The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia: C1 Class, Japanese
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The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia | |
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Imperial War Museum. Via CombinedFleet.com
| Tonnage | 2184 tons standard2554 tons surfaced3561 tons submerged |
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| Dimensions | 350'10" by 29'10" by 17'6"106.93m by 9.09m by 5.33m |
| Maximum speed | 23.6 knots (surfaced)8 knots (submerged) |
| Complement | 101 |
| Dive | to 330 feet (100 meters) |
| Armament | 1 5.5"/50 gun2 25mm/60 machine gun8 21" torpedotubes (20 torpedoes) |
| Machinery | 2-shaft diesel (12,400 hp) or electric (2000 hp) |
| Range | 14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km) at 16 knots surfaced60 nautical miles (110km) at 3 knots submerged |
| Modifications | Fitted for midget submarines for the Pearl Harbor attack. |
The C1s (Hei-gata) were based on the K6As and were similar to the A and B series except for the absence of a float plane. All were deployed off Pearl Harbor to launch midget submarines on the morning of the fateful attack. The C1s later served as mother ships for midget submarines off Diego Suarez (Madagascar), Sydney, and Guadalcanal.
The _C1_s were part of a balanced fleet of submarines to be completed by October 1941. The A1s were intended to direct scouting operations by B1 and _C1_class submarines, the former specialized to locate targets and the latter to carry out attacks. However, the only time the boats operated in a manner that much resembled this prewar plan was in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Five _C1_s were ordered and completed on schedule.
In addition to the midget submarine docking collar, the boats were unusual in having two forward torpedo rooms, one above the other.
Units in the Pacific:
| I-16 | Southwest of Pearl Harbor | Sunk 1944-5-19 off Solomonsby England |
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| I-18 | South-southwest of Pearl Harbor | Sunk 1943-2-11 off San Cristobal by Fletcher |
| I-20 | South of Pearl Harbor | Sunk 1944-9-3 off Espiritu Santo by Ellett |
| I-22 | Southeast of Pearl Harbor | Missing from 1942-10-5 off Malaita |
| I-24 | East-southeast of Pearl Harbor | Sunk 1943-6-10 off Attu by PC-487 |
References
CombinedFleet.com (accessed 2009-11-6)
Jentschura, Jung, and Mickel (1977)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009, 2012 by Kent G. Budge. Index
