Submarine aircraft carriers are submarines equipped with fixed wing aircraft for observation or attack missions. These submarines saw their most extensive use during World War II, although their operational significance remained rather small. The most famous of them were the Japanese I-400 class submarine and the French submarine Surcouf, although a few similar craft were built by other nations' navies as well.
Except for the I-400 and AM classes...
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Submarine aircraft carriers are submarines equipped with fixed wing aircraft for observation or attack missions. These submarines saw their most extensive use during World War II, although their operational significance remained rather small. The most famous of them were the Japanese I-400 class submarine and the French submarine Surcouf, although a few similar craft were built by other nations' navies as well.
Except for the I-400 and AM classes, those submarine aircraft carriers which were actually built used their aircraft in a supporting role (usually for reconnaissance), unlike the typical surface aircraft carrier, which describes a ship whose main function is serving as a base for combat aircraft. However, both real concepts and many fictional submarine aircraft carriers were created with the same role.
Germany was the first nation to experiment with submarine aircraft carriers, inspired by the Imperial German Naval Air Service commander Oberleutnant zur See Lothar von Arnauld...
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