Name Ha-201 class submarine Preceded by Vessel Number 71 In commission 1945 | Operators Imperial Japanese Navy Built 1945 | |
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Builders Sasebo Naval Arsenal
Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | ||
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).
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.