In a drydock at Kure Naval Base, Japan, 19 October 1945. There are at least four different types of midget submarines in this group of about eighty-four boats, though the great majority are of the standard “Koryu” type. The two boats at right in the second row appear to have an enlarged conning tower and shortened hull superstructure. The two boats at left in that row are of the earlier Type A or Type C design, as are a few others further back in the group.
By definition, a midget submarine is less than 150 tons, has a crew of no more than eight, has no onboard living accommodation, and operates in conjunction with a mother ship to provide the living accommodations and other support.
The Japanese Navy built at least 800 midgets in 7 classes, but only a fraction had any noticeable impact on the war. Their intended purpose initially was to be deployed in front of enemy fleets, but their actual use would be in harbor attacks and coastal defense.
The Japanese midget subs were not named but were numbered with “Ha” numbers (e.g., Ha-19). These numbers were not displayed on the exterior and operationally the midgets were referred to according to the numbers of their mother ships.
Thus, when I-24 launched Ha-19, the midget was known as “I-24tou” (designated “M24” in some texts). The “Ha” numbers were not unique either; some Type D’s were numbered Ha-101 through Ha-109.
US officials overlooking captured Japanese submarines in Kure, Japan.
In mid-1944, with coastal defense requirements becoming urgent, the Japanese Navy developed the Koryu Tei Gata Type D. More than just another improved version of Type A, this was a new design.
They were the largest of Japan’s midgets, displacing about 60 tons, 86 feet (26 meters) in length, with a five-man crew, featuring a more powerful diesel engine, and had improved operating endurance.
Koryu’s armament consisted of two muzzle-loaded 17.7-inch torpedoes. As with the earlier types, individual boats had alpha-numeric names in the “Ha” series beginning with Ha-101.
Some 115 units had been completed when Japan capitulated in August 1945. At the end of the war, Allied Occupation forces found hundreds of midget submarines built in Japan, including large numbers of the “Koryu” type; nearly 500 more were under construction. Some of these submarines intended for training pilots for Kaiten type manned torpedoes, had an enlarged conning tower and two periscopes.
Many of these boats have numbers (possibly in the Ha series?) painted on their conning towers. The two boats in the upper right appear to have an enlarged conning tower, shortened hull superstructure and shrouded propellers.
Japanese Type D (Koryu) midget submarine on the Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, September 8, 1945.
In an assembly shed at the Mitsubishi shipyard, Nagasaki. This shop contained approximately fifteen nearly complete boats, and assemblies for many more.
In a partially flooded drydock at Kure Naval Base. The larger vessel in the drydock, right background, appears to be a barge.
Flooding, deposit of debris (including a bulldozer), and other damage was done after mid-October 1945.
(Photo credit: US Army Archives / Japanese Archives).