Description
Original Item: One-of-a-kind. The HA. 19 (also known as Japanese Midget Submarine “C” by the US Navy) is a historic Imperial Japanese Navy Type A Kō-hyōteki-class midget submarine that was part of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. The submarine’s crew was ordered to enter Pearl Harbor, attack the moored American warships with its two torpedoes and then scuttle her with explosives. However, the crew was unable to enter the harbor due to navigational difficulties, and the submarine ran aground and was captured by American forces.
HA. 19 is now displayed at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.
HA. 19 was given the American designation of “Midget C”, the third letter of the alphabet, being the third midget submarine spotted by American forces. On 8 December 1941, the abandoned HA. 19 was bombed by U.S. Army aircraft. The bombs missed and she broke free and washed on to the beach. In the days following the attack she was pulled out of the sea with the aid of an Army tractor. HA. 19 was built to be disassembled into three parts, and this characteristic was utilized to dismantle her without destroying the vessel. She was transported to the Naval Submarine Base Pearl Harbor and examined, yielding technical data and various…
Read More
