Japanese submarine I-44

I-44 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Type B2 submarine. Completed and commissioned in January 1944, she served in the late stages of World War II, she conducted war patrols in the Pacific Ocean as a conventional submarine before she was converted into a kaiten suicide attack torpedo carrier. She then conducted kaiten operations during the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa before she was sunk in April 1945.

I-44 sorties on a kaiten mission from the naval base at Otsujima, Japan, on 3 April 1945.
History
Japan
NameSubmarine No. 374
BuilderYokosuka Naval Arsenal, Yokosuka, Japan
Laid down11 June 1942
RenamedI-44
Launched5 March 1943
Completed31 January 1944
Commissioned31 January 1944
Fate
  • Missing after 4 April 1945
  • Probably sunk 29 April 1945
Stricken10 June 1945
General characteristics
Class and typeType B2 submarine
Displacement
  • 2,624 tons surfaced
  • 3,700 tons submerged
Length356.5 ft (108.7 m)
Beam30.5 ft (9.3 m)
Draft17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 diesels: 11,000 hp (8,200 kW)
  • Electric motors: 2,000 hp (1,500 kW)
Speed
  • 23.5 knots (43.5 km/h) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h) submerged
Range14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
Test depth100 m (330 ft)
Complement114
Armament
  • 6 × 533 mm (21 in) forward torpedo tubes
  • 17 torpedoes
  • 1 × 14 cm (5.5 in) deck gun (removed October 1944–February 1945)
  • 6 × kaiten suicide attack torpedoes (added October 1944–February 1945)
Aircraft carried1 x floatplane (removed October 1944–February 1945)
Aviation facilitiesHangar and catapult (removed October 1944–February 1945)
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