John J. Geoghegan
In 1941, the architects of Japanâ€™s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor planned a bold follow-up: a potentially devastating air raidâ€”this time against New York City and Washington, DC. The classified Japanese program required developing a squadron of top secret submarinesâ€”the Sen-toku or I-400 classâ€”which were the largest and among the most deadly subs of World War II. Incredibly, the subs were designed as underwater aircraft carriers, each equipped with three Aichi M6A1 attack planes painted to look like US aircraft. Called Seiran, the planes were concealed in a huge, watertight deck hangar and meant to appear suddenly over American cities as their Japanese name suggests: like a â€œstorm from a clear sky.â€,This operation remained unknowns to the Allies despite U.S. intelligence having broken the Japanese naval codes. Even more amazing is how close the Japanese came to pulling off their mission. In spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, including Allied air raids, mine-laden waters, fuel shortages, and a catastrophic depth-charge attack, the Sen-toku squadron was determined to complete their mission no matter what. But when the captain of an American combat sub inadvertently crossed paths with the squadronâ€™s flagship, what promised to be a routine sub patrol soon threatened to rekindle World War II with untold consequences for Japanâ€™s surrender ceremony only five days away.
History,War,World War II,Nonfiction,War,Military Fiction,Military,Military History,Military History,Naval History,North American Hi...,American History,Cultural,Japan
Operation Storm: Japan's Top Secret Submarines and Its Plan to Change the Course of World War II