In a short note, YOYA writes: "I am supposed to be writing the history of the Japanese submarines, but as the Japanese imported all the good submarines from all over the world, practically I am writing the history of the world's submarine development."

Just before World War I, all the British and American submarines were single-hulled, but the French took another road. The French designer Laubeuf had designed a double-hulled boat. This development attracted I.J.F.'s attention. The double-hulled boat, contrary to the single-hulled boat, had the main ballast tank outside the pressure hull, which made the interior of the boat roomier, making more space for machinery and torpedo armament. At the same time, the ballast tank gave the boat a greater buoyancy and a higher freeboard, making it more seaworthy.

In 1912, I.J.N. ordered two boats from Schneider Company of France. The first boat was laid down in November 1913, but before it was launched, World War I started and it was expropriated by the French Government, to be commissioned into the French Navy as ARMIDE.

I.J.N. hastily transported to Japan the half-completed hull of the second boat in 1916, and finished the construction at Kure Navy Yard in the following year. It was commissioned in I.J.N. as Boat #15 (later Ha-10). This boat was revolutionary in many respects & had many firsts for I.J.N. It was double-hulled, diesel-powered and had two shafts. It was truly an ocean-going submarine. The large amount of fuel oil stored in the outer hull, coupled with the economy of the diesel engine, radically enhanced the boat's radius of operation.

Japanese navymen were appalled at the thinness of the outer skin of the boat, which was an inherent feature of a double-hulled boat, and were a little afraid at first.

S TYPE (Ha-10)

Displacement 450/665 tons
Length 56.7 meters (186' 1")
Beam 5.21 meters (17' 1")
Draught 3.10 meters (10' 2")
Machinery twin shaft diesel/electric
Power (diesel mfd. by Schneider) 2000hp
Power (electric) 850hp
Speed (diesel) 17 knots
Speed (electric) 10 knots
Fuel 32 tons
Radius of action (diesel) 2050 miles @ 10 knots
Radius of action (electric) 60 miles @ 4 knots
Tubes (fwd) two 45cm (18 inch)
Tubes (deck) four 45cm (18 inch) (carried eight torpedoes)
Depth of dive 40 meters (131 feet)
Crew 39

I.J.N. built the replacement for the boat taken over by the French Navy under license in Japan. It was completed at the Kure Navy Yard in 1920, and was commissioned in I.J.N. as Boat #14 (later Ha-9). It incorporated some improvements, making it slightly larger than the previous boat. It was armed with a single AA gun, making it the first Japanese submarine with artillery armament.

S TYPE (Ha-9)

Displacement 480/737 tons
Length 58.6 meters (192' 3")
Beam 5.18 meters (17')
Draught 3.25 meters (10' 8")
Machinery twin shaft diesel/electric
Power (diesel mfd by Schneider) 1800hp
Power (diesel) 850hp
Speed (diesel) 16.5 knots
Speed (electric) 9.5 knots
Fuel 35 tons
Radius of action (diesel) 2050 miles @ 10 knots
Radius of action (electric) 60 miles @ 4 knots
Armament single 5cm AA gun
Tubes (fwd) two 45cm (18 inch)
Tubes (deck) four 45cm (18 inch) (carried eight torpedoes)
Depth of dive 40 meters (131 feet)
Crew 39

Japan entered World War I on British side. Japan had no quarrel with Germany, but the Anglo-Japanese Alliance concluded in 1902 stipulated that Japan go to war with any third country at war with Great Britain.

In the early phase of the War the Japanese naval units cooperated with the Royal Navy in running down German surface units and raiders in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. The only large-scale operation the Japanese armed forces undertook was the siege and assault of the German fortress at Tsing-tao (Qing-dao) on the Chinese coast. This city was visited by SHARKHUNTERS Members in 1992.

The Japanese assembled a massive naval force off Tsing-tao, consisting of four battleships, two cruisers, 15 destroyers & numerous torpedo boats, minesweepers and other vessels. I.J.N. had thirteen submarines at that time, and it was planned to send some of them to Tsing-tao, but the plan did not materialize because none of them had the ocean-crossing capability. Vastly outnumbered and underequipped, the German garrison put up a heroic resistance.

On October 17, 1914 the German torpedoboat S-90 slipped out of port under cover of darkness and attacked the Japanese minelaying cruiser TAKACHIHO (3650 tons), hitting it with two torpedoes. The cruiser blew up and sank, killing 264 crewmen. But the brave German garrison was overwhelmed by sheer number of the attacking force, and it capitulated on 6 November, 1914. The Japanese treated the German prisoners-or-war with utmost respect and courtesy, Germany played a tremendous role in the modernization on Japan; the Japanese educational and legal system were created after the German model.

The Imperial Japanese Army was originally trained by Prussian officers and equipped with German arms. The Germans were highly respected by the Japanese. The German prisoners were welcome guests to Japan. The Japanese Government even permitted the families of the prisoners to travel to Japan through neutral countries to see their sons and husbands. Some Germans liked it so much in Japan that they even opted to stay on after the end of the war. One Herr Koetel, who was teaching the Japanese how to make hams and sausages, opened a German restaurant in Tokyo. It is still doing brisk business where he started it.

But the War did not end so easily for the Japanese after all. In 1916, the hard-pressed British asked Japan to send its naval force to Europe to combat the German U-Boats. Japan complied with the request, sending initially a flotilla of brand-new destroyers (18 vessels) led by the light cruiser AKASHI. Also, the British loaned two destroyers and two trawlers to the Japanese. The Japanese force operated out of Malta, engaging in convoy duties in the Mediterranean. The U-Boat was a formidable foe and the Japanese destroyermen had no previous experience in anti-submarine warfare. On 11 June, 1917, the destroyer SAKAKI was torpedoed by the Austrian U-27, and her entire forward part was blown off, killing 59 crewmembers, including her Captain. The Japanese stayed and fought in the Mediterranean till the Armistice, but it turned out after the War that not a single U-Boat had been sunk by the Japanese.

More History of the Japanese Submarine Navy

Part 1: 1905
Part 2: 1912-17
Part 3: C-1 and C-2
Part 4: Ha-9, Ha-10 and Tsing-Tao
Part 5: Ro-11, Ro-13, Ro-16
Part 6: Ro-1, Ro-3
Part 7: Kaichu Type 4
Part 8: Batteries
Part 9: Ro-57 and Ro-60
Part 10: I-16
Part 11: O-1 (ex U-125) and O-2 (ex U-46)