Comments on: Japanese Minisubs Key to Pearl History

By: Joe Buff

Joe Buff — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:05:48 +0000

Scott H.: That sub you refer to was used as part of the rubble to create a breakwater at Pearl Harbor as naval/maritime operations there intensified due to the war starting. It is STILL THERE.

Matt: The sub u refer to is the one that Nova calls Minisub #5, which the 3 Navy researchers identified as the first one launched at about 0100 local the day of the attack. They have strong evidence that the crew scuttled their minisub with an explosive self-destruct charge that all 5 of the minis are know to have had, the 2-man crew did this while submerged and their remains are believed to still be inside the pieces of the minisub that the two Pisces minisubs dived on.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:14:09 +0000

IIRC one of the minisubs was abandoned in West Loch and only found when the Navy was doing salvage work after an accident in the area in 1944. It was hushed up because 1) the accident itself was classified and 2) it meant that the crew probably got away with the help of local collaborators. That sub was dumped with the rest of the debris outside Pearl.

No idea about the new second sub though.

By: topV7051

topV7051 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:51:09 +0000

Just being in those midget subs was an act of courage. They volunteered for the mission knowing the odds were against their survival.

By: Scott H.

Scott H. — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:01:19 +0000

I seem to remember hearing (perhaps even seeing a photo) that a mini-sub was buried as part of the landfill expanding Subase Pearl during WW2. If so was it dug up, or is it still there? Or am I completely mistaken. While watching the TV show, I couldn’t help but wonder about that.

By: Joe Buff

Joe Buff — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:16:52 +0000

Todd: It’s basic military doctrine in ANY military of ANY country to ALWAYS seek and exploit the element of surprise!!! PLUS the Gvt. of Japan did give USA what they considered honorable fair warning of war and the U.S. comms infrastructure proceeded to bury/delay/lose it until too late.

JoeThePlumber: The best conspiracy theories are those like this one you mention, that MIGHT be true, are very sensational IF true, and can’t be proven to NOT be true!

By: Project Thor

Project Thor — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:17:03 +0000

Do some more research on Pearl Harbor and the events that lead to it.

By: Wembley

Wembley — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:17:01 +0000

It’s worth mentioning that there is a small industry producing submersibles for drug smuggling these days — they have now spread from Colombia to Europe.

Wouldn’t take much to fill one with explosives for a suicide attack.

By: JoeThePlumber

JoeThePlumber — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:08:54 +0000

Didn’t the people at pearl receive a warning from some intelligence agency before the attack and it was ignored or is that just conspiracy crap?

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:00:47 +0000

“Part of the confusion over the years as to the role of Minisub #5 and the fate of the two courageous men aboard her…”

It takes real guts to attack an unsuspecting ship during peacetime; /sarcasm about as much courage as it takes to stab a stranger in the back when they aren’t suspecting. This author has a warped view on courage.

By: DualityOfMan

DualityOfMan — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:49:57 +0000

Believe it or not, the British attacked German ships in harbor using canoes and limpet mines during WWII.

After the USS Cole attack (and perhaps experience with Somali pirates) the Navy is probably more wary about small craft, so I wouldn’t be surprised if subs were used in the future.