Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy
The submarines ("I-52"-class) were submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by Mitsubishi Corporation, between 1943 and 1944, as cargo carriers. They were quite long and carried a crew of up to 94 officers and enlisted. They also had a long cruising range at a speed of .
Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II
Early models were not very maneuverable under water, could not dive very deep, and lacked radar. Later in the war, units fitted with radar were in some instances sunk due to the ability of US radar sets to detect their emissions. For example, sank three such in the span of four days. After the end of the conflict, several of Japan's most innovative and advanced submarines were sent to Hawaii for inspection in "Operation Road's End" ("I-400", "I-401", "I-201" and "I-203") before being scuttled by the U.S. Navy in 1946 when the Soviets demanded access to the submarines as well.