

British C-class submarine The British C-class submarines were the last class of petrol engined submarines of the Royal Navy and marked the end of the development of the in the Royal Navy. Thirty-eight were constructed between 1905 and 1910 and they served through World ...

s, which were commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the , the Japanese government ordered another three vessels, which were received as knock-down kits. These kits were assembled at the

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 J ...

Design

Physically almost identical to the ''Ha-1'' class, the three vessels assembled in Japan incorporated a number of improvements, including extended bow for improved seaworthiness, improved

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

for surface handling, and an increase in the size of the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...

Ships in class

*, laid down 1 August 1910; launched 5 March 1911; commissioned 12 August 1911 as Submersible No.10; reclassified as 2nd class submersible on 4 August 1916, reclassified as 3rd class submarine on 1 April 1919; renamed ''Ha-3'' on 15 June 1923, decommissioned on 1 December 1929.Nishida, ''Materials of the Imperial Japanese Navy'' *, laid down 1 August 1910; launched 13 March 1911; commissioned 26 August 1911 as Submersible No.11; reclassified as 2nd class submersible on 4 August 1916, reclassified as 3rd class submarine on 1 April 1919; renamed ''Ha-4'' on 15 June 1923; decommissioned on 1 December 1929. *, laid down 1 August 1910; launched 27 March 1911; commissioned 3 August 1911 as Submersible No.12; reclassified as 2nd class submersible on 4 August 1916, reclassified as 3rd class submarine on 1 April 1919; renamed ''Ha-5'' on 15 June 1923; decommissioned on 1 December 1929.

Notes

References

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External links

*{{cite web, last = Nishida, first = Hiroshi, url = http://admiral31.world.coocan.jp/e/stc0503.htm , title = Materials of IJN, work = Imperial Japanese Navy, accessdate = Submarine classes Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1911 ships