He got a collective raspberry from a lot of really knowledgeable people and I'm not sure if that killed the project or other factors did, but it never saw the light of day.
You didn't see this, did you?
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2546543432029704&id=100064693388551
Because if you did, you've stumbled into a world of confusion and misinformation.
The model shown is by Lindberg, and is an unfortunate product of inaccurate research. The b&w photo shown in this link of a real sub is of "the original" I-53. In 1942, the IJN renumbered their sub fleet, and that sub got renumbered I-153. A new I-53 was built. That was a completely different animal...this second I-53 was a Type C sub.
The old sub, now I-153, was built well before the war, and was relegated to rear area service during the war. Mostly training duty.
The new Type C I-53 was the one which became a kaiten carrier.
The folks at Lindberg failed to sort this out, and their model has features from both subs, making a fine mess.
The old sub, of the b&w photo, has no AA guns because when she was built, they were not considered necessary. The new I-53 had AA guns. Some might have been removed for the kaitens, but she should have retained her conning tower pair.
Here's a model of sister sub I-52, before conversion to any sort of carrier. Note the AA guns:
https://sdmodelmakers.com/type-c-mod-i52-class-japanese-submarine-model-14-inch.html
Here is info on both the subs I have discussed:
The original I-53 turned I-153:
http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-153.htm
The 1942 I-53 Kaiten carrier:
http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-53.htm
Today, on Facebook, I saw photos of the mini-sub carrying I-153. I noticed that it didn't have any AA guns. Didn't IJN subs have AA guns?
Tim
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