midget submarines

Where are the five midget submarines now that deployed for the Pearl Harbor attack on the 7th December 1941.

The midget submarine had a code name of "KOUHYOUTEKI" literally TARGET-A. They seemingly and presumably are now as follows;

Commander N. Iwasa　His vessel was hit by 5" gun-fire and .50-calibre MG by USS Curtiss at her conning tower, and then collided and sank by USS Monaghan in the channel between Ford Island and Pearl city at 08:40.
Buried underground in the submarine base in Pearl Harbor and still remains there.

Lt. Commander M. Yokoyama is said that he launched torpedos against USS St. Louis, but hit at coral reef and exploded 10:04.
He radioed "TORA TORA"to his mother ship at 18:11, but never returned to the resucue point.
The vessel is supposed to be missing somewhere around the Pear Harbor.

Lt. Commander S. Furuno His vessel was depth charged by USS Ward at 07:03. Sank in out skirt of the harbor entrance, while the crew evacuated from the vessel;
Salvaged in 1960 and returned to Japan and now the vessel is displayed at the Naval Tactical School No. 1 in Etajima, Hiroshima.

Lieutenant A. Hiroo His vessel was attacked by USS Ward and sank at 06:45am December 7, 1941, one hour before the air raid ;
The vessel was now discovered by Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory after 61 years, resting at 1,000 feet down at the south of port entrance.

Ensign K. Sakamaki His vessel stranded in Belows Beach;
Had been left at Lighthouse Park in Key West, Florida for a long time and moved to Fredericksburg, Texas in 1991 and now displayed at the Admiral Chester Nimitz memorial Museum of the Pacific War.

Thanks to Honolulu Star-Bulletin internet version of August 29, 2002 for its detailed reports by Mr. Burl Burlingame. This article is entirely in my view and opinion, but has been so revised and modified after reading the report. accordingly. (September 1, 2002)

Mr. David Aiken of Texas has contributed valuable information.
(Post script on July 7th, 2003)

In December 1991, John DeVirgilio and I were lecturing in a tent in front of the USS Arizona Visitor's Center about the demise of USS Arizona. Burl Burlingame came to me at that time about a point he was to make in his forth coming book Advance Force. He said that a speck in a Japanese aerial photo contained the periscope of a midget submarine launching torpedoes against USS Oklahoma and USS West Virginia. I had just completed an article on the aerial torpedo attack for Maru magazine, March 1992, "The Search for Five Hirohito Messengers". Thus I assured him that he had made an error.

From what you have copied from him, he now says that this pericope was a midget submarine piloted by M. Yokoyama.

The photo from which he made theis myth was taken from Raigeki Hiryu Buntaicho Matsumura. I have also studied this photo. We must learn when the photo was made...not the actual time...but when in the sequence of the attack.

The photo is quite busy. After many months of comparison, the sequence shown in Maru shows that the Akagi torpedo units had completed their tasks, and the Kaga units were making their attacks.

I have two US witness reports about being aboard an Admiral's boat headed from Merry's Point to USS California. They got just even with a certain point then made a sharp left to land at the finger piers to get out of the way of the torpedoes being dropped around them. This boat arrived just as a Japanese airman jumped from his burning bomber and landed in the water near their location. This airman is Nito Hiko Heiso Toshio Onishi from the Kaga torpedo plane [1 Buntai 42 Shotai #3 plane] which crashed at the USN hospital. This places the arrival at the finger piers late in the torpedo attack after the photo was made. My analysis is that the light and dark spot in the Matsumura photo is this boat.

This also makes other information connecting crew names to loss locations given by Burl Burlingame as suspect....see Midget D [below].

Let us go through the loss sites and events.

In the 1960s, an article about the midget submarines appeared in US Naval Proceedings [I must dig out the file folder to get the proper title, issue, date]. In that article the author assigned a letter of the alphabet to each loss or combat action involving a midget submarine.

Midget A was attacked by USS Ward and found in 2002 with both torpedoes still aboard

Midget B was sunk in the harbor by USS Monaghan and USS Curtiss. Both torpedoes expended in the action.

Midget C was recovered off of Bellows Air Field on the Waimanalo Beach and Ensign Sakamaki was captured. Both torpedoes intact aboard

Midget D was recovered in 1960 and now at Eta Jima. Both torpedoes intact and aboard [during the investigation, the torpedoes were found to have rusted inside the forward portion of the submarine, so this section was detached and tossed overboard in deep water off Oahu. This forward section has also been re-located]. The bow section at Eta Jima was refabricated for exhibit.

Midget E is still missing.

On leaving the channel entrance, USS St Louis reported an attack on herself with other ships as witness, but the two torpedoes hit a reef instead. St Louis left the channel at about 10:00 that morning, and is the only account verified by multiple sources of torpedoes running towards a specific target that were tracked all the way in from launch to explosion. This is the attack reported by a midget submarine later that night. This 'fits' with Midget E.

I still hesitate to make crew identifications to each submarine. Yet, Burl asked me to do so for his book. Based on the launch times and locations given in Senshi Sosho: Hawai Sakusen, I made an attempt to identify crew to combat action which he printed.

David Aikenさんからご見解が寄せられました。　同氏の分析ではWest VirginiaならびにOklahomaに魚雷を命中させたと謂う水中からの攻撃は事実誤認であり飛龍雷撃隊分隊長松村平太大尉機から撮影された連続寫眞を解析の結果、特殊潜航艇の潜望鏡と謂われるものは　小型の舟艇である事が判明したとのお説です。　また　横山艇が発信したと謂うトラ・トラ電に就いては10:04 USS St. Louisに向けて魚雷を発射、（リーフに中って爆発）艇首を浮かび上がらせた一艇であろうとのご見解です。　もし水中からの攻撃がなかったものなら、USS St. Louisに対する攻撃の説明は辻褄があい　傾聴に値するご見解です。　あとは　魚雷の装填されてゐない五艇目が発見される事の一日も早からん事を祈ります。　（2003/07/07　追記）

１．　大戰中　戰意昂揚と戰時國債募集の為　全米を引き回された＜甲標的＞二艇

アメリカ合衆國最南端の町、Florida洲Key West。　Earnest Hemingwayが晩年を過ごした漁師街。
ヘミングウエー旧宅ちかくの　Light House Park と謂う　さびれた公園に説明もなく無造作に展示されてゐた。

「はー十九」即ち　酒巻艇と私の家族です。　艇の大きさが分かります。
この時　零歳児だった長男も　今や 25 歳、長女は一児の母。

「はー八」はGuadalcanalで引き揚げられたものだと謂われる。
艇體のどこにも砲彈や爆雷の痕はなく、無傷で鹵獲された事を示してゐる。
　　　　　1985年正月 Key West, Fl. にて撮影。

戰後永らくKey Westに無造作に展示されてゐた甲標的の一艇はは1991年にTexas洲Fredericksburgに移されて　現在 Admiral Nimitz momorial Museum of the Pacific War（チェスター・ニミッツ提督記念太平洋戰爭博物館）http://www.nimitz-museum.org/　の中の George Bush Galleryに展示されてゐる。　艇體番號にHa-19（ハー１９）とあり　これが酒巻・稲垣艇であると特定出來る。

　　Bellows Beachに座礁、鹵獲された時の寫眞。　計噐盤　竝に　司令塔内部操縦席。
National Archives Photo # 80-G-17079, USNHCP # NH-91336 and NH-91337

もう一艇、Guadalcanalで引き揚げられた「ハー８」は　米國海軍潜水艦博物館　The Submarine Force Museumで展示されてゐる。

展示説明は「Japanese Type-A mini-submarine of the type that took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941」となってゐる。

２．　朝日新聞記事　昭和三十五年七月二十日（水）朝刊　海外トッピクス Lt.Commander Furuno's

ホノルル　藤川通信員発
真珠湾の海底に沈んでいた日本海軍の特殊潜航艇が去る十五日　ほぼ十九年ぶりにサルベージ船で引き揚げられた。
長さ二十七メートルほどの同艇は　真っ黒にサビがつき、ところどころサンゴに覆われているが、底の部分が　ひどくさびついているだけで、大きな穴や損傷の跡は見当たらない。
一九四一年十二月七日（米国の暦ではこうなる）に米国の爆雷で沈んだものではなく　どこかよその海から流れ着いたものではないかと米海軍ではいっている。　念のため内部を調べて見たが乗組員二人の姿はなかった。

昭和三十五年(1960)に引き揚げられた時の寫眞。
Photo by The United States Naval Historical Centre. National Archives # 482-KN-2589 and KN-2590
推進器部分に爆雷攻撃の痕があり0703驅逐艦ワードに爆雷攻撃されたものであることの可能性が高い。　現在は返還されて江田島の海上自衛隊第一術科學校校庭に展示されてゐる。

本艇は發見時　装填された二本の魚雷が發射管に錆びついてゐたため　艇の前部を切り離して海中投棄。　江田島の艇は展示のため　切り離された前部を補修されたものである。　

USNHC Photo # NH-54302
USS Monaghanに撃沈され　眞珠灣潜水艦基地に引き揚げられた岩佐艇と思はれる特殊潛航艇。
寫眞左 1941年に引き揚げられた直後の寫眞。　右側の寫眞は 1952年に潜水艦基地擴張工事で偶然
掘り出された時のもの。　そのまま埋め戻されて　現在も　眞珠灣潜水艦基地の地中に埋まってゐる。

Key Westで撮影したもの以外の寫眞は轉載をご遠慮下さい。

特殊潜航艇の行方；