Japanese submarine Yu 15

Yu 15 was an Imperial Japanese Army transport submarine of the Yu 1 subclass of the Yu I type. Constructed for use during the latter stages of World War II, she served in the waters of the Japanese archipelago.

History
Japan
NameYu 15
BuilderHitachi Kasado Works, KudamatsuJapan
Fate
  • Surrendered August 1945
  • Scuttled or scrapped
General characteristics Yu I type
TypeTransport submarine
Displacement
  • 274 long tons (278 t) surfaced
  • 346 long tons (352 t) submerged
Length41.40 m (135 ft 10 in) overall
Beam3.90 m (12 ft 10 in)
Draft3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 × Hesselman engines
  • 298 kW (400 bhp) surfaced
  • 56 kW (75 shp) submerged
  • single shaft
Speed
  • 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Range
  • 1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 32 nmi (59 km; 37 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth100 m (328 ft)
Capacity24 tons freight or 40 troops
Complement23
Armament

Construction

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In the final two years of World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army constructed transport submarines — officially the Type 3 submergence transport vehicle and known to the Japanese Army as the Maru Yu — with which to supply its isolated island garrisons in the Pacific Ocean. Only submarines of the Yu I type were completed and saw service. The Yu I type was produced in four subclasses, each produced by a different manufacturer and differing primarily in the design of their conning towers and details of their gun armament. None carried torpedoes or had torpedo tubes. Yu 15 was a unit of the Yu 1 subclass.[1]

The Hitachi Kasado Works (Hitachi Kasado Seisakujo) at Kudamatsu, Japan, constructed Yu 15.[1][2] Records of the details of the construction of Yu 15 have not been discovered, but the earlier Yu I-type submarines were laid down and launched during the latter half of 1943 and entered service at the end of 1943 or early in 1944.[2][3]

Service history

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Yu 15 spent her operational career in Japanese home waters.[4] Surviving records of the activities of Imperial Japanese Army submarines are fragmentary,[3][5] and no records have been discovered describing her specific activities in support of any particular operation.[2][4]

World War II ended with the cessation of hostilities on 15 August 1945. Yu 15 surrendered to the Allies later in August 1945.[2] She subsequently either was scuttled or scrapped.[4]

References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b Mühlthaler, p. 329.
  2. ^ a b c d IJA Subs, ijnsubsite.com Accessed 14 May 2022
  3. ^ a b Mühlthaler, pp. 329–330.
  4. ^ a b c Mühlthaler, p. 330.
  5. ^ Bailey, pp. 55–57, 63.

Bibliography

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  • Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
  • Bailey, Mark L. (1998). "Imperial Japanese Army Transport Submarines: Details of the YU-2 Class Submarine YU-3". Warship International. XXXV (1): 55–63.
  • Carpenter, Dorr B. & Polmar, Norman (1986). Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904–1945. London, England: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-396-6.
  • Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London, England: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
  • Mühlthaler, Erich (1998). "Re:Imperial Japanese Army Transport Submarines". Warship International. XXXV (4): 329–330. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Extra, Perfect guide, The submarines of the Imperial Japanese Forces, Gakken, Tokyo Japan, 2005, ISBN 4-05-603890-2.
  • Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Vol.45, Truth histories of the Imperial Japanese Naval Vessels, Gakken, Tokyo Japan, 2004, ISBN 4-05-603412-5.
  • Ships of the World No.506, Kaijinsha, Tokyo Japan, 1996.
  • The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.43 Japanese Submarines III, Ushio Shobō, Tokyo Japan, 1980.
  • Atsumi Nakashima, Army Submarine Fleet, "The secret project !, The men challenged the deep sea", Shinjinbutsu Ōraisha, Tokyo Japan, 2006, ISBN 4-404-03413-X.
  • 50 year history of the Japan Steel Works (first volume and second volume), Japan Steel Works, 1968.