Japanese submarine Yu 8
Yu 8 was an Imperial Japanese Army transport submarine of the Yu 1 subclass of the Yu I type. Constructed for use during the latter stages of World War II, she served in the waters of the Japanese archipelago.
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Yu 8 | 
| Builder | Hitachi Kasado Works, Kudamatsu, Japan | 
| Fate | 
  | 
| General characteristics Yu I type | |
| Type | Transport submarine | 
| Displacement | 
  | 
| Length | 41.40 m (135 ft 10 in) overall | 
| Beam | 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in) | 
| Draft | 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in) | 
| Propulsion | 
  | 
| Speed | 
  | 
| Range | 
  | 
| Test depth | 100 m (328 ft) | 
| Capacity | 24 tons freight or 40 troops | 
| Complement | 23 | 
| Armament | 
  | 
Construction
    
In the final two years of World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army constructed transport submarines — officially the Type 3 submergence transport vehicle and known to the Japanese Army as the Maru Yu — with which to supply its isolated island garrisons in the Pacific. Only submarines of the Yu I type were completed and saw service. The Yu I type was produced in four subclasses, each produced by a different manufacturer and differing primarily in the design of their conning towers and details of their gun armament. None carried torpedoes or had torpedo tubes. Yu 8 was a unit of the Yu 1 subclass.[1]
The Hitachi Kasado Works (Hitachi Kasado Seisakujo) at Kudamatsu, Japan, constructed Yu 8.[1][2] Records of the details of the construction of Yu 8 have not been discovered, but the earlier Yu I-type submarines were laid down and launched during the latter half of 1943 and entered service at the end of 1943 or early in 1944.[2][3]
Service history
    
Yu 8 spent her operational career in Japanese home waters.[4] Surviving records of the activities of Imperial Japanese Army submarines are fragmentary,[3][5] and no records have been discovered describing her specific activities in support of any particular operation.[2][4]
World War II ended with the cessation of hostilities on 15 August 1945. Yu 8 surrendered to the Allies later in August 1945.[2] She subsequently either was scuttled or scrapped.[4]
References
    
    Footnotes
    
- Mühlthaler, p. 329.
 - IJA Subs, ijnsubsite.com Accessed 14 May 2022
 - Mühlthaler, pp. 329–330.
 - Mühlthaler, p. 330.
 - Bailey, pp. 55–57, 63.
 
Bibliography
    
- Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
 - Bailey, Mark L. (1998). "Imperial Japanese Army Transport Submarines: Details of the YU-2 Class Submarine YU-3". Warship International. XXXV (1): 55–63.
 - Carpenter, Dorr B. & Polmar, Norman (1986). Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904–1945. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-396-6.
 - Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
 - Mühlthaler, Erich (1998). "Re:Imperial Japanese Army Transport Submarines". Warship International. XXXV (4): 329–330. ISSN 0043-0374.
 - Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Extra, Perfect guide, The submarines of the Imperial Japanese Forces, Gakken, Tokyo Japan, 2005, ISBN 4-05-603890-2.
 - Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Vol.45, Truth histories of the Imperial Japanese Naval Vessels, Gakken, Tokyo Japan, 2004, ISBN 4-05-603412-5.
 - Ships of the World No.506, Kaijinsha, Tokyo Japan, 1996.
 - The Maru Special, Japanese Naval Vessels No.43 Japanese Submarines III, Ushio Shobō, Tokyo Japan, 1980.
 - Atsumi Nakashima, Army Submarine Fleet, "The secret project !, The men challenged the deep sea", Shinjinbutsu Ōraisha, Tokyo Japan, 2006, ISBN 4-404-03413-X.
 - 50 year history of the Japan Steel Works (first volume and second volume), Japan Steel Works, 1968.