Japanese submarines WW 2
I15 class

Japanese submarine I19 of the I15 class

I15 submarine class (20 submarines)
Type: Japanese submarine class, launched 1939-1942
History: These Japanese submarines, designated Type B, were scouting craft designed to work in conjunction with the Type A headquarters submarines. They were developed from the Type KD6 and construction was carried out parallel with that of the Type A and Type C
submarine.
For scouting the I15 Class submarines carried a single floatplane stowed in sections in a small circular hangar extending forward of the conning tower. On the deck casing forward of the hangar there was a catapult reaching almost to the bows.
In order to simplify design and construction and to speed delivery of the boats, as many aspects of the design equipment as
possible were made common to all three
types. Machinery was thus identical to the
Type A I9 Class, though bunkerage was reduced and the radius of action was thus 2000 nautical miles less. Armament was the same as in I9 Class, except that only 17 torpedoes were carried.

Initially only six submarines (I15 - I25) were ordered to this design under the 1937 Programme, but under the 1939 Programme a further 14 vessels were ordered. The boats entered service between September 1940 and April 1943 having been built at Kure navy
yard (I15, I26, I30, I37), Yokosuka navy yard (I17, I23, I29, I31, I36), Mitsubishi­ Kobe (I19, I25, I28, I33, I35), Kawasaki­Kobe (I21) and Sasebo navy yard (I27, I32, I34, I38, I39).
During the war a number of units had a 140-mm (5.5-in) gun added in front of the conning tower to enable the boats to act as attack submarines. Towards the end of 1944 I36 and I37 were modified to carry four Kaiten suicide submarines.