Family Life

11.13.09 | FL News Team

Two Japanese subs intentionally sunk by the U.S. in 1946 have been discovered off the coast of Hawaii. The subs were scuttled to keep the then state-of-the-art technology from getting into the hands of the Soviet Union. Both subs never entered the war. One sub could have encircled earth nearly two times without refueling. The other was known for its fast speeds and was at the time thought to be twice as fast as any American sub. The two submarines were among five captured at the war's end and sunk. One of the subs, which hauled three folding-wing airplanes, was found in 2005, but the location of the other four had been unknown until now. One sub was built as a base for kamikaze air raids to threaten cities such as New York and Washington. The war ended before the attacks could take place. Manned submersibles have been able to examine the subs at a depth of 25-hundred feet. Because of the low temperatures, the subs are in near pristine condition. Currently, there are no plans to retrieve any artifacts or hoist the subs intact to the surface.