The C3 type of submarines were made by the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. These served under the Imperial Japanese Navy as cargo carriers. The Japanese planned to construct 20 of these gigantic submarines during the 2nd world war but only finished constructing three (3) units due to the limited supply of the parts needed. The size of this cargo submarine is 356 feet by 30 feet by 17 feet which made it one of the biggest submarines in its class. This submarine class is capable of traveling at a speed of 6.5 knots while submerged but can travel as fast as 17.75 knots when traveling at the surface. The C3 submarine can travel as far as 39,000 kilometers at its regular cruising speed of 16 knots.

One of the first C3 type submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy was the I-52. This submarine was commissioned last December 28, 1943 into the 11th Marine Squadron of the IJN. After training in Japan, the submarine was chosen for an exchange (or “Yanagi”) mission in Germany. This submarine was sunk by an aircraft from the carrier USS Bogue (CVE-9) 800 miles away from the shores of Azores. The submarine was carrying rubber, gold, quinine, and Japanese engineers that were sent to work for Germany. Another Japanese submarine carrier of the C3 type was the I-53 submarine. This submarine was captured by the US Navy and was brought to the Goto Islands in 1946. The last of the carrier submarines of the Japanese was the I-55 which was sunk by the destroyer USS Gilmer in the waters of Saipan last July 14, 1944.

The Lindberg Models, makers of quality models have created the well crafted submarine model of the Japanese C3 submarine. This company is based in the United States, and have been making quality toy models for many years already. The submarine model has high details and has over 300 parts in its package. The model package includes a mother ship and a mini submarine. The model has a dimension of 58.5 inches by 6 inches by 8 inches, and needs good assembling skills.

This is a must have for history buffs, model hobbyists, and enthusiasts alike. The C-3 submarines are unique in their function as supply carrier submarines unlike their standard roles as attack vehicles.

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Another special Japanese submarine is the C-3 class I-53 with Kaiten torpedoes. First made in 1943 in the Kure Naval Dockyard this submarine (three were made during the war) could carry four to five kamikaze human piloted torpedoes on the deck of the submarine. It is known that the I-53 sank the navy destroyer USS Underhill, probably by one of it’s six 21 inch torpedo tubes on the bow of the submarine. The I-53 carries a total of 19 torpedoes. About the model: it is scaled: 1:72, highly detailed and has over 300 parts. This submarine model is for the more experienced builder.

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There is little information available about Lindberg models. On their site www.lindberg-models.com you can see all 200 unassembled plastic model kits in various categories. Lindberg is part of J. LLOYD International’s network which contains a lot of other retailers. Lindberg have 3 submarine models on the market which you can see in our amazon widget above. They have models of the USS Gato Submarine and the Lindberg USS Nautilus submarine. All there submarine models are scales 1:240.

The USS Nautilus submarine made by Lindberg is an all plastic kit that is historically accurate. A lot of details, scaled 1:300 it is 12 inches long. To build the USS Nautilus submarine model you will need glue, paint, assembly and basic modeling tools. The skill level is 2. View all Lindberg submarine models click on the link!