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Two Sunken Japanese Submarines Found Off Hawaii
Ponca City, We love you writes "The NY Times reports that two World War II Japanese submarines, including one meant to carry aircraft for attacks on American cities, have been found in deep water off Hawaii where they were sunk in 1946. Specifically designed for a stealth attack on the US East Coast — perhaps targeting Washington, DC and New York City — the 'samurai subs' were fast, far-ranging, and some carried folding-wing aircraft. Five Japanese submarines were captured by American forces at the end of the war and taken to Pearl Harbor for study, then towed to sea and torpedoed, probably to avoid having to share any of their technology with the Russian military. One of the Japanese craft, the I-201, was covered with a rubberized coating on the hull, an innovation intended to make it less apparent to sonar or radar; it was capable of speeds of about 20 knots while submerged, making it among the fastest diesel submarines ever made. The other, the I-14, much larger and slower, was designed to carry two small planes, Aichi M6A Seirans that could be brought onto the deck and launched by a catapult. The submarines were meant to threaten the United States directly, but none of the attacks occurred because the subs were developed too late in the war, and American intelligence was too good. 'It's very moving to see objects like this underwater,' says Hans Van Tilburg of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 'because it's a very peaceful environment, but these subs were designed for aggression.'"
two shrunken heads were also found
a bit wrinkled though
And this is news for nerds because?
The article fails to discuss any technology involved in finding the subs. In fact, at 2600 feet deep, these subs aren't even as deep as the Titanic (12600ft).
This whole story provoked a "oh, that's nice, good for them" feeling. Certainly not earth-shattering news about cutting edge IT/physics/nano/quantum technology... Or I wonder how much the NY Times is paying slashdot. Didn't we already agree that Rupert Murdoch is evil enough?
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
If only these submarines would have been able to carry out their missions! It's possible that they could have killed military or political ringleaders whose decisions led the the dropping of atomic bombs on two civilian cities in one of the most cowardly attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in world history. All that serves to be learned from WWII is that the rules are written by the victors to punish the defeated and "war crimes" are only committed by the losers.
When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.
And we're supposed to feel bad about nuking the Japanese to end the war?
Fuck them. If they didn't want to die, the didn't have to attack us.