Japan’s Secret Submarine Bomber

 

Designed in utmost secrecy for the I-400-class submarine carriers, the Aichi M6A Seiran (“Mountain Haze”) was a sleek, single-engine floatplane bomber capable of 295 mph and carrying an 800 kg (1,764 lb) bomb or torpedo. To fit inside the I-400’s hangar, wings folded backward, horizontal stabilizers folded down, and the entire aircraft assembled in under seven minutes on the sub’s deck.

Only 28 were built by August 1945. Intended to strike the Panama Canal or American cities, none saw combat. Six surviving Seiran were captured; one beautifully restored example is displayed at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center.

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