Bushido path
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto bent over the map, and an ominous silence fell in the Nagato's wardroom. At this point, three Sentoku-class submarines I-400, I-401 and I-402 were already approaching the US coast. Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night has begun!
At sunset, three seaplanes will rise from each submarine aircraft carrier, carrying death under their wings - bombs filled with pathogens of infectious diseases. The population of California is threatened with a superplague epidemic, 60 times more virulent than the usual plague and killing anyone with at least a drop of Anglo-Saxon blood! Too dirty a move, but bioweapon attacks are Japan's only chance of winning a mad war.
What will happen to the pilots after they drop bombs over San Diego? There were no exact instructions on this score, but everyone knew that they would act as befits real samurai …
The reality turned out to be discouraging: on September 9, 1942, Warrant Officer Nabuto Fujita symbolically “bombed” the forests in Oregon in the Yokosuka E14Y seaplane. The Japanese dropped four phosphorus incendiary bombs into the United States, and then returned to the waiting submarine I-25. After completing a couple of successful sorties, the Japanese hastened to leave the dangerous waters. On the way home, I-25 sank two American tankers and docked safely in Yokosuka in late October 1942.
That's all.
The mystical operation "Cherry Blossoms at Night", preparation for which was carried out throughout 1944 and the first half of 1945, remained a terrible tale: the release of submarine aircraft carriers with biological weapons on board was constantly postponed, the last time the day "X" was appointed on September 22, 1945.
The protagonists of all these stories are undoubtedly the Japanese submarine aircraft carriers. In total, over the years of the war, 47 submarines with aircraft on board were accepted into the composition of the imperial fleet - from the huge 122-meter Sentoku with a displacement of 6,500 tons, carrying three Aichi M6A Seiran bombers, to "ordinary" B1 submarines, on which light reconnaissance submarines were based. seaplanes E14Y.
The latter were quite actively used in military operations in the Pacific Ocean. In addition to the first and only bombing of the continental United States in history, the Yokosuka E14Y scouts carried out a number of famous raids. On January 1, 1942, a seaplane from the I-7 submarine flew over the island of Oahu in order to find out the results of the strike on the base at Pearl Harbor. In February-March 1942, underwater seaplanes were used for aerial photography of the harbors of Sydney and Melbourne, and surveyed the British colonies in the Indian Ocean. But since 1943, the use of the E14Y has become impossible. A lone scout was quickly spotted by radars and became a victim of enemy aircraft. And the need for long prelaunch preparation has become an unaffordable luxury in the face of the enemy's increased anti-submarine defense.
The total release of the Yokosuka E14Y during the war years was 138 aircraft.
German "wunderwaffe"
Along with the Japanese, the Kriegsmarine command was considering the possibility of equipping submarines with flying scouts. By 1942, the Germans had built and tested the Fa.330 Bachstelze ("Wagtail") towed gyroplane. A small-sized aircraft weighing 75 kg, supported in flight by a three-blade rotor, rotating in autorotation mode. With a maximum ground speed of 80 km / h (wind + the boat's own movement) and using a 300-meter handrail, the Wagtail's lifting height reached 220 meters. Armed with binoculars, the gyroplane pilot could observe the maritime situation within a radius of 53 km (from the boat's bridge - only 8 km)!
It is known that sets of "Wagtail" were in service with at least three type IX submarines - U-171, U-181 and U-852. Submariners conducted reconnaissance with the help of gyroplanes in the desert regions of the South Atlantic, off the African coast and in the Indian Ocean - where the likelihood of meeting with anti-submarine forces of the Allies was minimal. In general, the gyroplane did not gain popularity in the submarine fleet - the time for choosing a line reached four minutes. The autogyro slowed down the time of the submarine's emergency dive several times, which could be fatal when it encountered an anti-submarine aircraft.
After the war, some of the 200 built Wagtails fell into the hands of the British - Her Majesty's fleet conducted a series of successful experiments, and, in the end, sent funny toys to museums.
Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 "Bachstelze"
It remains to state that the debut of submarine-based aviation during the Second World War turned out to be an interesting, but not very successful event. The level of technology in those years did not allow placing any serious aircraft on board a submarine. Launching and boarding were carried out exclusively on the surface, which violated the secrecy of the submarines, and the devices themselves turned out to be too bulky and primitive.
Conducting strike operations using submarine aircraft carriers made sense only in the presence of a chemical or biological superweapon, causing tangible consequences with a minimum size of ammunition. Reconnaissance using such aircraft was also fraught with significant difficulties and was more an exotic combat technique than a regular way to search for surface targets.
In the 1950s-60s, with the advent of nuclear reactors and rocket weapons, the idea of equipping submarines with aircraft finally lost its relevance.
For the time being, for the time being …
Skyfall coordinates
In 1971, the issue of equipping submarines with aircraft powerfully "pushed" the Soviet Union forward.
Having seen enough spy fighters about "Agent 007", the Soviet "James Bond" got the idea to build an ultralight helicopter that could fit in a suitcase and launched through a standard 533 mm torpedo tube. Having got to the shore, the saboteur opened a waterproof case, assembled the helicopter in 15 minutes - and, waving goodbye to the amazed fishermen, in half an hour he was 50 kilometers from the landing site, deep in enemy territory.
But how do you build such a machine?
… Comrade Kamov sighed dreamily and plunged into nostalgia for his youth - his first Ka-8 helicopter was just so small and light. The only difference is that modern technologies and special technical solutions will further facilitate the design and make the helicopter foldable.
This is how the Ka-56 "Wasp" appeared - an aircraft weighing 110 kg, capable, according to calculations, of overcoming 150 km at a speed of 100+ km / h!
Alas, modern James Bond increasingly prefer expensive tuxedos to wet wetsuits, and comfortable Boeings of international airlines have become their main means of transportation. The super-helicopter "Wasp" remained in a single copy, taking its place in the list of curious inventions.
Unfortunately, the "Wasp" did not make a single flight - the designers did not manage to bring to mind a small-sized rotary-piston engine with a capacity of 40 hp. with. The "helicopter" shown in the photographs is just a full-scale model without a power plant.
Seaplane E14Y, towed gyroplane “Bachsttelse”, ultralight helicopter “Wasp” … It would seem that the idea of placing aircraft on board the submarines suffered a complete fiasco. But with the advent of the UAV, everything changed.
Compact dimensions, new technologies and progress in microelectronics, the possibility of long-term storage in a missile silo or a torpedo tube of a submarine, an underwater launch without unnecessary actions and direct human participation, no risk to the life and health of the crew in the event of a loss of the device … Before us is an amazing reconnaissance complex, capable of providing submarines with new capabilities in terms of reconnaissance and target detection!
The scope of such technology is covert surveillance of the coast and the situation at sea with the transmission of data to the carrier submarine, aircraft, ship, satellite - to everyone who is interested in information about the situation in this square. This does not exclude the use of UAVs in the future for "pinpoint elimination" of especially important targets and sabotage in a high-security mode.
The main advantage of an underwater-based UAV is secret delivery to a specified area of the globe. The enemy, like the entire world community, until the last moment does not learn about the upcoming reconnaissance raid - the scout will suddenly appear out of nowhere, and then disappear in the same mystical way in the depths of the ocean. Even if it is possible to establish the fact of violation of the country's airspace and present weighty arguments (wreckage of a UAV), it will be extremely difficult to prove their belonging. Indeed, at that moment, no surface ships and aircraft carrier groups appeared off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, from which a scout could rise.
Finally, the UAV will be able to increase the situational awareness of submarines in naval combat.
Cormorant
In the spring of 2006, information appeared about the strange aircraft Lockheed Martin Cormorant, whose development was overseen by the agency for advanced defense projects DARPA. "Comorant", whose name means "Cormorant" in translation, was a submarine-based reactive reconnaissance UAV, focused on placing converted Ohio-class SSBNs in silos.
Not so much is known about the device itself: a folding wing, a minimum of holes, launching rocket boosters. To avoid corrosion, titanium was chosen as the main material of construction. All internal cavities of the apparatus were abundantly filled with polymer foam. This solution made the craft resistant to water pressure and allowed launch from a depth of 150 feet (46 m).
After completing a special assignment, the device had to go to the specified point, use a parachute to extinguish the speed, fold the wings, seal to the maximum - and wait afloat for the boat to approach. An hour later, the sufferer will be picked up by a rope and brought back to the cozy Ohio mine.
Despite the successful test results and the built full-scale models, the project was closed in 2008. "Cormorant" turned out to be excessively complicated and expensive for its tasks.
Back to the Future
And here is another piece of news that sounded like a bolt from the blue: on December 6, 2013, the submarine Providence (SSN-719), while submerged, successfully launched the eXperimental Fuel Cell Unmanned Aerial System (XFC UAS) drone. A lightweight aircraft with a foldable wing that uses fuel cells as a source of energy.
The launch was carried out through a standard torpedo tube using a sealed container Sea Robin (empty launch container from under the "Tomahawk"). The container floated to the surface and took an upright position - after a certain time, when the boat had moved away a dozen miles, the fire bolts cut off the container lid, and the XFC UAS took to the air.
The UAV circled for several hours over the ocean, broadcasting a "picture" from its cameras in real time aboard the submarine and auxiliary ship, and then landed at the airfield of the AUTEC research center (Bahamas).
Responsible for the XFC UAS program, Dr. Warren Schultz congratulated colleagues on the success, while emphasizing that the successful test of the underwater UAV is the result of six years of joint efforts of scientists and industry workers. The emergence of drones like the XFC UAS in the submarine fleet will open up new perspectives and opportunities in terms of reconnaissance, enemy surveillance and information support of submarines.
Modern local wars have changed the understanding of the role of the naval forces and the submarine fleet. Submariners are increasingly faced with unexpected threats and carry out the most unusual missions. The main task becomes covert surveillance in coastal waters, followed by the delivery of missile strikes along the coast.
Under these conditions, the discussion about the advisability of placing UAVs on board submarines is gaining popularity again in the minds of the military and inventors. What will come of all this?
The float will show.
