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I-401 wreck found

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  • Member since
    November 2004
  • From: Freeport, IL USA
I-401 wreck found
Posted by cdclukey on Monday, March 21, 2005 11:53 PM
Here's the article from AP:
____________________________________________________________
WWII Japanese Submarine Found Near Hawaii

Sun Mar 20, 8:06 PM ET U.S. National - AP

HONOLULU - The wreckage of a large World War II-era Japanese submarine has been found by researchers in waters off Hawaii.

A research team from the University of Hawaii discovered the I-401 submarine Thursday during test dives off Oahu.

"We thought it was rocks at first, it was so huge," said Terry Kerby, pilot of the research craft that found the vessel. "But the sides of it kept going up and up and up, three and four stories tall. It's a leviathan down there, a monster."

The submarine is from the I-400 Sensuikan Toku class of subs, the largest built before the nuclear ballistic missile submarines of the 1960s.

They were 400 feet long and nearly 40 feet high and could carry a crew of 144. The submarines were designed to carry three "fold-up" bombers that could be assembled for flight within minutes.

Kerby said the main hull is sitting upright and is in good shape. The I-401 numbers are clearly visible on the sides, and the anti-aircraft guns are in almost perfect condition, he said.

An I-400 and I-401 were captured at sea a week after the Japanese surrendered in 1945. Their mission — which was never completed — reportedly was to use the aircraft to drop rats and insects infected with bubonic plague, cholera, typhus and other diseases on U.S. cities.

When the bacteriological bombs could not be prepared in time, the mission was reportedly changed to bomb the Panama Canal.

Both submarines were ordered to sail to Pearl Harbor and were deliberately sunk later, partly because Russian scientists were demanding access to them.

The submarine found Thursday is the second Japanese vessel discovered off Oahu by the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory. In 2002, researchers found the wreckage of a much smaller Japanese sub that was sunk on Dec. 7, 1941, off Pearl Harbor.
_____________________________________________________

There's a mess of really good photos at http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/HURL/I-401.html.

Back in '02 this same group found the midget sub that attacked Pearl Harbor and was engaged by USS Ward. Bob Ballard must have been ripping his hair out, he looked for that sub for weeks. There are pics of the minisub on their site, too.
  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Harrisburg, PA
Posted by Lufbery on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 8:20 AM
Thanks for posting the article.I knew that the Seiran bombers were slated to bomb the Panama Canal, but I didn't know about the plague-ridden vermin bombs that were the original mission. Yuck!

The link you posted for photos doesn't work. Can you update it?

Regards,

-Drew

Build what you like; like what you build.

  • Member since
    November 2004
  • From: Freeport, IL USA
Posted by cdclukey on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 2:47 PM
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/HURL/I-401.html

Sorry about that, I put a period on the end of it by mistake.
  • Member since
    November 2004
  • From: Freeport, IL USA
Posted by cdclukey on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 2:52 PM
Here's just one image from the HURL website, so we don't blow out the FineScale servers with a bunch of images:

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Harrisburg, PA
Posted by Lufbery on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 3:25 PM
Thanks!

-Drew

Build what you like; like what you build.

  • Member since
    April 2004
  • From: The cornfields of Ohio
Posted by crockett on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 4:49 PM
So I've just one question, can bubonic plague live underwater?
  • Member since
    November 2004
  • From: Freeport, IL USA
Posted by cdclukey on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 5:07 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by crockett

So I've just one question, can bubonic plague live underwater?

Since she was sunk by our Navy after we had owned her for a year, I'd say there's zero chance there are any harmful biologicals left aboard, if there were any at all. The article does say the bio bombs couldn't be prepared in time and the mission was changed, so it's unlikely they were ever delivered aboard in the first place.
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: Calgary Ab
Posted by STICKMAN on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 8:42 PM
Thanks for the post, thats some interesting stuff.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 1:19 AM
One of these Carrier Subs did attack the US mainland. As far as I know, the only direct attack against USA mainland soil by an axis ship in either WWI or WWII.

One of these subs surfaced off the coast of oregon (or was it washington?) and launched its fighters, armed with incendiary bombs, intending to set alight gigantic wild fires that would rage completely out of control and cause rampant havoc. Well, they dropped their bombs, they caused fires... But it wasn't nearly as bad as they were hoping. In fact, it gave us a cultural icon.

You know smokey the bear? How his character is based on a real bear? Yep. The fire department found a bear trying to escape the fire perched high in a tree, while fighting that same fire the Japanese carrier sub had started.

Smokey is a survivor of japanese aggression! hehe.

And of course, a few japanese balloon bombs did kill a few people here and there...

-Ben.
  • Member since
    April 2004
Posted by boscotdg on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 8:22 AM
If this idea of bombing the west coast with the plague ect is true how would you have liked being the captain or the crew of the sub given that mission? You orders are to take this deadly stuff into a closed enviorment for several weeks it would take to steam acroos the ocean and then fly it off the sub to bomb say San Francisco talk about suicide missions !
  • Member since
    November 2004
  • From: Freeport, IL USA
Posted by cdclukey on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 12:52 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Vilkata

One of these Carrier Subs did attack the US mainland. As far as I know, the only direct attack against USA mainland soil by an axis ship in either WWI or WWII.


Right. That was a B1 class sub, the I-25. She actually acquitted herself pretty well actually. And the bomber pilot became an ambassador of peace between our countries and an honorary citizen of one of the nearby towns. He even had some of his ashes scatered in the target area. I-25 was sunk off the New Hebrides in '43.

Here's a page about the attack:
http://www.portorfordlifeboatstation.org/article1.html
  • Member since
    July 2003
  • From: Piedmont Triad, NC (USA)
Posted by oldhooker on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 12:59 PM
Very interesting indeed, thanks! Smile [:)]

Take care,
Frank

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 27, 2005 10:52 AM
Sort of on topic-If this whole scenario of Japan attacking the U.S. with Bio bombs at the end of WW2 interests you-Check out Clive Cussler's novel=BLACK WIND-The whole story is based on this history and is a fictional embellishment, but it is a great read for any undersea boat guys.
  • Member since
    June 2004
Posted by knoxb on Monday, March 28, 2005 11:53 AM
Any chance there's a Shieden in the hanger bay?
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