I-201 Class Submarine
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The were
submarines A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or info ...
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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. These submarines were of advanced design, built for high underwater speed, and were known as or . The type name, was shortened to . 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 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 ...
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 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 . She could attain a submerged speed of over , 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.Stille, p. 38


Design

By late 1942 it had become apparent to the IJN that conventional submarines were unable to survive the new ASW techniques coming into service, such as
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
,
HF/DF High-frequency direction finding, usually known by its abbreviation HF/DF or nickname huff-duff, is a type of radio direction finder (RDF) introduced in World War II. High frequency (HF) refers to a radio band that can effectively communicate ove ...
,
sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
, and new
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...
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" (''Sen taka'') 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 which was reduced to for practical reasons. Nevertheless, they were the fastest operational submarines of World War II, outpacing even the German Type XXI. 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
center of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. For ...
and improve dynamic stability *Give the pressure hull and casing a highly streamlined form *Make the
conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...
as small as possible *Replace fixed deck guns with retractable mounts housed in shuttered recesses when submerged. *Use steel plates for the upper deck rather than wood *Install underwater charging system ( snorkel) *Fit large horizontal control surfaces at the stern instead of the more usual bow-mounted dive planes; this improved directional stability and may have decreased turbulence-induced drag. *Reduce the crew and crew accommodation to provide battery space; the ''Sen-Taka'' was designed for a crew of 31, compared to that the similar-sized ''Sen-Chu'' (54), and the ''Kai Dai 1'' (60) Types (in practice the ''SenTaka'' needed a crew of 50 when it became operational, leading to an unforeseen habitation problem). *Restrict the armament, also to save space; the ''Sen-Taka'' had the same torpedo outfit as the smaller ''Sen-Chu'' 2nd class submarine, and just half that of the comparable ''Kaidai'' 1st class submarine. Also the ''Sen-Taka'' had no deck gun, and the AA armament carried had to be held in retractable mounts, requiring hull space, in order to meet the streamlining requirement. 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 was double that of contemporary American designs. The ''I-201''s, like other Japanese submarines of the period, were also equipped with a crude snorkel, 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 . Armament consisted of four 53 cm (21 in)
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical 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 (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s and 10
Type 95 Type 95 can refer to: * Kawasaki Ki-10, Allied reporting name "Perry", a Japanese fighter also designated the Army Type 95 Fighter * Nakajima E8N, Allied reporting name "Dave", a Japanese scout plane also designated the Navy Type 95 Reconnaissance ...
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
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 and ''I-401'', which were sailed to
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
by
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
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. 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 The Hawaiʻi Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) is a regional undersea research program within the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, in Honolulu. It is considered one of the more impor ...
found the wreck of the ''I-201'' near Hawaii using submersible craft in 2009.


Boats in class


Influences

The I-201 design and technology influenced
Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force The , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...
(1959).


In fiction

A refurbished ''I-203'' is used by the characters in the film '' Hell and High Water'' (1954).


See also

*
German Type XXI submarine Type XXI submarines were a class of German diesel–electric '' Elektroboot'' (German: "electric boat") submarines designed during the Second World War. One hundred eighteen were completed, with four being combat-ready. During the war only two w ...
*
Ha-201-class submarine The were a class of small submarines designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). They were first deployed in 1945, but never saw combat. The Ha-201's were designed from the outset to have high underwater speed and were based on the earlier ...
* Vessel Number 71 *


Notes


References

* * *Stille, Mark. ''Imperial Japanese Navy Submarines 1941-45''. Osprey, 2007. *'', History of Pacific War Vol.17 I-Gō Submarines'',
Gakken is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales are reported at ¥ 90 billion ($789 million US). Gakken publishes educational books and magazines and produces othe ...
(Japanese publishing company), January 1998, *The Maru Special, ''Japanese Naval Vessels No.132, Japanese submarines I'', Ushio Shobō (Japanese publishing company), February 1988


External links


The Transpacific voyage of the I-400
{{WWII Japanese ships Submarine classes Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy