Having a recce aircraft aboard a submarine seems like a pretty good idea. So good that in the 20s and 30s the major navies at least gave it a try. Most of them found that it really didn't work as well as they'd thought. First the airplane had to be pretty small to haul around on what was a pretty small boat. Secondly, it had to be carried in water tight container and then assembled prior to launching. Then you had to carry aviation fuel and have people aboard whose lone purpose was to maintain and operate the aircraft. The result was that most nations decided to concentrate on something else. All except the Japanese.

Part of this is due to the size of Japanese submarines. They were referred to as cruiser subs and as such had to be a fairly large size to hold the amount of fuel needed for their very long range missions. These submarines also had a reconnaissance mission and having an airplane aboard extended that mission to areas where it would be dangerous for a sub. The result was a variety of aircraft designed specifically to be used aboard a submarine.

This book covers each of these aircraft as well as those which were not chosen for production. As you might imagine, these planes were built in fairly small numbers as not a lot of them were actually needed. All were floatplanes and as one type became obsolete and replaced, it was used either for training or for other types of reconnaissance from shore-side installations.

Included with each type is not only the specs of the aircraft but also many of the operational missions flown. In these missions, the submarine would surface a fair distance away from the target ares, the aircraft would be assembled then take off on its mission. Most often a catapult was used to launch the aircraft and a crane used to bring it back aboard and disassembled.

The authors have really done their homework on this one, compiling not only a history of the subject and the aircraft, but also rounding up period photos of these planes. Included in the book are the usual full color profiles as well as plans for each of the types covered. This includes photos of the boats that carried the planes along with drawings of each of them. In all a comprehensive look at an interesting subject. Highly recommended to those with an interest.

October 2025

Review copy courtesy of Casemate Publishers. You can get yours at this link.

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