Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Location of fore planes (was: Is the list very quiet lately?)

[MerlinSub@t-online.de (Carsten Standfuß)]

"Michael B. Holt" schrieb:
> 
> Any idea why the Japanese WW2 "kairyu" had planes approximately
> amidships instead of at the bow?
> 
> Mike

Hi Mike, 

The inventor was FKpt.(Ing.) Uichiro Asano and he designed 
the sub after a request of his brother-in-law Kpt.z.S.Tomejiro Tamaki
(Highest officer of the 7 Submarine Division)
The request was : "to design an submarine like an aircraft"
(hikoki no ya na sensuikan). 
Asano designed the Kairyu (seadragon) with fixed stabiliser with
small integreated deep rudder for 3 main reasons : 
- to get an better manoverbility
- give some extra lift during trials on the surface
  (the freeboard was low on this vessels.) 
- reduce the dive time. 

Asano didn't managed to get an permission to build the vessels
("impossible to build") from the Shipbuilding offive of the navy (Kaigun
Kansei Hombu) - so he designed constructed and build the first unit on a
more or less private base 
at the Ourazaki factory at the Kure yard. 
It seems that this vessel was the only one in the japanese navy which
was 
designed, build and tested by the same person..

Later production models has the stabilisators 1,5 m ( 5 foot) more
forward ..

The greatest problem on this fin design is : its increasse the ships 
overall beam 3 times ! - make it tricky and uncomfortable near harbour
keys. 

But was not a big problem on a vessel with a oneway ticket... 
(they were original designed with two side torpedos - but mainly used
with a warhead in the bow compartment.) 

More intressting on this vessels was - that the have 3 bolted sections
and were first designed for a work deep of 250 m ( 820 foot)
with simple asbest or fiber gaskets on the section-frame. 

Carsten