Submarine aircraft carriers were developed by 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 ...
to a greater extent than any other navy, before and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In total, 42 were built, as listed below (other sources say 47). Although other navies had experimented with submarine aircraft carriers, by World War II the IJN was the only navy (aside from
one
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
fielded by the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
) using them. They had little effect on the war, although two were used to carry out attacks on the continental United States.
They all carried
floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
s, with some carrying two or three floatplanes. All apart from the first (''I-5'') had a fixed catapult and hangar or hangars, generally on the forward deck.
List of submarine carriers
;
Type J1M scouting submarine (one built, ''I-5'') : The first IJN submarine to carry a floatplane, completed 1 July 1932. No catapult was fitted, the I-5 aircraft was assembled on deck and lowered into the water for takeoff. Had two hangars.
;
Type J2 scouting submarine (one built, ''I-6'') : Carried one floatplane
;
Type J3 scouting submarine (two built, ''I-7'' and ''I-8'') : Carried one floatplane, fitted with fixed catapult aft and twin hangars.
Japanese submarine I-8
''I-8'' was an Imperial Japanese Navy Junsen III (or J3)-type submarine commissioned in 1938 that served during World War II. Designed as submarine aircraft carriers, ''I-8'' and her sister ship were the largest Japanese submarines to be comple ...
was the only submarine to complete a round-trip voyage between Japan and Europe during World War II.
;
Type A1 headquarters submarines (three built, ''I-9'', ''I-10'', ''I-11'') : Carried one floatplane, two more cancelled 1942.
;
Type A2 headquarters submarine (one built, ''I-12'') : Carried one floatplane, hangar and catapult fitted forward.
;
Type AM (A modified) aircraft carrying submarine (two built, ''I-13, I-14'') : Carried two floatplanes, catapult forward. Two not completed and three more cancelled.
;
Type B1 scouting submarine (twenty built, numbered ''I-15'' through ''I-39'') : Carried one floatplane, hangar and catapult fitted forward).
Japanese submarine ''I-25'' launched the only plane that made an aerial bombing of the USA in wartime.
;
Type B2 scouting submarine (six built, numbered ''I-40'' through ''I-45'') : Carried one floatplane, hangar and catapult fitted forward. Numbers 702 through 709 cancelled.
;
Type B3/B4 scouting submarine (three built, ''I-54, ''I-56'', I-58'') : Carried one floatplane, hangar and catapult forward. 12 more cancelled) ''I-58'' had aircraft and catapult replaced by Kaiten.
;
''I-400''-class submarine (three built, ''I-400'', ''I-401'', ''I-402'') : Carried three floatplanes, catapult forward. Were designed specifically to launch floatplane bombers against the Panama Canal. Two not completed, others cancelled.
See also
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Submarine aircraft carriers
A submarine aircraft carrier is a submarine equipped with aircraft for observation or attack missions. These submarines saw their most extensive use during World War II, although their operational significance remained rather small. The most fa ...
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Imperial Japanese Navy submarines
Imperial Japanese Navy submarines originated with the purchase of five Holland type submarines from the United States in 1904. Japanese submarine forces progressively built up strength and expertise, becoming by the beginning of World War II one ...
*
List of undersea-carried planes during World War II#Japan
References
* Dorr Carpenter, Dorr B. & Polmar, Norman ''Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy'' (1986, Conway Maritime Press)
External links
''Submarines of the IJN''
Imperial Japanese Navy
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