Type C submarine

The was one of the first classes of submarine in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) to serve during the Second World War. "Type-C" submarines were better armed than the "Type-A" and "Type-B". The "Type-C"s were also utilized as "Kō-hyōteki" or "Kaiten" mother ships, for this reason they were not equipped with aviation facilities.
Class variants.
The "Type-C" submarines were divided into three classes:
"Type-C" ("I-16" class).
Project number S38 and S38B (Latter batch). They were based on the "I-7" class. Eight boats were built between 1937 and 1944 under the Maru 3 Programme (Boats 44 - 48) and the Maru Kyū Programme (Boats 376 - 378).
"Type-C Mod." ("I-52" class).
Project number S37D. Twenty boats were planned under the Maru Tsui Programme (Boats 625 - 632) and the Kai-Maru 5 Programme (Boats 5141 - 5155). According to their Project number, they were one of the variants of the "Type-B" submarine. Seventeen boats were cancelled in late 1943, because the IJN was planning to build the which was to become the primary submarine in 1945.
"Type V22B".
Project number S49B. Twenty eight boats were planned under the Maru Kyū Programme (Boats 379 - 381) and the Kai-Maru 5 Programme (Boats 5156 - 5180). All boats were cancelled in late 1943, because the IJN was planning to build the .