I ran across this article in my reading this morning (Hat tip: Instapundit), and it seriously updates my understanding of the state of Japanese submarine technology in WWII--which was admittedly scarce to begin with.
One of the subs (I-201) was capable of 20 knots submerged and had a rubberized coating to counter sonar. The other (I-14) was significantly larger and carried TWO manned aircraft that could be deployed from a deck-launched catapult.
Apparently, both of these submarines were captured at the end of the war and then ultimately sunk--with speculation that the scuttling was designed to keep the technology from falling into the hands of the Soviets. Servicemen who had been part of the sinking operation helped provide modern day researchers with locating information in their search.
I'd be interested in knowing the state of OUR technology at the time; whether what we got from exploiting the Japanese technology actually helped move ours along or whether we were more advanced at the time.
Bryan McGrath
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