The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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Naval Historical Center. Via CombinedFleet.com
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Tonnage |
1070 tons standard 1291 tons surfaced 1450 tons submerged |
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Dimensions |
257'6" by 19'0" by 17'11" 78.49m by 5.79m by 5.46m |
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Maximum speed |
15.8 knots (surfaced) 19 knots (submerged) |
| Dive | to 360 feet (110 meters) |
| Complement | 31 |
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Armament |
2 25mm/60
machine gun 4 21" torpedo tubes (10 torpedoes) |
| Machinery |
2-shaft diesel (2750 hp) or
electric (5000 hp) |
| Range | 5,800 nautical miles (10,700 km) at 14 knots surfaced or
snorkeling 135 nautical miles (250 km) at 3 knots fully submerged 17 nautical miles (31 km) at 19 knots fully submerged 135 nautical miles (250 km) at 3 knots submerged |
| Modifications | 1945: I-53 modified to carry 6 Kaiten. |
The Sen-takas
were
similar to the GermanType
XXI U-boats, optimized for underwater speed and equipped with a
snorkel. They had the fastest underwater speed of any submarine of
World War II. Their
high speed was achieved through extensive streamlining, powerful
electric motors, and a large battery with a very high discharge rate.
The hulls were fully welded and the boats were equipped with
snorkels. The boats could run at 19 knots underwater for 55
minutes, after which they could run for another twelve hours at 3 knots.
Notwithstanding their sophistication, the boats were designed for mass production, with extensive prefabrication, and at one point there was talk of ordering one hundred units. However, only eight were laid down, of which three were launched but not completed and two more were laid down but never launched. Another fifteen were ordered but never laid down. The incomplete units were broken up to free their ways for construction of kaiten. All completed or partially completed units were surrendered at the end of the war.
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Completed 1945-2-2 (Kure) |
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| I-202 | Completed 1945-2-12 (Kure) |
| I-203 | Completed 1945-5-29 (Kure) |
References
CombinedFleet.com (accessed 2007-4-9)
Jentschura, Jung, and Mickel (1977)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009, 2012 by Kent G. Budge. Index
