Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) submarines formed by far the most varied fleet of submarines of World War II, including manned torpedoes ("Kaiten"), midget submarines ("Kō-hyōteki", ), medium-range submarines, purpose-built supply submarines (many used by the Imperial Japanese Army, see Type 3), fleet submarines (many of which carried an aircraft), submarines with the highest submerged speeds of the conflict ("Sentaka" ), and submarines able to carry multiple bombers (World War II's largest submarine, the Sentoku ). They were also equipped with the most advanced torpedo of the conflict, the oxygen-fuelled Type 95 (which are sometimes confused with the famed Type 93 Long Lance torpedo).
Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Early models of IJN submarines were relatively less maneuverable under water, could not dive very deeply, and lacked radar. (Later in the war units that were fitted with radar were in some instances sunk due to the ability of American radar sets to detect their emissions. For example, sank three such IJN submarines near Japan in just 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-401", , and "I-203") before being scuttled by the U.S. Navy in 1946 when the Soviet Union demanded to have access to the IJN submarines, also.