Actually, the German were already experimenting with launching missiles from submarines before this behemoth kissed water. Given the amount of time it would take to assemble it's plane for launching, the I-400 represents more of a dead-end in submarine development than a breakthrough.

I thought this was a great find till I read this on the link pierro provided: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-0...ii-coa/5134626

They already knew she was there ... the USN sunk her for crying out loud.

Another one is lurking 700 miles off the coast of San Francisco that sank all by herself I think, but she is also too deep to recover.

Why? No one died when it sank. No one was even on it when it sank. It was scuttled by the USN after the war.

Because at the depth its at it will just fall apart anyway.It would be a waste of money and sometimes weapons of war once they are no longer useful it is better that they fade away.

The main thing though is that it would be very expensive to even attempt to raise the thing and it structural integrity most likely shot.On top of that similar operations have been attempted in the past at very great cost but with limited results.

Look up Project Azorian some time already mentioned in this thread.It was only a partial success they wanted the entire sub and only where able to get a section of it and it cost a huge mint.The cost simply is not worth the effort in this case several million bucks(perhaps over a billion) just for an old Japanese sub I think not.Azorian cost $3.8 Billion in 2013 dollars and would most assuredly cost more to attempt today.Not to mention that K-129 was well worth try to get to because it had vital information inside it not to mention the value of some engineers looking at what they did pull up.K-129 had on been on the bottom for a few years not 70.The I-400 is interesting I agree but not enough to warrant spending a huge sum of money trying to raise.

Thanks for the info, but I was asking why he thought it should be left as a war grave, not why it couldn't be raised. But still, thanks.

They were all scuttled by the US Navy by firing torpedoes at them. One had it's bow blown off, so I doubt if any of them are suitable for refloating, much less display.

good point. :oops:

Plenty of pictures to see online ... I think Amazon has a DVD or video of the submarine they inspected in Tokyo Bay right after the war ended.

They said it stunk and that the head just had a place for your feet to fit as you sat backwards with a hole in the deck. :o Just like some of the bars I've heard of over there from fellow sailors that is. I never made it over myself.

The seaplane would be the most interesting thing to me with the folding wings and fitting inside a hanger.

I wonder if one of those got saved?

I find it interesting that the I-400 class was developed for the sole purpose of attacking the Panama Canal, the float planes where supposed to carry bombs to destroy or damage the canal locks which would make the process of transferring ships from the Atlantic Fleet to the Pacific Fleet or vice versa take more time, although an attack like the would of most likely failed as the defenses made the Panama Canal one of the most heavily defended US controlled territory. How much that would of effected the war I can't say since where major shipyards on the West Coast and ship production would probably outweigh any damage done to the Panama Canal itself.

@Mr Quatro The last remaining Seiran float plane was restored at the United States National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/Japane...eI-401fou.html

By the time the aircraft and these submarines were ready, the fortunes of war had turned so badly against the Japanese that attacks on either the Panama Canal or the U.S. West Coast were ruled out as useless gestures. With 80% of the US fleet already operating in the Pacific after Germany's surrender, striking the canal was seen as pointless. The mother submarines with their aircraft were deployed instead against Ulithi Atoll, the principal American carrier base in the western Pacific. However, the surrender order was received just before the attacks were launched, and the submarines were surrendered to the Americans while en route back to Japan.

I know, I was talking about one of those countless "what if" scenarios, even if the subs had been used for their intended purpose, an attack on the Panama Canal would of in any case failed.

A strategic attack on the Panama Canal would probably have succeeded in getting there, but a direct strike against the lock(s) as with the dam buster raid on the Elbe in Germany, is a tough objective to hit tactically. Moreover, the large two-ocean US Navy, with facilities on both coasts for ship construction and repair, obviated the strategic concern regarding the inter ocean exchange between the Atlantic and Pacific fleets through Panama with the unbombable Magellan Straight always in reserve; a week's difference in time perhaps,( but that never stopped the 49ers!:doh:) It would have amounted to a morale wake up call, at best on par with the Doolittle Raid.:up: