Kaidai-type submarine


The Kaidai-type submarine was a type of first class submarine operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy before and during World War II. The type name was shortened to Kaigun-shiki Ōgata Sensuikan Navy Large Type Submarine.
All Kaidai-class submarines originally had a two-digit boat name, from I-51 onwards. On 20 May 1942, all Kaidai submarines added a '1' to their names. For example, I-52 became I-152. Ships are listed by the three-digit boat name if they had one, two-digit if they were not granted one or left service before 20 May 1942.

Class variants

The Kaidai-type submarines were divided into seven classes and two subclasses:
Project number S22. The prototype for the class. The sole Kaidai I, I-51, was based on World War I-era German submarines. She was completed in 1924, refitted with new engines in 1932 and scrapped in 1941. I-51 never saw combat.
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Kure Naval Arsenal6 April 192129 November 192120 June 1924 as Submarine No. 44Renamed I-51 on 1 November 1924. Decommissioned on 1 April 1940

Kaidai II (''I-152'' class)

Project number S25. There was only 1 Kaidai II, I-152 planned under the Eight-six fleet together with the I-51. She was completed in 1924, used as a training vessel until mid-1942, then struck from service. She was scrapped in 1946.
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Kure Naval Arsenal14 February 1922 as Submarine No. 5112 June 192320 May 1925 as I-52Renamed I-52 on 1 November 1924, decommissioned on 1 August 1942, scrapped post-war
Submarine No. 64Kure Naval ArsenalRe-planned to Kaidai IIIa

Kaidai IIIa/b (''I-153'' class and ''I-156'' class)

Project number S26 and S27. The nine Kaidai IIIs were based on earlier designs, but featured a strengthened hull. The "IIIb" types were 40 cm longer and had a different bow design. All nine boats were constructed between 1927 and 1930.
Of the nine Kaidai IIIs, seven survived the war, as they spent much of their time as training vessels. These were scuttled or scrapped shortly after the end of World War II. I-63 was sunk in a collision with I-60 in 1939, the former losing all her crew. I-63 was refloated and scrapped in 1940. I-60 was later sunk by.
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Kaidai IIIaKure Naval Arsenal1 April 1924 as Submarine No. 645 August 1925 as I-5330 March 1927Renamed I-53 on 1 November 1924. Sank Dutch merchant ship Mösi on 27 February 1942
Sank RMS City of Manchester on 28 February 1942
Sank unknown merchant vessel on 27 February 1942		Decommissioned on 20 November 1945, scrapped in 1948


Kaidai IIIaSasebo Naval Arsenal15 November 1924 as I-5415 March 192615 December 1927Sank Dutch merchant ship Majokaat on 2 March 1942Decommissioned on 20 November 1945, disposed of at :ja:伊予灘|Iyo-nada in May 1946


Kaidai IIIaKure Naval Arsenal1 April 1924 as I-552 September 19255 September 1927Sank Dutch merchant-man Van Lansberge on 4 February 1942
Sank Dutch merchant ship Van Cloon on 7 February 1942
Sank RMS Derrymore on 14 February 1942
Sank Norwegian merchant vessel Madrono on 18 February 1942		Decommissioned on 20 November 1945, disposed of at Iyo-nada in May 1946

Kaidai IIIbKure Naval Arsenal3 November 192623 March 192831 March 1929Sank Greek merchant ship Hydra II or Norwegian merchant ship Hai Tung on 11 December 1941
Sank RMS Kuantan on 5 January 1942
Damaged Dutch merchant ship Tanimbar on 6 January 1942
Sank Dutch merchantman Van Rees on 8 January 1942
Sank Dutch merchant ship Van Riebeeck on 8 January 1942
Damaged Dutch merchant ship Patras on 13 January 1942
Sank Dutch merchant ship Togian on 4 February 1942		Decommissioned 30 November 1945, sunk as a target off the Gotō Islands on 1 April 1946

Kaidai IIIbKure Naval Arsenal8 July 19271 October 192824 December 1929Sank Dutch merchant ship Djirak on 7 January 1942Decommissioned 30 November 1945, sunk as a target off the Gotō Islands on 1 April 1946

Kaidai IIIaYokosuka Naval Arsenal3 December 19243 October 192515 May 1928Sank Dutch merchant ship Langkoas on 3 January 1942
Sank Dutch merchant ship Camphuys on 9 January 1942
Sank Dutch merchant vessel Pijnacker Hordijk on 22 February 1942
Sank Dutch merchant ship Boeroe on 25 February 1942
torpedoed but did not sink RMS British Judge on 28 February 1942		Decommissioned on 30 November 1945, sunk as a target off the Gotō Islands on 1 April 1946

Kaidai IIIbYokosuka Naval Arsenal25 March 192725 March 192931 March 1930Sank Norwegian merchant ship Eidsvold on 20 January 1942
Sank unknown merchantman 25 January 1942
Sank Dutch merchant ship on 1 March 1942		Decommissioned on 30 November 1945, sunk as a target off the Gotō Islands on 1 April 1946
Kaidai IIIbSasebo Naval Arsenal10 October 192724 April 192920 December 1929Sunk by in the Sunda Strait on 17 January 1942
Kaidai IIIbSasebo Naval Arsenal12 August 192628 September 192720 December 1928Lost in an accident in the Bungo Channel on 20 February 1939. Salvaged and scrapped on 21 January 1940

Kaidai IV (''I-61/162'' class)

Project number S28. Slightly smaller than her predecessors and with only four torpedo tubes, three Kaidai IVs were constructed between 1929 and 1930; I-61, I-162, and I-164. I-61 was lost in a collision in 1941. I-164 was sunk by on 17 May 1942. I-162 survived the war.
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Mitsubishi, Kōbe Shipyard15 November 1926;
12 November 1927;
6 April 1929		Lost in an accident on 2 October 1941 in the Iki Channel. Raised and scrapped in 1942

Mitsubishi, Kōbe Shipyard20 April 1927;
29 November 1928;
24 March 1930		• Damaged RMS Longwood 31 January 1942
• Damaged RMS Spondilus on 4 February 1942
• Sank RMS Lakshmi Govinda on 10 March 1942
• Sank Dutch merchant ship Merkus on 16 March 1942
• Damaged RMS San Cirilo on 21 March 1942
• Sank unknown merchant ship on 22 March 1942
• Sank Soviet merchant ship Mikoyan on 3 October 1942
• Sank RMS Manon on 7 October 1942
• Damaged RMS Martaban on 13 October 1942
• Sank RMS Fort McCloud on 3 March 1944
Decommissioned 30 November 1945, sunk as a target off the Gotō Islands on 1 April 1946

Kure Naval Arsenal28 March 1928;
5 October 1929;
30 August 1930		• Sank Dutch merchant vessel Van Overstraten on 22 January 1942
• Damaged RMS Idar on 28 January 1942
• Sank SS Florence Luckenbach on 29 January 1942
• Sank Indian merchant ship Jalatarang on 30 January 1942
• Sank Indian merchant ship Jalapalaka on 31 January 1942
• Sank Norwegian merchant ship Mabella on 13 March 1942
Sunk by south of Kyūshū on 17 May 1942

Kaidai V (''I-165'' class)

Project number S29. Three Kaidai Vs were constructed; I-165, I-166, and I-67 which were all completed in 1932. The design saw the upgrade of the deck weapon from a 50 caliber to a 65-caliber long dual-purpose gun. The submarine was also slightly wider and taller, with an increased crew complement of 75 and an increased maximum depth of 230 ft. I-165 was modified in 1945, her gun removed and two Kaiten manned torpedoe suicide attack craft substituted.
None of the Kaidai Vs survived World War II. I-67 was lost with all 87 crew during an exercise in 1940. I-165 was sunk on 27 June 1945, off the east coast of Saipan. I-166 was sunk by the British submarine on 17 July 1944, off the coast of Singapore.
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Kure Naval Arsenal19 December 19292 June 19311 December 1932• Sank Dutch merchant ship Benkoelen on 9 January 1942
• Sank Indian merchant ship Jalarajan on 15 January 1942
• Sank Netherlands merchant Johanne Justesen on 15 February 1942
• Sank RMS Bhima on 20 February 1942
• Sank SS Harmonides on 25 August 1942
• Sank USS Losmar on 24 September 1942
• Sank RMS Perseus on 16 January 1944
• Sank SS Nancy Moller on 18 March 1944		Converted to the Kaiten mothership in 1945, sunk by USN patrol bomber in the Mariana Islands on 27 June 1945

Sasebo Naval Arsenal8 November 19292 June 193110 November 1932• Sank Dutch submarine on 25 December 1941
• Sank US cargo ship on 11 January 1942
• Sank Panamanian merchantman Nord 21 January 1942
• Sank RMS Chak Sang on 22 January 1942
• Sank RMS Kamuning 14 February 1942
• Sank Panamanian merchantman Camila on 1 October 1942
• Sank RMS Cranfield on 22 November 1942		Sunk by on 17 July 1944
Mitsubishi, Kōbe Shipyard8 November 19292 June 193110 November 1932Lost in an accident at Minami Torishima on 29 August 1940

Kaidai VIa/b (''I-168'' class and ''I-174'' class)

Project number S31 and S34. They were built in 1931-34 under the 1st Naval Armaments Supplement Programme and the 2nd Naval Armaments Supplement Programme for the expansion of the Japanese navy. Constructed between 1934 and 1938, eight Kaidai VIs were built;, I-169, I-70, I-171, I-172, I-73, I-174, and I-175. At 23 knots, this type had the fastest surface speed for any submarine at the time of construction, although the speed was bettered slightly by later Japanese submarines. I-174 and I-175 were of the Kaidai VIb sub-type. They were 30 cm longer, 25 tons heavier, and equipped with a 50 cal deck weapon instead of a 65 cal.
Kaidai VIs contributed to the sinking of two American aircraft carriers during World War II. The destruction of these submarines also hold some milestones; I-70 was Japan's first major warship casualty in World War II, and the sinking of I-73 represented the first warship kill by a United States Navy submarine in the war.
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Kaidai VIa
Kure Naval Arsenal18 June 193126 June 193331 July 1934Sank on 6 June 1942
Sank on 7 June 1942		Sunk by at north of Rabaul 27 July 1943

Kaidai VIa
Mitsubishi, Kōbe Shipyard22 December 193215 February 193428 September 1935Sank Dutch merchantman Tjinegara 21 July 1942Sunk by air raid at Truk on 4 April 1944
Kaidai VIa
Sasebo Naval Arsenal25 January 193314 June 19349 November 1935Sunk by aircraft from in the Hawaiian Islands on 10 December 1941

Kaidai VIa
Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard15 February 193325 August 193424 December 1935Sank USS General Royal T. Frank on 19 January 1942Sunk by and west of Buka Island on 30 January 1944

Kaidai VIa
Mitsubishi, Kōbe Shipyard16 December 19336 April 19357 January 1937Sank USS Prusa on 19 December 1941
Sank the oiler on 23 January 1942		Sunk by at San Cristobal 10 November 1942
Kaidai VIa
Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard5 September 193320 June 19357 January 1937. Sunk by at Midway Atoll on 27 January 1942

Kaidai VIbSasebo Naval Arsenal16 October 193428 March 193715 August 1938Sank US Army transport Portmar on 16 June 1943 and damaged USS LST-469 in an attack on Convoy GP55 on 16 June 1943Sunk by a United States Navy B-24 Liberator patrol aircraft near Truk on 12 April 1944

Kaidai VIbMitsubishi, Kōbe Shipyard1 November 193416 September 193618 December 1938Sank USS Manini 18 December 1941
Damaged Australian merchant ship Allara on 23 July 1942
Sank Australian merchant ship Murada on 24 July 1942
Sank French merchant vessel Cagou on 28 July 1942
Sank RMS Dranker on 3 August 1942
Sank on 24 November 1943		Sunk by northeast of Wotje Atoll on 17 February 1944

Kaidai VII (''I-176'' class)

Project number S41. The final design in the Kaidai class, ten Kaidai VIIs were ordered in 1939, and were completed over the course of 1942 and 1943. They were built in 1939 under the Maru 4 Programme. The IJN called New Kaidai unofficially, and intended to replace this type with Kaidai III and Kaidai IV. Instead of possessing some aft-firing torpedo tubes as all other predecessors did, the Kaidai VII's six tubes all faced forward. They had an endurance of 75 days.
Seven of the ten Kaidai VIIs were sunk within their first year of operation and all ten vessels were sunk by October 1944.
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154
Kure Naval Arsenal22 June 1940 as I-767 June 19414 August 1942 as I-176Damaged on 20 October 1942
Sank on 17 November 1943		Sunk by and northwest of Buka Island on 17 May 1944.
155
Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard10 March 1941 as I-7720 December 194128 December 1942 as I-177Sank RMS Limerick on 26 April 1943
Sank AHS Centaur on 14 May 1943		Sunk by and northwest of Palau on 3 October 1944
156
Mitsubishi, Kōbe Shipyard21 May 1941 as I-7824 February 194226 December 1942 as I-178Sank Liberty ship on 27 April 1943Lost sometime after 17 June 1943 during a patrol off eastern Australia. Cause of loss not known, but some sources attribute it to Royal Australian Air Force aircraft.
157
Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard21 August 1941 as I-7916 July 1942 as I-1798 June 1943Lost in an accident at Iyo Nada on 9 July 1943
158
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal17 April 1941 as I-807 February 1942 as I-18015 January 1943Sank Australian merchant ship Wollongbar on 29 April 1943
Sank Norwegian merchant ship 5 May 1943
Damaged Australian merchant vessel Ormiston on 12 May 1943
Damaged Australian merchant-man Caradale on 12 May 1943		Sunk by at Dutch Harbor on 27 April 1944
159Kure Naval Arsenal11 November 19412 May 194225 May 1943Sunk by USN destroyer and patrol torpedo boat in New Guinea on 16 January 1944
160Yokosuka Naval Arsenal10 November 194120 May 194210 May 1943. Sunk by at Espiritu Santo on 1 September 1943
161Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard26 December 194121 January 19433 October 1943Sunk by south of Shikoku on 28 April 1944
162Yokosuka Naval Arsenal1 April 194212 December 194215 October 1943Sunk by aircraft from southeast of Saipan on 19 June 1944
163Yokosuka Naval Arsenal9 February 194216 September 194223 September 1943Sunk by and northwest of Saipan on 22 June 1944

Characteristics

Footnotes