Submarine aircraft carriers (9 photos)
When the strategic initiative was seized by the United States and the fiery wheel of war was moving closer and closer to Japan, and she no longer had complete freedom of action in the Pacific region, Admiral Yamamoto developed a bold plan to attack New York, Washington and other cities, as well as a plan to destroy the Panama Canal. In the early days of 1945, preparations began for an attack in order to cut supply lines and access to the Pacific Ocean for the US fleet. The plan involved almost a trip around the world to strike from a direction from which the Americans would not expect it.
For these purposes, under conditions of the strictest secrecy, it was planned to use “long arm” weapons. The Sen Toku series are unique Japanese aircraft carrier submarines that had no analogues in the fleets of other countries. Submarines of this series are considered the largest submarines of the pre-atomic era.
In 1942, the construction of similar devices began in Japan, and in 1944, two aircraft carrier submarines I-400 and I-401 were launched. They carried three specialized Seiran M6A fighters. Light aircraft were launched on the surface of the boat using a catapult, the launch was carried out in 30 minutes. The aircraft could independently return to the ground base after the operation.
However, there was a modification of the Seirans without a chassis - for kamikazes. Their launch was easier, 14 minutes for everything. But the end of the war was approaching. The construction of the remaining laid down boats (numbers 402, 403 and 404) was suspended due to the high cost of the project. Only 20 “Seirans” were produced. The cockpits of the fighters were sealed in case they had to launch directly from under water. In addition, two light submarines I-13 and I-14 were manufactured to carry one fighter.
The route was to run west from Japan, across the Indian Ocean, around the southern tip of Africa, across the Atlantic to the three-chamber Gatun lock, which was to be attacked. For the pilots it was a guaranteed one-way ticket.
But everything turned out differently.
