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 .
Japanese submarine I-73
"I-73" participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor as part of the 3rd Submarine Squadron in the 6th Fleet of the IJN. It was one of the vessels created as part of Japan's 1st Naval Armaments Supplement Programme in 1931. On 27 January 1942, "I-73" became the first warship to be sunk by a United States Navy submarine; USS "Gudgeon" fired three torpedoes at "I-73" and destroyed it. "Gudgeon" claimed that the torpedoes only damaged "I-73", but Station HYPO confirmed the loss.