Operation Storm: Japan's Top Secret Submarines and Its Plan to Change the Course of World War II (37 page)

The
I-400
’s enlisted men are shown gathered on the sub’s deck with the
Asahi
naval ensign flying above them. While the
I-401
carried a crew of 204, including officers, enlisted men, and pilots, the
I-400
’s crew was smaller in number.

A
ICHI
’
S
M6A1
S
EIRAN

Aichi’s M6A1 attack plane was the world’s first, purpose-built, sub-borne aircraft designed solely for offensive purposes.

Seiran
were not only handsome-looking aircract, but were also the most advanced planes built by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

Lt. Cdr. Tadashi Funada gave Aichi’s M6A1 attack plane its poetic name,
Seiran
, named after Hiroshige’s woodcut print showing the village of Awazu enshrouded in mist after a storm. It was an appropriate moniker because Aichi’s M6A1 were designed to appear over New York City without warning, like “a storm from a clear sky.”

USS
S
EGUNDO
’
S
(SS 398) K
EY
P
ERSONNEL

The USS
Segundo
’s commanding officer, Lt. Cdr. James D. Fulp Jr., demonstrated the kind of confidence and command authority that inspired his crew.
Bachrach Photography; courtesy of Lynne Fulp

Lt. Cdr. Stephen Johnson replaced Fulp as commanding officer of the USS
Segundo
. His habit of playing dice with his men combined with his brash talk worried some of his officers. It also didn’t help that his nickname “Slick” wasn’t always meant as a compliment.
Courtesy of Suze Comerford

The
Segundo
’s executive officer, Lt. John E. Balson, was nicknamed “Silent Joe.” Nevertheless, his sense of humor was so dry it could run a submarine aground in the middle of the Pacific.
Courtesy of the Balson family

USS
S
EGUNDO
(SS 398)

The
Segundo
was launched at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in February 1944. It would be four months before she was commissioned, and another four months before she embarked on her first war patrol.
U.S. Navy

Between January and March 1945, nearly 70 percent of all ComSubPac subs returned from patrol without having fired a shot. Nevertheless, the
Segundo
(
above
) saw more than her fair share of action.
U.S. Navy

On his fourth war patrol, the
Segundo
’s skipper, Commander Fulp, encountered a fleet of sampans. When several turned out to be the enemy, he had no choice but to sink them.
Photograph by Lt. Rodney L. Johnson, formerly of the USS
Segundo

After the rigors of the
Segundo
’s second war patrol, Commander Fulp was put in for the Navy Cross. He is shown here receiving a battle ribbon at Midway in June 1944 after the
Segundo
’s fourth war patrol.
U.S. Navy

Shown here at Midway, the officers of the USS
Segundo
proudly display their sub’s battle flag in June 1944. Commander Fulp is standing, third from right; his executive officer, Lt. John Balson, is standing, second from right.

C
APTURE
, S
URRENDER
, I
NSPECTION