Japanese 1/16 scale A Class midget submarine build.

[Davidh]

Thanks Dave,

problem is, I Still want more. The more I see the more info I want.

dave

[Von Hilde]

I'm wondering about the different tower on the Koryu type C and the hull that has the dive planes amid ships. That type tower came on the Kairyu, as well, which initially had the two tubes in the bow. Different net cutter than the A Kohyoteki, Pearl boats. Two different tail end cones and rudder planes configguration. I guess there is at least 3 different midget models in the pictures.Kairyu/koryu style towerthiese were late war 1945 varients. Looks like the Kairyu (seadragon) with a Koryu tail end like the one on the boat at the IJN Yamato Museum at Hiroshima, and then the two Ko Hyotekis in different scales. Looking at the different pictures of all the midgets, I notice very few pictures of one running on the surface. The waterline at zero buoyancy would be at the base of the tower.. Hiroshima boat does not have bow tubes. It was a suiside boat, with the bow packed with explosives. Also had the capability to mount two external torpedos. These boats were a couple meters longer than the A models and had a crew of 3 Most were captured or distroyed in the yards by bombing and never quite deployed in numbers.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Ok that was one roll of toiletpaper for the drooling, i guess i have to take a trip to the States and stalk you around, getting my ass into the cave and suck your brains.
It would be nice to get permission from Adam, if not, he is Catfood, i personally think there will be enough interest into such exotic subs, gathered a lot of info about this type during the years, would be nice to get my grubby hands at one.


Manfred.

That first comment evokes an image of two old guys, each with a big hole atop his head with a straw sticking out of it, each leading to the mouth of the other. Thanks for spoiling my breakfast, Manfred!!!! I"m so much enjoying your Type-23 torpedo loading stage. You detail freak, you!

I've sent Adam an e-mail. We'll see. Anyway -- I've got so much work ahead of that potential project that it likely would never get done (by me).

Me too, I would love an r/c model of that thing. We'll just have to see how things pan out, my friend.

M

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Is there any way to get one of Gene's full size drawings, like I see on the work bench under the model? It looks like its used as a drop cloth to protect the table. I'd even settel for the copy with all the glue, paint, notes and doodling. If Manfred ever comes over to this side of the pond, I want to be there to sweep the floors and take out the trash. You guys make the mess and swap lies, while I pick both your brains.

We three would not get one god-damned thing done. It would be a gab-fest of the first order. Best we all remained chained to the perimeter of our respective yards where our barking won't disturb anyone else!

Send me your address, Dave and I'll fix you up.

Here's more of Gene's work.

M

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Thanks Dave,

problem is, I Still want more. The more I see the more info I want.

dave

LOL! See what you've started!! The trick now is to identify something specific that interests you, ask me about it, then I'll develop a narrative with pictures to answer. I may not be able to take in apprentices now, but I can continue the teaching here ... what spare time I have I can invest in a mass instruction such as this.

M

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

I'm wondering about the different tower on the Koryu type C and the hull that has the dive planes amid ships. That type tower came on the Kairyu, as well, which initially had the two tubes in the bow. Different net cutter than the A Kohyoteki, Pearl boats. Two different tail end cones and rudder planes configguration. I guess there is at least 3 different midget models in the pictures.[ATTACH=CONFIG]30019[/ATTACH]Kairyu/koryu style tower[ATTACH=CONFIG]30020[/ATTACH]thiese were late war 1945 varients. Looks like the Kairyu (seadragon) with a Koryu tail end like the one on the boat at the IJN Yamato Museum at Hiroshima, and then the two Ko Hyotekis in different scales. Looking at the different pictures of all the midgets, I notice very few pictures of one running on the surface. The waterline at zero buoyancy would be at the base of the tower.. Hiroshima boat does not have bow tubes. It was a suiside boat, with the bow packed with explosives. Also had the capability to mount two external torpedos. These boats were a couple meters longer than the A models and had a crew of 3 Most were captured or distroyed in the yards by bombing and never quite deployed in numbers.

I pulled the 1/16 KAIRYU pictures into the mix as they amplified the putty-as-weld-lines discussion. As far as I know, the sail and tail feathers of the KAIRYU type was unique to the design. These boats initially slung a suitably modified aircraft type torpedo under each wing, but became suicide boats when those weapons became unavailable. This was a defensive weapon -- intended to engage amphibious forces as the Allies closed the noose around the Home Islands -- many of them were found in bunkers connected to the ocean via narrow gauge railroad tracks.

My model was assembled from an extensively enhanced Williams kit -- I made new appendages and outfitted the sail with a real-time video camera -- the 2.4gHz transmitter antenna hidden at the top of the periscope. The boat is a great performer -- one of the best depth-keeping boats in my fleet.

M

[Von Hilde]

Thats a mighty clever camera viehicle. I didnt know the Williams models had a 1/16 scale Kairyu, Ive seen the 1/72 kits. They must be Discontinued kits, like Dinasaurs and 57 chevys and people like us. You have any old Dumas wood PT boat hulls stuffed away in one of those sheds, gathering dust would you? I dont care about the deck and details, I want to build a PTF Nasty some day soon.

[MFR1964]

That first comment evokes an image of two old guys, each with a big hole atop his head with a straw sticking out of it, each leading to the mouth of the other. Thanks for spoiling my breakfast, Manfred!!!! I"m so much enjoying your Type-23 torpedo loading stage. You detail freak, you!

I've sent Adam an e-mail. We'll see. Anyway -- I've got so much work ahead of that potential project that it likely would never get done (by me).


Me too, I would love an r/c model of that thing. We'll just have to see how things pan out, my friend.

M

OK, fair and square, still have the hunger for some new models, have to finish that doomed type XVIIb first, that loading stage was more or less a gamble, i had no intension to build it anyway, i blame you guys for that.
That strange look you have on the picture gives me the greeps, are you sure you plugged up that hole inside your head?, too much oxygen is bad for the brains.
I know it's asking a lot from you, but getting also some drawings would be nice, you never know if i would be so barking mad to build it myself.

Manfred.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Thats a mighty clever camera viehicle. I didnt know the Williams models had a 1/16 scale Kairyu, Ive seen the 1/72 kits. They must be Discontinued kits, like Dinasaurs and 57 chevys and people like us. You have any old Dumas wood PT boat hulls stuffed away in one of those sheds, gathering dust would you? I dont care about the deck and details, I want to build a PTF Nasty some day soon.

Yeah, I think he departed the scene a while back. It was a fine effort, based I assume on only photographs and the scant write-ups of the time. He did good. I found his kit a good starting point -- I only used the sail and hull.

A very stable and reliable camera platform, but only in pool water. None of the water around here is clear enough to present an image with a visual range grater than two-feet. In a pool, you can see everything, but then you have tunnel-vision as the horizontal field-of-view is only 30-degrees left, and 30-degrees right. I found it better to not use the virtual goggles while driving and to shunt the received signal to a portable DVD recorder. Today, it just goes to an card on the camera itself (those neat little 808 HD video camcorders).

And no ... I'm not a Mason!

M

[Von Hilde]

You do look rather Masonic with the regalia, But if I saw you standing next to a pond with thoes goggles on, I would ask ya if they was biteing.You need a Guy Harvy fishing shirt and hat when you do that. Ill bet you have a set of waders stashed away if you loose one. Put all your video gear in a wickerbasket kreel. The kids wont bother you if they think your some grumpy old fisherman

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Yeah ... I once heard an onlooker shout out, "What degree, Brother?"

Morons.

M

[Albion]

Are the Kairyus still available?

[Davidh]

Great stuff dave,

I think that I would probably be doing not just me a service by asking if you could post as much info as you can on the contra- rotating set up.

I have barely finished resolution and I'm already looking around at japanese boats. I am tossing up the type D Koryu class but would really like to find more on the Ha -201 class of which there seems precious little info.

keep dumping stuff dave, I'm reading it, others are also appreciating it....

dave h

[Von Hilde]

Great stuff dave,

I think that I would probably be doing not just me a service by asking if you could post as much info as you can on the contra- rotating set up.

I have barely finished resolution and I'm already looking around at japanese boats. I am tossing up the type D Koryu class but would really like to find more on the Ha -201 class of which there seems precious little info.

keep dumping stuff dave, I'm reading it, others are also appreciating it....

dave h

Well David, there is not much info to be had on the 201s. There were only 9 completed at wars end they never saw srevice. The boat was a last ditch attempt at a fast coastal sub. They only had 2 forward tubes for 21" torpedos. The total compliment of fish was 4. 2 in the pipes and 2 stowed. The tatics were to be pac attacs of groups of boats during the X Day invasion, that never came. There were 90 planned but 80 were destroyed by bombing at Sasibo, where they were being built. #201 thru 211 were completed, #207 was destroyed by a RAAF Typhoon at the dock. #211 was actually completed after the official wars end.(Not sure of the story behind it) But the remaining boats were all scuttled. There is only one picture of a 201 underway, and no accurate drawings available. I suppose if one went to Sasibo and hunted aroundm possiblly some factory drawings could be found, but for sure not, without some dificulty. However, if you build a Ko Hyoteki type A, I can give you any info I have on them. I probbably am one of the few people left alive, that has been inside of one. The Ha19 basiclly sat in my front yard for a few monthe while at the Navys Advanced Underwater Swimmer School in the early 60s, It was given to the Key West lighthouse museum when the Navy closed the base in the 70s. In the 80s it was given to the WWII museum in Texas, where it sits today. Over those 30 years I managed to keep tabs on it. Had a chance to aquire it from the Lighthouse museum. The only reason it sat there is the city of Key West didnt have anywhere appropriate to store it. The lighthouse property was the closest and easiest spot. The Museum wanted to basiclly give it away. I looked into the cost of moving it, which came to about $25,000.00 just to put it on a trailer. Then there was the cost of the Tractor trailer lease $$$ and where would I take it and park it. Too big for any of the small boat yards around here except one. The fantisy bubble popped on that idea quick. Eventually the Texas museum picked it up in 91. They seperated the hull and removed the tower and stuck it on a barge. The cost of the move must have been fenominal. As the boat sits now, indoors and without its tower, its just not he same as it was when here. In the spring of 42 the Mare island shipyard repaired the damage that it got at Pearl and stuck it on a flatbed for a war bond drive, so it was mostly intact when repaired except for the aft section by the pops where it had grounded on the reef in Hawaii. When the Nimitz museum people chopped itup, I thought it was the end. The two boats brought up from he Sidney habor were cobbed together to make one for the Ausie bond drive, but is not a perfect representation either. The best boat to use as a guide, would be the Ha8 whick is completly intact with all the prop guards. A feature that had escaped all the other boat restorations. Ha19at the Navy base in 62 KWLH museum 70s on the pier in 91at the Nimitz museum late 90s Ha19 0n the bond drive, note the prop guards have some missing parts compaired with Ha 8s full bracing and hoopsthe big plus in using the Ha8 is the drawings that are about as correct as you could get

[Von Hilde]

Thanks to HNSBN I shoud have a copy of Gene Berger,s drawings in my possession in a few days. As soon as I get my EZ driver in my type IX project and dialed in, I will be getting my ducks together for an EZ powered 1/24th Ha 19. One of the first things is the counter rotation gear box, that seems to be the key component in the boat. M (like the guy in the Bond movies) should be on board with his input with that situation. I can't wait to get started on this one!