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Julian Ryall

Japanese researchers have confirmed the identities of 24 submarines scuttled off southern Japan by occupying US forces soon after the end of the second world war. They include the I-58 and I-402, two of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s most storied vessels.
The precise locations of the 24 submarines were confirmed in May by a private group based in Kyushu called The Society La Plongee for Deep Sea Technology, which also said it hopes to raise some of the vessels in the future.
On Thursday, the researchers told Japanese media they had used remote-controlled underwater drones to examine a 6 sq km area of the seabed off the Goto Islands, some 50km to the west of Nagasaki. Those images allowed the group to identify all the vessels based on their unique designs and characteristics, the Asahi newspaper reported.

The group now plans to build a 3-D map of the seabed and plot the precise locations and conditions of each of the submarines, which are about 200 metres below sea level.
One of the vessels is the I-402, at 120 metres the largest class of submarine of the war. They remained the largest until the first nuclear ballistic missile boats rolled down slipways in the 1960s. Designed as underwater aircraft carriers, they were able to stow three Aichi light bombers, with folded wings, in a hangar on the deck.
Aware of its disadvantage in surface ships in the Pacific theatre, the Japanese Navy nevertheless wished to take the fight to the enemy and the I-400 class was given the task of approaching the US coast, surfacing, preparing and launching its aircraft within minutes. One of the earliest missions called for the aircraft to drop rats infected with bubonic plague and insects carrying cholera, dengue fever, typhus and other diseases on cities on the west coast of America.
When the bacteriological weapons were not ready in time, the target switched to a conventional bombing attack on the Panama Canal. Japan surrendered before the raid could be carried out.
At the end of the war, five submarines were captured intact by the US and closely examined for their design secrets.

In 1946, the Soviet Union demanded access to the submarines but Washington did not want the same information falling into the hands of its new cold war enemy. All the Japanese submarines surrendered to the US were deliberately sunk.
Another of the vessels identified is the I-58, which on July 30, 1945, sank the USS Indianapolis. The US Navy heavy cruiser was heading for the Philippines after delivering to Tinian components for the atomic bomb later dropped on Hiroshima.
The USS Indianapolis was hit by two torpedoes and sank in 12 minutes. About 900 of the 1,916 crew survived the sinking, but only 317 were subsequently rescued after attacks by sharks.
The wreck of the USS Indianapolis was discovered on August 19, at a depth of about 5,500 metres.


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The I-58 submarine at Sasebo in 1946. Photo: National Archives

I-58, a 2140-ton "B(3) Type" submarine, was built at Yokosuka, Japan. Completed in September 1944, she was modified in 1945 to carry the "Kaiten" manned torpedo. On 30 July 1945, while operating between the Marianas and the Philippines, she encountered the U.S. heavy cruiser Indianapolis and sank her with conventional torpedoes. I-58 was surrendered at the end of World War II, and was scuttled off Goto, Japan, on 1 April 1946. Photo: National Archives

A rudder on the deck of the wartime Japanese submarine I-58 off the Goto islands in Nagasaki Prefecture. Photo : HANDOUT

Team lead by billionaire Paul Allen find famed US warship Indianapolis 72 years after Japanese sub torpedo attack in shark-infested waters

About 800 of the 1,196 crew members aboard survived the sinking, but only 316 were rescued alive five days later, with the rest lost to exposure, dehydration, drowning and sharks

This Friday, July 10, 2009 picture shows Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen at the annual Allen & Co.'s media summit in Sun Valley, Idaho . Allen has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In a memo sent to employees, the CEO of Allen's investment firm says the 56-year-old Allen received the diagnosis in Nov. 2009 and has begun chemotherapy. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

In this July 10, 1945, photo provided by U.S. Navy media content operations, USS Indianapolis (CA 35) is shown off the Mare Island Navy Yard, in Northern California, after her final overhaul and repair of combat damage. Civilian researchers say they have located the wreck of the USS Indianapolis, the World War II heavy cruiser that played a critical role in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima before being struck by Japanese torpedoes. The Indianapolis, with 1,196 sailors and Marines on board, was sailing the Philippine Sea between Guam and Leyte Gulf when two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine struck just after midnight on July 30, 1945. (U.S. Navy via AP)

epa06152506 A handout photo made available on 19 August 2017 courtesy of Paul G. Allen shows an image shot from a remotely operated vehicle showing the bottom of an anchor clearly marked 'U.S. Navy' and 'Norfolk Navy Yard.' The USS Indianapolis , which was sunk by a Japanese torpedo on 30 July 1945 after delivering parts of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima to Tinian, has been located 72 years after its sinking in the Philippine Sea by an expedition led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen at a depth of 18,000 feet (5,486 meters.) Of the 1,197 member crew abroad the ship, only 316 survived the sinking, dehydration and shark atacks before being rescued on 02 August 1945. EPA/Photo courtesy of Paul G. Allen / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

epa06152507 A handout photo made available on 19 August 2017 courtesy of Paul G. Allen shows an image shot from a remotely operated vehicle showing wreckage which appears to be one of the two anchor windlass mechanisms from the forecastle of the ship. Note the star-emblazoned capstans in this photo dated July 12, 1945 just weeks before the ship was lost. The USS Indianapolis , which was sunk by a Japanese torpedo on 30 July 1945 after delivering parts of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima to Tinian, has been located 72 years after its sinking in the Philippine Sea by an expedition led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen at a depth of 18,000 feet (5,486 meters.) Of the 1,197 member crew abroad the ship, only 316 survived the sinking, dehydration and shark atacks before being rescued on 02 August 1945. EPA/Photo courtesy of Paul G. Allen / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

epa06152504 A handout photo made available on 19 August 2017 courtesy of Paul G. Allen shows an image shot from a remotely operated underwater vehicle showing a spare parts box from the USS Indianapolis on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in more than 16,000 feet of water. The USS Indianapolis , which was sunk by a Japanese torpedo on 30 July 1945 after delivering parts of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima to Tinian, has been located 72 years after its sinking in the Philippine Sea by an expedition led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen at a depth of 18,000 feet (5,486 meters.) Of the 1,197 member crew abroad the ship, only 316 survived the sinking, dehydration and shark atacks before being rescued on 02 August 1945. EPA/Photo courtesy of Paul G. Allen / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

The painted hull number '35’. Based on the curvature of the hull section, this seems to be the port side of the ship. Photo: EPA

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In 1946, the Soviet Union demanded access to the submarines but Washington did not want design secrets falling into the hands of its new cold war enemy


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Japan identifies submarines seized and sunk by US after second world war

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}In 1946, the Soviet Union demanded access to the submarines but Washington did not want design secrets falling into the hands of its new cold war enemy

In 1946, the Soviet Union demanded access to the submarines but Washington did not want design secrets falling into the hands of its new cold war enemy