At the end of World War II, Allied Occupation forces found hundreds of midget submarines built and building in Japan, including large numbers of the "Koryu" type. Many of these boats were in massed groups at shipyards and naval bases. This page features photographs of some of these groups of Type D midget submarines, taken soon after the occupation began, and as the surviving Japanese Navy assets were being scrapped over the next few years.
For additional images of Japanese Type D ("Koryu"
type) midget submarines, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: 80-G-K-6490 (Color) Japanese Type D ("Koryu") Midget Submarines In an assembly shed at the Mitsubishi shipyard, Nagasaki, Japan, 17 September 1945. This shop contained approximately fifteen nearly complete boats, and assemblies for many more. Photographed by Lieutenant M.P. Ewing. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 135KB; 740 x 510 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. Note: The original color transparency has become rather purple. Color has been somewhat corrected in the image presented here. |
![]() |
Photo #: NH 65826 Japanese Type D ("Koryu") Midget Submarines In an assembly shed at the Mitsubishi shipyard, Nagasaki, Japan, circa September 1945. Collection of Admiral Harry W. Hill, USN, 1968. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 141KB; 740 x 600 pixels |
![]() |
Photo #: NH 65836 Japanese Type D ("Koryu") Midget Submarines In an assembly shed at the Mitsubishi shipyard, Nagasaki, Japan, circa September 1945. Collection of Admiral Harry W. Hill, USN, 1968. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 103KB; 740 x 615 pixels |
![]() |
Photo #: 80-G-351875 Japanese Type D ("Koryu") Midget Submarines In a drydock at Kure Naval Base, Japan, 19 October 1945. There are at least four different types of midget submarines in this group of about eighty-four boats, though the great majority are of the standard "Koryu" type. The two boats at right in the second row appear to have an enlarged conning tower and shortened hull superstructure. The two boats at left in that row are of the earlier Type A or Type C design, as are a few others further back in the group. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 157KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
![]() |
Photo #: 80-G-351876 Japanese Type D ("Koryu") Midget Submarines In a drydock at Kure Naval Base, Japan, 19 October 1945. Many of these boats have numbers (possibly in the "Ha" series?) painted on their conning towers. The two boats in the upper right appear to have an enlarged conning tower, shortened hull superstructure and shrouded propellers. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 143KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
![]() |
Photo #: USAF K-6023 (Color) Japanese Type D ("Koryu") Midget Submarines In a partially flooded drydock at Kure Naval Base, Japan, February 1946. The larger vessel in the drydock, right background, appears to be a barge. Flooding, deposit of debris (including a bulldozer) and other damage was done after mid-October 1945. For an earlier view taken in this location, see Photo # 80-G-351875. Official U.S. Air Force Photograph. Online Image: 169KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
![]() |
Photo #: SC 279216 Japanese Midget Submarines Amid other debris from the demolition of Japanese warships and naval facilities, in a shipyard in Japan, 14 March 1947. Submarines appear to be of the "Koryu" type and its variants. This view was probably taken in the Kure Naval Base drydock also seen in Photo #s 80-G-351875, 80-G-351876 and USAF K-6023. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 166KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
![]() |
For additional images of Japanese Type D ("Koryu"
type) midget submarines, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
30 March 2000