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| At 12.20 p.m. on August 28, 2002, the Pisces IV and
Pisces V, two deep diving submersibles operated by the Hawaii Undersea
Research Laboratory found the Japanese midget submarine which was the first
vessel sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941. |
| This midget sub find has been described as the most significant
modern marine archeological find ever in the Pacific, second only to the
finding of the Titanic in the Atlantic. The Japanese midget sub was one
of five attached to five I-class mother submarines and brought from Japan
to be launched 5-6 hours before the aerial attack, within a few miles of
Pearl Harbor. Each had a crew of two. The subs were battery powered, 78
feet long, 6 feet in diameter and weighed 46 tons. They carried two torpedoes
and a scuttling charge to avoid capture. Although experimental in design,
they were very advanced for the time. For short periods, they could run
at 20 knots. These midget submarines were completed only months before
the attack allowing little time for the crews to train. All of the five
submarines comprising the advanced attack force were sunk or captured.
The type A midget submarines had a series of basic design problems including
trim and ballast control and problems both with battery life and battery
monitoring. So far four of the five original midget submarines attacking
Pearl Harbor have been found.
The discovery of the midget submarine confirms the account radioed to
naval command at Pearl Harbor at 6:45 am on Dec. 7, 1941. A Japanese submarine
was shot through the conning tower and then depth charged trying to enter
Pearl Harbor behind a cargo ship. The crew of the attacking USS Ward, an
older style four stack destroyer, saw the midget sub lifted out of the
water by depth charges after firing the fatal shot from its four inch side
gun. The Ward's crew were Naval reservists from St. Paul, Minnesota. Unfortunately,
Naval command in Pearl Harbor ignored the Ward's report and the aerial
attack began at 8 am. At the Pearl Harbor investigation, some question
was made of the accuracy of the Ward's report. The Ward is now vindicated.
The Ward itself was later targeted by the Japanese and sunk in a kamikaze
attack, ironically on Dec. 7, 1944, in the Philippines.
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The Japanese midget submarine was found in 400 m of water about five
miles off the mouth of Pearl Harbor. As it is classed as a military gravesite,
its exact location is being held by the U.S. State Department. The submarine
sits upright on the bottom and is in amazingly good condition as shown
in the photos. Both torpedoes are still in place. The submarine has no
apparent depth charge damage but does have shell damage on both sides of
the conning tower. The port side of the conning tower exhibits what one
analyst has identified as shrapnel holes. This would presumably have come
from the first shell fired by the USS Ward, which exploded near the submarine
but did not directly hit it. |
| The starboard side of the conning tower shows a hole from
the 4-inch shell fired by the side gun on the Ward as the ship steamed
past. Apparently, this shell did not explode on impact as the midget sub
conning tower is clearly still in place. While four depth charges were
dropped directly on the midget as the Ward passed by, the charges were
set to go off at a depth of 100 feet and the submarine was at the surface.
The pressure wave created by the 4 depth charges was sufficient to fully
lift the 46 ton, 78 foot midget out of the water, but did no visually apparent
structural damage. The midget sub sank from flooding through the four-inch
shell hole.
Future exploration must proceed with the greatest respect and care
for this submerged wreck, recognizing it as a war gravesite likely containing
the remains of the two Japanese crew, the first casualties in the Pearl
Harbor attack.
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