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| IJN I-400-class submarine Sentoku Type 5,223 Tons (surfaced) 6,560 Tons (submerged) 122m x 12m x 7m 8 x torpedo tubes 14cm/40 deck gun 3 x 3x25mm AA guns 3 x M6A1 Seiran   USN August 27, 1945  USN June 4, 1946  USN June 4, 1946 |
Sub History Built by Kure Naval Arsenal at Kure. Ordered as submarine no. 5231. Laid down January 18, 1943 as I-400-class submarine Sentoku Type under heavy security to avoid detection. Launched January 18, 1944 as I-400 with three watertight hangars for Aichi M6A1 Serian plus the latest equipment including radar and radar detectors with an operational range of 37,500 nautical miles. Completed and commissioned December 30, 1944 in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) under the command of Captain Tosho Kusaka. Wartime History During 1945, the Japanese Navy planned a daring operation to use the I-400, I-401, I-13 and I-14 on a mission across the Pacific to Panama then surface and launch M6A1 Seiran floatplanes on a mission to bomb the Panama Canal to disable the locks and delay shipping crossing into the Pacific Ocean. Later, the mission was revised to have the M6A1 Seirans painted in U.S. markings and to be used on a Kamikaze suicide mission to crash into the locks to cause maximum damage. During June 1945 their target was changed to Ulithi Atoll. The operation code named Arashi (storm) required I-400 and I-401 to launch six Serians armed with bombs for a kamikaze attack targeting aircraft carriers in Ulithi Atoll with the raid scheduled for August 17, 1945. Controversially, the Serians were to be painted in U.S. markings to avoid them being shot down. On July 23, 1945 departs Ominato with I-401 and the pair proceed individually to their rendezvous point off Ulithi Atoll. On August 5, 1945 while at sea, I-400 suffered an electrical fire that forced it to surface to repair the damage. On August 14, 1945 I-400 reached the rendezvous point roughly 100 miles miles south of Ulithi Atoll but was not able to locate I-401 and waited. On August 15, 1945 the submarine learns that Japan has surrendered. On August 18, 1945 the operation Arashi is canceled by Vice Admiral Daigo and I-400 and I-401 are ordered to Kure. On August 26, 1945 the submarine is ordered to host a black surrender flag and to surface. The three Aichi M6A1 Serian are assembled without ordnance run up and catapulted unmanned into the sea. The derrick drops all aerial bombs overboard and all twenty of the submarine's Type 95 torpedoes are fired. Aboard, code books, logs, charts and documents are destroyed. Surrender On August 27, 1945 at noon spotted off northern Honshū by Avengers from USS Bennington (CV-20) of Task Force 38 (TF 38). Intercepted by destroyers USS Blue (DD-744) and USS Mansfield (DD-728) roughly 500 miles northeast of Tokyo. Meanwhile, Commander Hiram H. Cassedy and a prize crew of four officers and forty sailors from USS Proteus (AS-19) are embarked aboard USS Weaver (DE-741) to take command of the submarine. On August 28, 1945 USS Weaver (DE-741) arrives alongside I-400 and LtCdr Nambu surrenders to Commander Cassedy who assumes command then gets underway bound for Yokosuka escorted by USS Blue (DD-744) and USS Mansfield (DD-728). On August 29, 1945 at 9:15am moored alongside USS Proteus (AS-19) inside Sagami Bay. At 9:55 I-14 moored outboard of I-400. On August 30, 1945 the trio of USS Proteus (AS-19), I-400 and I-14 depart for Tokyo Bay arriving at 2:58pm and anchor together. A formal surrender ceremony is held aboard USS Proteus led by Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, Jr., representing U.S. Navy submarine force who formerly accepts their surrender. On August 31, 1945 the trio move to berths in the lagoon off Yokosuka adjacent to the former Japanese submarine base and anchor by 4:50pm. Later, other U.S. submarines are moored in the same area. On September 2, 1945 during the official surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri (BB-63), Admiral Lockwood orders his flag hoisted aboard I-400. Afterwards, I-400 departs Yokosuka bound for Pearl Harbor and where U.S. Navy intelligence studied and evaluated the submarine. 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 scuttled to avoid sharing any of the submarines with the Soviet Union (USSR). All four Japanese submarines were scuttled including I-201 sunk May 23, 1946, I-14 sunk May 28, 1946, and I-401 sunk May 31, 1946 and finally I-400 sunk June 4, 1946. Sinking History On June 4, 1946 scuttled by torpedo fired by USS Trumpetfish (SS-425) on during a tests of the Mark 10-3 exploder. After being hit by three Mark 18-2 electric torpedoes, the sub sank by the stern at 12:10pm in deep water off Barber's Point on southwestern Oahu at roughly Lat 21 13 N Long 158 07 W. Shipwreck After the March 17, 2005 discovery of I-401, efforts were made to locate I-400. During August 2013, the Pisces submersible from Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory's (HURL) discovered I-400 flat on the sea floor at a depth of 2,300' / 700m. Display On March 16, 2016 the bell from I-400 was recovery by HURL Pisces IV and Pisces V during a collaboration between University of Hawai‘i School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Chico State University, Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) and the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum. References Combined Fleet - IJN Submarine I-400: Tabular Record of Movement Air & Space Magazine "All and Nothing" November 2001 Issue, pages 22 - 31 I-400: Japan's Secret Aircraft-Carrying Strike Submarine: Objective Panama Canal by Henry Sakaida, Gary Nila and Koji Takaki CNN "Hangar of Japan's aircraft carrier sub found" May 5, 2015 UHawaii "Bronze bell recovered from World War II aircraft-carrying submarine off Oahu coast" March 16, 2016 YouTube "HURL submersibles recovery I-400 brass bell" March 16, 2016 Contribute
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