Japan proves that American weapons are only second

Not America but Japan was the first country to produce and put into combat cutting-edge technologies such as launching aircraft from submarines and mini-submarines.

According to public information, since World War II, the Japanese have demonstrated their cutting-edge defense technology by successfully building submarines that can launch fighter planes.

Specifically, Japan planned to build 18 Sen Toku-class ships capable of launching fighter jets, but due to the war getting out of control and difficulties with materials and labor, only 3 ships were completed: I-400, I-401 and I-402.

Simulation of an aircraft preparing to take off on a Japanese submarine.

The I-404 was 95% completed when it was bombed and could not be completed. The I-405, which was still under construction, was also stopped due to lack of funds. Other planned ships were canceled on the table. Of the 3 completed and put into service, 2 sank in Hawaii and 1 sank in Goto.

The Sen Toku class submarine was little mentioned afterwards, but for the Japanese, it was a source of pride worthy of becoming a legend because it demonstrated the creativity of the Japanese. The new submarine found off the coast of Hawaii was identified as the I-400 - also known as the underwater aircraft carrier.

They are submarines that can carry three Aichi M6A Seiran seaplanes. They can go in, launch their planes, and dive before being detected. They are also equipped with torpedoes to carry out combat operations. The I-400 class is designed to be able to go anywhere in the world and return.

Specifically, each has four 3,000-horsepower diesel engines and carries enough fuel to circle the Earth one and a half times. They weigh 6,500 tons and are 400 feet (120m) long, three times longer than current normal submarines.

They carried four anti-aircraft guns, a gun on the ship's mast and eight torpedo tubes. They could carry three Aichi M6A Seiran seaplanes, each of which could carry 800kg of bombs and fly 650km at a speed of 295mph.

The Seiran's wings could be folded, and the horizontal and vertical tails of the aircraft could be folded down to reduce the diameter of the aircraft to fit in the cargo hold. When ready for combat, the aircraft had a wingspan of 40 feet (12 m) and a length of 38 feet (11.6 m).

A team of four men was required to prepare three aircraft within 45 minutes. The aircraft would take off from a 37-meter-long catapult on the deck of the ship. The existence of this type of aircraft was completely unknown to Allied intelligence.

Japanese midget submarine sunk during World War II.

In addition to successfully building aircraft-launching submarines, also during World War II, Japan built and put into combat a heavily armed mini-submarine designated Type A. The submarine's weapons were two torpedoes.

There is not much information about this type of submarine, but according to some sources from the Allies, the Japanese Navy used this type of submarine for the battle at Pearl Harbor when it launched a torpedo at the US battleship USS West Virginia.

The submarine then turned around and fired a second torpedo at the USS Oklahoma, also an American warship. However, the submarine was detected and sunk.

According to Baodatviet