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| IJN I-201 class submarine 1,291 tons (surfaced) 1,451 tons (submerged) 79m x 9.2m x 7m 4 x torpedo tubes (10 Type 95 torpedoes) 2 x 25mm AA guns  HURL February 17, 2009 |
Sub History Built by Kure Navy Yard at Kure. Laid down August 1, 1944 as the lead submarine of the I-201 class submarine, Sen-Taka high speed submarine with a streamlined body, conning tower and retractable anti-aircraft guns that was capable of bursts of speeds up to 19 knots for almost an hour while submerged. Completed and commissioned February 2, 1945 in the Imperial Japanese Nay (IJN) to Captain Sakamoto and assigned to SubDiv 33, Kure SubRon for performance tests. On April 15, 1945 assigned to the Sixth Fleet, SubRon 11. On June 15, 1945 assigned to SubDiv 34. This submarine did not engage in any war patrol or combat operations before the end of the Pacific War. On August 15, 1945 I-201 I-202 and I-203 are at Maizuru. Postwar On October 13, 1945 I-201 with I-121 at Maizuru. In November 1945 proceeds to Sasebo. On November 25, 1945 placed under the command of U.S. Navy (USN) LtCdr John P. Currie who is ordered to test the submarine ferry it to Pearl Harbor for evaluation. On December 11, 1945 an accidental fire in the forward battery compartment destroys fourteen battery cells. On December 28, 1945 with an American crew conducts a trail run off Sasebo then departs via Apra Harbor then to Pearl Harbor. On January 25, 1946 departs for Eniwetok, and the next day suffers engine failure and is taken under tow by USS Curret (ARS-22) and five days later arrives Eniwetok. On February 2, 1946 departs and returns to Pearl Harbor arriving eleven days later. For the next month, the submarine is studied by the U.S. Navy. On March 26, 1946 a Submarine Officer's Conference decides that four surrendered Japanese submarines including I-14, I-201, I-400 and I-401 will be sunk to avoid providing any of them to the Soviet Union (USSR). Sinking History On May 23, 1946 at 10:58am sunk off Barber's Point on Oahu by a torpedo fired by USS Queenfish SS-393, to test the Mark 9 exploder at roughly Lat 21 13 N Long 158 08 W. Over the next several days, the other three Japanese submarines were sunk including I-400, I-14, and I-401. Shipwreck On February 15, 2009, I-14 was discovered at a depth of 2,625' / 800m off Barber's Point on Oahu by Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) using submarines Pisces IV and Pisces V during a search sponsored by the National Geographic Society. When Pisces IV was preparing to ascend, it made a sonar contact with what appeared to be the bow of another submarine nearby. On February 16, 2009 both submarines searched the area but were unsuccessful until Pisces IV got another sonar contact and investigated and found this submarine. The conning tower had the painted I-201, Imperial Japanese Navy flag and a chrysanthemum clearly visible. On February 17, 2009 both submarines conducted an extensive survey wrecks, and found both were broken into two pieces from the torpedo hits that sank them with I-14′s bow lying equidistant from the rest of her main hull section and I-201′s bow and the rest of her main hull section about an equal distance the bow. On the wreck of I-201, the bow rests on its port side and neatly broken off with the main hull resting at a 45° angle with the aft gun bent and the forward retractable gun visible with much of the wood planking on the top deck still intact. On November 12, 2009 the discoveries of I-14 and I-201 were announced. On November 17, 2009 both submarines and underwater video were featured in documentary National Geographic "Hunt for Samurai Subs". References I-400: Japan's Secret Aircraft-Carrying Strike Submarine: Objective Panama Canal The definitive account of the I-400's history, crew, mission, capture, evaluation and sinking Combined Fleet - IJN Submarine I-201: Tabular Record of Movement National Geographic "Hunt for Samurai Subs" premiered November 17, 2009 features I-14 and I-201 Contribute
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 2,625' 800m |
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