Japanese submarine I-8

I-8 entering Kagoshima Bay on the coast of Japan on 12 September 1939.
History
Empire of Japan
NameI-8
BuilderKawasaki, KobeJapan
Laid down11 October 1934
Launched20 July 1936
Completed5 December 1938
FateSunk 31 March 1945
General characteristics
Class and typeJunsen-class J3 Type submarine
Displacement
  • 2,525 long tons (2,566 t) surfaced
  • 3,583 long tons (3,640 t) submerged
Length358.5 ft 6 in (109.42 m)
Beam29 ft 8 in (9.04 m)
Draft17 ft 3 in (5.26 m)
Propulsion
  • Diesel-electric
  • 2 diesel engines, 11,200 hp (8,400 kW) (surfaced)
  • Electric motors, 2,800 hp (2,100 kW) (submerged)
Speed
  • 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) (surfaced)
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (submerged)
Range14,000 nmi (26,000 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Test depth100 m (330 ft)
Complement100 officers and men
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × Yokosuka E14Y seaplane (removed 1944)
Aviation facilities

I-8 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Junsen III (or J3)-type submarine commissioned in 1938 that served during World War II. Designed as submarine aircraft carriers, I-8 and her sister ship I-7 were the largest Japanese submarines to be completed before the outbreak of the war in the Pacific in 1941. With embarked floatplanes, I-8 participated in operations related to the attack on Pearl Harbor, patrolled off the United States West Coast, and took part in the Guadalcanal campaign and the Okinawa campaign.

In 1943, I-8 completed a technology exchange mission with a voyage to German-occupied France and back to Japan, the only submarine to complete a round-trip voyage between Japan and Europe during World War II. Under a new commanding officer in 1944, her crew committed war crimes during anti-shipping operations in the Indian Ocean. She was sunk in 1945.

  1. ^ Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 p.191