Japan’s Secret Weapon: Submarine Aircraft Carriers

II. In the final days of World War II, Americans Japan’s secret weapon They took over. These massive submarines were designed to launch surprise attacks on American cities.

Alright The assertive weapon of the Japanese, Was it effective enough to change the course of the war? Let us explain this issue to you in detail.

In December 1941; The Empire of Japan launched a sudden attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, where the US Pacific Fleet was located.

In this attack, American warships and aircraft most of it was destroyed or damaged. 1 day after the devastating attack, the United States declared war on Japan and the nation quickly mobilized, shipping ships at speeds that would quickly bury Japan’s army. to produce tanks and planes fueled its enormous industrial power.

for Americans Pearl Harbor meaningless and It was a cowardly provocation but a calculated gamble for the Japanese and a full-scale to avoid war It was a long-term initiative.

While the Japanese Empire continued its conquests in Asia; The Japanese were convinced that it was only a matter of time before the United States intervened.

The architect behind the attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, We want to keep the USA away from the Pacific for at least another 6 months and even Most of the US Pacific Fleet as a way to force the Americans to negotiate a ceasefire with a decisive blow He aimed to destroy. But J.apanish Empire, He had grossly underestimated America’s resolve.

Yamamoto, America’s military power He knew he would crush Japan’s, and now he faced a war he could not win. Yamamoto to get America to reconsider a protracted war in the Pacific another strategy had developed.

But America was now on guard against Japanese forces. Yamamoto really wanted to reach America. to a secret weapon He would need a weapon that Americans would never suspect.

This concept, II. It emerged before World War II.

Previous attempts usually includes light reconnaissance aircraft They were experimental trials. What Yamamoto had in mind was much more ambitious: More than one capable of carrying attack aircraft and a fleet of submarines that would terrorize the enemy by launching surprise attacks on cities, only to sink and disappear again. In March 1942, Japanese engineers were given the monumental task of designing Yamamoto’s secret weapon.

Yamamoto’s submarines It would be called the I-400 class and they would be huge, almost twice as long as a typical German U-boat.

To support the weight of the hangar and maintain compliance during carrier operations, engineers essentially glued together a dual-hull design they developed.

I-400, even the largest American submarine had almost three times the volume and it was a tough submarine; It was equipped with 8 forward-mounted torpedo tubes, a massive deck gun, 3 triple anti-aircraft guns and a single gun to fend off enemy aircraft. But of course I-400 Its primary weapon was a 3-torpedo dive bomber.

The element of surprise was the submarine aircraft carrier’s greatest advantage. The I-400 silently approaches its destination The crew would already be preparing the plane’s mechanics, running heated oil through the plane’s engines to get them warm and ready for launch.

The submarine would surface several hundred kilometers away from its target and intercept 3 bombers. to ventilation would start.

Japan’s secret weapon did not see any serious missions until the end of the war.

Only a single I-400 class submarine is concentrated on a small island in the Pacific. American forces He set out to make a last-ditch effort to bomb, but before completing the mission Japan surrendered and the war ended.

Americans shortly after Japan’s surrender An I-400 class off the coast of Japan They caught a submarine, but at first they weren’t exactly sure what it was.

The Japanese crews had thrown all of their attack planes into the sea. Americans, first of all, It is designed to carry cargo. they believed, but they would soon figure out the true purpose of the submarine and why Japan never used them at the beginning of the war.

Americans considered the I-400 class submarines to be a dangerous weapon, especially in the wrong hands.

In 1946, when the Soviets wanted to examine the submarines themselves, the Americans decided to use the I-400s. sinking off the coast of Hawaii They kept the exact location of their wreckage secret and closed the book on a new and ambitious weapon that could, under different circumstances, change the course of the war.

Japan’s secret weapon was a brilliant design that combined the stealth of a submarine with the offensive capability of an aircraft carrier. to change the course It wasn’t ready soon enough.

So, what do you think would be the changes today if Japan had succeeded in this plan? We will be waiting for your thoughts in the comments.

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