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The only known photo of the I-52. The I-52 was sunk while on her maiden Yanagi (exchange) mission. |
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Blueprints
of the I-52, a C-3 cargo submarine. This class of submarines was designed
and built by Mitsubishi Corporation, between 1943 and 1944, as cargo
carriers. They were very long .(356 ft.
with a beam of 30.5 ft.) and carried a crew of up to 94. They also
had a long cruising range at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h). The Japanese
constructed only three of these submarines during World War II (I-52,
I-53 and I-55), although twenty were planned. They were the largest
submarines ever built at that time, and were known as the most advanced
Japanese submarines of their time. The keel of I-52 was laid on 18
March 1942, and she was commissioned on 28 December 1943 into the
11th submarine squadron. After training in Japan she was selected
for a Yanagi (exchange) mission to Germany. These were missions enabled
under the Axis Powers' Tripartite Pact to provide for an exchange
of strategic materials and manufactured goods between Germany, Italy
and Japan. Initially, cargo ships made the exchanges, but when that
was no longer possible submarines were used.
Only five other submarines had attempted this transcontinental voyage during World War II: I-30 (April 1942), I-8 (June 1943), I-34 (October 1943), I-29 (November 1943), and German submarine U-511 (August 1943). Of these, I-30 was sunk by a mine, I-34 by the British submarine Taurus, and I-29 by the United States submarine Sawfish (assisted by Ultra intelligence). |
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The
first image of the I-52 after being lost for over 50 years. This B&W
image was taken by a Russian camera sled "Neptun" on June
5th, 1995 at a depth of 5,240 meters. This is over a mile deeper than
the shipwreck of the Titanic. Paul Tidwell, with the help of Sound
Ocean Systems and Meridian, was able to locate the I-52 after only
a 17 day search. It is the 2nd deepest wreck ever found on sidescan
sonar and the deepest wreck to have items salvaged from.
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Sidescan
sonar images from I-52 wrecksite 5,240 meters deep courtesy of Paul
Tidwell. As you can see, the bow is detached from the wreck most likely
due to a torpedo in the bow imploding from the tremendous pressure
of the ocean at this depth. After the bow separated from the submarine,
it caused the I-52 to sink in a slow circular pattern coming to rest
on the bottom in a left to right motion sweeping the debris field
clean in that area.
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Front
view of conning tower. Note redish brown objects are not rust, but
are a type of bacterial growth that is eating away at the metal. Note
this picture is so clear that you can actually see into the conning
tower...
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Rear
anti-aircraft deck gun of the I-52. The Type 96 25mm gun was a Japanese
automatic cannon used during World War II. It was primarily used as
an anti-aircraft weapon in fixed mounts with a rate of fire of 220
rounds per minute. It had an effective range of over 1,000 meters.
This was the submarine version that made extensive use of stainless
steel.
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"Rising
Sun" flag raised on the deck of the I-52 by Paul Tidwell on one
of the last Mir trip to the I-52. This was done as a symbol of respect
to the people who lost their lives that fatefull day.
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Note
ghostly image of a silient guardian in uniform watching over the I-52.
Is this the Commander Uno Kameo, Santonobu Gamo, or is it someone
else from the I-52?? ..You decide...
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The
top of the I-52's conning tower including the anti-aircraft gun placement.
This gives you some perspective to the immense size of a Japanese
Mitsubishi C-3 cargo submarine.
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Commander
Uno Kameo
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A
memorial in Tokyo newspaper telling of the loss of one of the 18 civillian
engineers from the I-52. These engineers, mostly from Mitsubishi,
were on there way to study optical, diesel engines, aircraft engines,
and V-2 rocket technology.
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TThe
Research Vessel (R/V) Akademik Mstislav Keldysh was built by Hollming
OY of Finland and is owned and operated by the Institute of Oceanology
of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The homeport of this globally
ranging vessel is Kaliningrad. The Keldysh was launched in 1981. Since
then, it has supported many scientific and exploratory voyages. The
vessel can berth up to 47 scientific personnel, 53 officers and crew,
and 25 marine technicians. The working space for research includes
17 laboratories. It also is home to the Mir I and Mir II submersibles.
They have been used in several filming expeditions including the Japanese
I-52, the RMS Titanic, and the German warship the Bismark...
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The
Mir I and Mir II are battery-powered, three-person submersibles with
a maximum operating depth of 6,000 meters (20,000 ft). This ties the
Mirs with the French submersible Nautile as the second-deepest-diving
submersibles in the world. The Japanese Shinkai 6500 is the leader,
with a depth rating of 6,500 meters. Each submersible is 7.8 m long
and weighs 18.6 tons. The personnel sphere of each sub is just over
2 m in diameter and is made of a 5-cm-thick combination of nickel
and steel. They were used in the I-52, RMS Titanic, and Bismark explorations.
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Mir I retreiving tin ingot from deck of the I-52. Each ingot weighs over 100 pounds and is stamped with the Japanese foundry mark. There are over 160 tons of tin on-board the I-52. See ingot photo below. |
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Opium
container recovered from wreck site. Opium was used to make morphine,
which was useful as a field pain-killer for war injuries. These containers
were headed to Germany.
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Part
of bow topedo tube hatch cover from I-52 debris field
courtesy
Paul Tidwell |
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Inside
view of bow torpedo hatch cover: note black is explosive residue from
a torpedo explosion. As the I-52 sank into the depths, one of the
torpedoes in the forward tubes imploded causing a chain reaction,
which then in turn caused the bow portion of the I-52 to seperate
from the I-52.
Check
image of debris field above |