A WW2 Japanese Mini Submarine
Photo
on the Island of Guam.
Photo by Dan Collier.
A Japanese
Mini Submarine on the island of Guam. Submarine Photo by Dan Colier taken
in about 2000. Great photos and pictures.
This is one photo of the Japanese Mini subs used in the World War II in the
Pacific. This mini sub is on display on the base on Guam Island. The
photo of this Japanese sub. Added are photos from Hein Loopstra from the
871st Signal Company in WW2 on the island of Guam.
At the Yellow Airplane Online
Museum
A great photo
of a WW2 Japanese Mini Sub now on Display on Guam
Photo by Dan Collier
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Photo from Dan Collier
7-25-2010
HEY! This is Dan Collier. Remember me?? I sent you
a photo of my Ryan PT-22 while on Guam about ten years ago, and tonight
I accidently stumbled onto your website and saw that I sent you a photo
of that Japanese midget sub as well during my stay on Guam..
I have an update on that sub: And some photos as well, but have to dig
them out, or you can find them in my album on facebook. (Dan Collier)
(The album cover on my facebook album shows me posing from inside a
Japanese light tank, which is also standing derelict in a field of tall
grass on Guam..
Regarding the sub, during my stay there, and shortly after the photo I
sent that's on your website, they dismantled the little sub and took it
to a local Guam metal-working facility where they completely revamped it
to static-display condition. You can imagine that the belly of that
little sub was quite rusted through as it sat on those pylons for all
these years, and it was starting to cave in under its own weight..
While the sub was apart, I got some interior photos of it, showing the
torpedo tubes, and photos looking back into the rusted interior of the
sub as well..
John Gerber did a great job on restoring that sub, and last I saw, it
looked brand-new. I have a couple photos of the finished product as well
as photos of the rusted interior, which apparently had been stripped out
pretty clean years ago.. What you see today is pretty much a shell.
Photo from Lee White
Jeff,
I was looking through
some old photos of my Uncle who was in the Navy and found one of a
Japanese Mini sub. I first thought it might be the one in
Fredericksburg, TX but it turns out it is the one in Guam. The
number 51 is on the sub in the picture. Anyway, if you'd like me to
email you a scanned picture of the sub, I'd be more than happy to.
Lee White
Photo from Marv Loopstra
taken by his dad Hein Loopstra in WW2
Stumbled across your website while
researching a sub that my dad, Hein Loopstra, took a picture of while he was on
Guam during the war. I have attached the two pics that he took.
Marv Loopstra, 8-24-2009
Below are a series of photos from Dan Collier about the
rebuilding of the Japanese Mini Submarine
located on the island of Guam. 7-27-2010
Here ya go, Jeff, I just randomly scanned these photos for
you to look at now.
I should also give you the name of the metal works company who graciously
allowed me in their yard to take these.
Plus I have to search for some photos of the finished product. But this should
WOW you for now..
Give me a chance to get the name of the metal company..
More soon, --Dan
Control Tower being Removed on Japanese Mini Sub
Control Tower of Mini Sub being rebuilt
Side View of Japanese WWII Mini Sub Torpedo Tubes
Exterior View of Torpedo Tubes on Japanese WW2 Mini Sub on
Guam
Close-up of Torpedo Tubes in Japanese Mini Submarine
Japanese Mini Sub Disassembled and being Rebuilt
Interior View of disassembled Mini Sub
Interior view of Japanese Mini Sub
Torpedo Tubes from the inside of the sub
Propellers on WW2 Japanese Submarine on Guam
If anyone knows more
about this Japanese WW2 mini submarine or has any more pictures,
write me a letter at the bottom of this page.
Thanks Jeff,
Dad, Hein Loopstra, was an aircraft radio
repairman with the 871st Signal Company with the rank of Staff Sgt. He
maintained radios from B-25's and B-29's.
He was born in Holland in 1922, enlisted in 1942,
was discharged in 1946 and died November 2005. He was a Chemical Engineer in
civilian life working on projects from
nuclear powerplants to
Titan, Minuteman, and Polaris missiles and the engines for the
Space Shuttle.
I do not know if any of the people in the picture
were in his company but he is the one who took the picture.
I have attached a couple of pictures of him. In
the group picture, he is the one standing.
Marv Loopstra
10-5-2008
I remember this sub very well. As a young boy, in the early 1950's, a
Navy dependent living on
Orote Point, the whole island was an adventure for me. There were
wrecked American and Japanese airplanes in a lot of places. I remember the sub
when it was still on the beach , I thought it was Tumon beach , but it could
have been another one. We would take the man-haul north from Orote Naval base
north towards
Agana and get off within
walking distance to the beach. The sub was quite a ways out of the water
but I'm sure that with high surf the stern got wet. The hatch was open on top
and many a time we young boy went inside and just felt around....couldn't see
much as it was pretty dark inside. I remember how awful it smelled in there.
There were pipes and valves everywhere. I wish I had thought of getting a
flashlight and going back inside. The sub was hauled off of the beach and the
Navy took it to the base where they painted it all up, put the markings back on
it and put it on a stand by the base
swimming pool. The other pictures I've seen of the supposed 2 man sub,
washed ashore on Guam are not accurate. The one that was by the base pool is
the one that was washed ashore on the northwest side of the island. Wow, what
an adventure Guam was for me as
a kid.
Ken Thompson, Ret USAF
My grandfather was a Navy diver during WWII and was stationed in Pearl Harbor. There were (2) two man subs that were sunk in the Harbor.
grandfather was one of a few Navy divers that helped to bring up the
subs. As a matter of fact he has the Conning Tower Light off of the sub
in Guam. He has now passed on and I believe one of my cousins has the
light now but he did give me a piece of a Japanese airplane and a
Japanese coin that he got off one of the planes in Pearl Harbor.
I knew it wasn't likely that I would ever make it to Guam so I was
searching for pictures of the sub to show my daughter when I came across
your web site.
Hope this helps. If you have any more pictures or know where I can find
them please let me know.
Allison
A great
photo of a WW2 Japanese Mini Sub now on Guam Island. This submarine is a
reminder of the Jap's presence near the island.
Japanese
Submarines
Back in the 70's the Seabee's of NMCB 10 built a swimming pool on base but
couldn't use it once they were done. They put the sub in the swimming pool. They
were made to take it out and fill it with concrete.
Info thanks to William Sheehy
See the 34th Fighter
Squadron Exhibit at the Yellow Airplane Exhibit Hall.
The 34th Fighter Squadron fly's a WW2 P-47 Thunderbolt
Click on photo to see exhibit
