Ha-201-class submarine

Ha-202 in 1945
Class overview
Name:	Ha-201 class submarine
Builders:	Sasebo Naval Arsenal Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Operators:	Imperial Japanese Navy
Preceded by:	Vessel Number 71
Built:	1945
In commission:	1945
Planned:	79
Completed:	9 + 1 (after the end of war)
Retired:	10
General characteristics
Type:	Submarine
Displacement:	320 long tons (325 t) surfaced 440 long tons (447 t) submerged
Length:	53.00 m (173 ft 11 in) overall
Beam:	4.00 m (13 ft 1 in)
Draft:	3.44 m (11 ft 3 in)
Propulsion:	1 × intermediate diesel 400 bhp surfaced 1,250 shp submerged single shaft
Speed:	11.8 knots (21.9 km/h) surfaced 13.9 knots (25.7 km/h) submerged
Range:	3,000 nmi (5,600 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 105 nmi (194 km) at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged
Test depth:	100 m (330 ft)
Complement:	26
Armament:	2 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes 4 × Type 95 torpedoes 1 × 7.7 mm machine gun

The Ha-201-class submarine (波二百一型潜水艦, Ha-ni-hyaku-ichi-gata sensuikan) were a class of small submarines designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). They were first deployed in 1945, but never saw combat. The Ha-201's were designed from the outset to have high under water speed and were based on the earlier Submarine No.71 prototype. The official designation of the submarine was Sentaka-Shō type submarine (潜高小型潜水艦, Sen-Taka-Ko-gata sensuikan, "Submarine High speed-Small type"). The type name, was shortened to Suichū Kōsoku Sensuikan Ko-gata (水中高速潜水艦小型, Underwater High speed Submarine Small type).^[1]

Construction

At the end of 1944 the IJN decided it needed large numbers of high-speed coastal submarines in preparation for the allied Operation Downfall. 79 boats were planned under the Maru Sen Programme (Boat #4911-4989), however only 9 boats were completed by the end of war. The Japanese navy planned to prefabricate large sections of the boats, then finish the boats in the slipway. This was ambitious considering the allied bombing campaign that was disrupting Japanese production. These submarines displayed many of the same advanced ideas implemented on the German Type XXI and Type XXIII submarines.

Boats

Footnotes

1. ↑ The 潜高小 read as "Sentaka-Shō", but the 潜高小型 read as "Sentaka-Ko-gata", 高速 read as "Kō-soku" and 小型 read as "Ko-gata" in Japanese.
2. ↑ 波号第201潜水艦 (Ha-Gō Dai-201 Sensuikan). The same shall apply hereinafter.

See also

Comparable submarines

• German Type XXIII submarine
• I-201 class submarine
• Vessel Number 71
• Kairyū-class submarine

Bibliography

• "Rekishi Gunzō". , History of Pacific War Vol.17 I-Gō Submarines, Gakken (Japan), January 1998, ISBN 4-05-601767-0
• Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Extra, "Perfect guide, The submarines of the Imperial Japanese Forces", Gakken (Japan), March 2005, ISBN 4-05-603890-2
• The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.43 Japanese Submarines III, Ushio Shobō (Japan), September 1980, Book code 68343-43
• The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.132 Japanese Submarines I "Revised edition", Ushio Shobō (Japan), February 1988, Book code 68344-36
• Ships of the World special issue Vol.37, History of Japanese Submarines, "Kaijinsha". , (Japan), August 1993