Type C3 submarine

Type C3 submarines were operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by Mitsubishi Corporation, between 1943 and 1944, as cargo carriers.

The Japanese constructed only three of these during World War II (I-52, I-53 and I-55), although twenty were planned. They were among the largest submarines ever built to date, and were known as the most advanced submarines of the period.


 * I-52 was laid down on 18 March 1942, and she was commissioned on 28 December 1943 into the 11th Submarine Squadron. After training in Japan she was selected for a Yanagi (exchange) mission to Germany. She was sunk on 24 June 1944 by aircraft from USS Bogue (CVE-9) 800 mi southwest of the Azores. Her cargo consisted of rubber, gold, quinine, and Japanese engineers to Germany.
 * I-53 survived the war, but she was scuttled by the US Navy off the Gotō Islands in 1946.
 * I-55 was sunk after three months in commission by destroyer USS Gilmer (DD-233) and destroyer escort USS William C. Miller (DE-259) off Saipan on 14 July 1944.