Ship Modelers Database
Japanese submarine I-400
Sunk
I-400 was the lead ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Sentoku-type (I-400-class) submarine aircraft carriers, commissioned in December 1944 as the largest submarine built up to that time. She and her sisters were designed around Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's concept of launching surprise aerial attacks against the United States mainland and, later, the Panama Canal, using submarine-launched floatplanes.
Kits of this ship
+ Add a kitNo image | Japanese Navy Sub I-400 (Special Edition) | Tamiya | 1:350 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Discontinued |
| I-400-class Submarine | Woody Joe | 1:144 | Plank-on-Frame | Available | |
| Japanese Navy Submarine I-400 | Tamiya | 1:350 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available | |
| IJN Submarine I-400 & I-401 (2in1) | Pitroad | 1:700 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available | |
| Sen-Toku I-400 1:100 | GPM | 1:100 | Card | Available | |
No image | Japanese I-400 Class Submarine | Hobby Boss | 1:700 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
Plans
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Build logs
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Resources
+ Submit a resourceHistory & specifications
- Navypedia: Sen-Toku submarine aircraft carriers (I400)Website
Class list with build/launch/fate dates for all Sen-Toku boats, useful for cross-referencing sister ships.
- Wikipedia: I-400-class submarineWebsite
Detailed class-level article on design features, aircraft hangar, catapult, and armament useful for modeling accuracy.
- Wikipedia: Japanese submarine I-400Website
Primary reference covering I-400's design, construction, wartime service, surrender, and 2013 wreck discovery.
- WW2DB: Submarine I-400Website
Concise timeline and specifications for I-400's wartime career and disguise as a frigate during a fuel-run mission.
History
Specifications
The boat measured roughly 122 m (400 ft) long, displaced about 5,223 long tons surfaced and 6,560 long tons submerged, and carried a crew of 144. She mounted eight bow 533 mm torpedo tubes with 20 Type 95 torpedoes, a 14 cm/40 deck gun, and multiple 25 mm AA mounts, plus a watertight cylindrical hangar amidships housing three Aichi M6A1 Seiran floatplanes launched via a forward catapult. Her unique figure-eight pressure-hull cross-section and port-offset conning tower accommodated the large hangar while preserving hull strength.
Service history
Completed too late to carry out an attack on the Panama Canal, I-400 instead was prepared for a planned strike on US fleet anchorages before Japan's surrender intervened. On receiving surrender orders in August 1945 her crew catapulted their unmanned aircraft into the sea, fired all torpedoes, and destroyed sensitive documents before surrendering to US forces. She was taken to Pearl Harbor for evaluation by the US Navy.
Notable facts
After study, the US Navy scuttled I-400 off Hawaii in June 1946, reportedly in part to keep her advanced technology from Soviet inspection teams. Her wreck was located largely intact at a depth of about 557 m southwest of Oahu by the submersible Pisces V in August 2013, making her a notable deep-wreck discovery for naval historians and a frequent subject of large-scale submarine kits for modelers.