''Submarine No.71'' (Number 71) was an experimental high-speed
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 ...
built for 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 ...
(IJN) during the 1930s.
Design and description
Submarine ''No.71'' was designed to test high-speed performance underwater. Intended to reach underwater and on the surface, she proved to be too underpowered to reach those goals. Nonetheless, the boat was the fastest submarine in the world underwater when built,
[ beating the previous record set by the similar World War I-era British R-class. She displaced surfaced and submerged. Submarine ''No.71'' was long, had a ]beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
of .[Carpenter & Dorr, p. 100]
For surface running, the boat was powered by a single diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
that drove one propeller shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...
. When submerged the propeller was driven by a electric motor
An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
. She could reach on the surface and underwater. On the surface, Submarine ''No.71'' had a range of at ; submerged, she had a range of at . The boat was armed with three internal bow 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; each was provided with one torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
.[
]
Construction and career
Submarine ''No.71'' was laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
by the Kure Naval Arsenal in December 1937 and was launched that same month by being lowered into the water by a crane. She was completed in August 1938; trials showed that her small size and low-powered diesel made her hard to handle on the surface. While incapable of her intended speeds, she exceeded a submerged speed of 21 knots,[ almost five years before the famous German ]type XXI
Type XXI submarines were a class of German diesel–electric ''Elektroboot'' (German: "electric boat") submarines designed during the Second World War. One hundred and eighteen were completed, with four being combat-ready. During the war only two ...
U-boats achieved speeds of around .[Bagnasco, p. 76] After extensive evaluations the boat was scrapped in 1940, and the lessons learned contributed to the development of the ''Sen Taka''-class, and the ''Sen Taka Sho''-class.[
]
See also
* German submarine V-80
* British R-class submarine
The R-class submarines were a class of 12 small British diesel-electric submarines built for the Royal Navy during World War I, and were forerunners of the modern attack submarine, in that they were designed specifically to attack and sink enemy ...
Notes
References
*
*
*{{cite book, title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, editor1-last=Chesneau, editor1-first=Roger, publisher=Conway Maritime Press, location=Greenwich, UK, year=1980, isbn=0-85177-146-7
Submarine classes
Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Experimental submarines
1938 ships
Ships built by Kure Naval Arsenal