I 506 JAPANESE SUBMARINE

Type IX submarines were intended for operation in the open ocean. Design changes led to an increase in the speed and range of the ships. In the last series of type IX C, in order to increase the immersion time, so-called grills supplying air and discharging exhaust fumes from the engine. Fa-330 observation helicopters were stationed on a number of ships. Attempts were also made to launch the Wk-Spr42 missiles from under the water. Two Type IX ships were transferred to Japan where they served as the R-500 and I-506. Technical data: Underwater displacement: 1232t, length: 76.8 m, width: 6.8 m, surface draft: 4.7 m, maximum (critical) draft: 230 m, speed: on the surface - 18.3 in., Underwater - up to 7.3 in., Crew: 48, armament: 6 533mm torpedo tubes, 22 torpedo in reserve, 1 105mm gun.Download Mirage Hobby PDF catalogueI-506 (first name: U-195) was a German, and later Japanese, submarine, the keel of which was laid in 1941, launched in April 1942, and commissioned in Kriegsmarine in September 1942. The unit was taken over by the Imperial Japanese Navy in May 1945. The length of the ship at the time of launching was 87.6 m, width 7.5 m, and underwater displacement - 1,800 tons. The main armament was six 533mm torpedo launchers, and the secondary armament was a single 105mm cannon, one 37mm anti-aircraft gun and two 20mm anti-aircraft guns. The I-506 / U-195 was an ocean-going submarine belonging to the IXD2 type. This type was clearly larger and had a better surface and underwater speed than the IXC / 40 that preceded it, but had a slightly reduced range of operation. It is worth adding that some ships of this type were converted into underwater transporters in the period 1943-1944, and their range increased to 31,500 nautical miles. Such actions were also taken on the U-195, which after the first combat voyage in March-July 1943 and the sinking of three merchant ships, was converted into an underwater transport. In August 1944, U-195 set sail for the port of Batavia, Indonesia, which is in Japanese hands. He reached his destination in December 1944. After information about Germany's surrender, the ship was taken over by the Japanese in May 1945 and renamed I-506 in July of the same year, but was surrendered to the Allies in August. I-506 was scrapped in 1947.