The was one of the first classes of submarine in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) to serve during the Second World War. Type-C submarines were better armed than the Type-A and Type-B. The Type-Cs were also utilized as Kō-hyōteki or Kaiten mother ships, for this reason they were not equipped with aviation facilities.
The Type-C submarines were divided into three classes:
Project number S38 and S38B (Latter batch). They were based on the I-7 class. Eight boats were built between 1937 and 1944 under the Maru 3 Programme (Boats 44 - 48) and the Maru Kyū Programme (Boats 376 - 378).
| Boat No. | Boat | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Results | Fate |
| 44 | [1] | Mitsubishi, Kōbe Shipyard Kure Naval Arsenal (after launch) | 15-09-1937 | 28-07-1938 | 20-03-1940 | Sank Yugoslav merchant ship Susak on 06-06-1942. Sank Greek merchant vessel Aghios Georgios IV on 07-06-1942. Sank Yugoslav merchant ship Supetar on 12-06-1942. Sank Swedish merchantman Eknaren on 01-07-1942. | Sunk by northeast of Buin at -5.1667°N 168°W on 19-05-1944. |
| 45 | Sasebo Naval Arsenal | 25-08-1937 | 12-11-1938 | 31-01-1941 | Sank Norwegian merchant ship Wilford on 08-06-1942. Sank Dutch merchant vessel De Weert on 01-07-1942. Sank RMS Mundra on 08-07-1942. | Sunk by southeast of Guadalcanal at -14.25°N 214°W on 11-02-1943. | |
| 46 | Mitsubishi, Kōbe Shipyard | 16-11-1937 | 25-01-1939 | 26-09-1940 | Damaged on 09-05-1942 by Kō-hyōteki. Damaged RMS British Loyalty on 09-05-1942 by Kō-hyōteki. Sank Panamanian merchant ship Johnstown on 05-06-1942. Sank Greek merchant vessel Christos Markettos on 08-06-1942. Sank RMS Mahronda 11-06-1942. Sank Panamanian merchantman Hellenic Trader on 12-06-1942. Sank RMS Clifton Hall on 12-06-1942. Sank Norwegian merchant ship Goviken on 30-06-1942. Sank RMS Steaua Romana on 30-06-1942. Damaged unknown merchant ship on 03-12-1942 by Kō-hyōteki. | (1). Sunk by at New Hebrides on 03-09-1943.[2] (2). Sunk by at Vella Lavella on 01-10-1943. | |
| 47 | Kawasaki, Kōbe Shipyard | 25-11-1937 | 23-12-1938 | 10-03-1941 | Sunk by a PBY-5A Catalina flying boat near Malaita in the Solomon Islands at -11.3667°N 182°W on 6-10-1942. | ||
| 48 | Sasebo Naval Arsenal | 05-12-1938 | 12-11-1939 | 31-10-1941 | Sank HMAS Kuttabul on 31-05-1942 by Kō-hyōteki. Sank Australian merchant ship Iron Chieftain on 03-06-1942. Damaged RMS Orestes on 09-06-1942. Damaged on 07-12-1942 by Kō-hyōteki. | Rammed and sunk by USS PC-487 at Kiska 53.2667°N 198°W on 11-06-1943. | |
| 376 | (Latter batch) | Sasebo Naval Arsenal | 21-11-1942 | 03-06-1943 | 29-02-1944 | Probably lost in an accident or sunk by enemy attack east of Leyte Gulf, after 26-10-1944.[3] [4] | |
| 377 | (Latter batch) | Sasebo Naval Arsenal | 21-11-1942 | 29-09-1943 | 10-07-1944 | Sank on 20-11-1944 by Kaiten. | Converted to a Kaiten mother ship, at the end of 1944, decommissioned on 30-11-1945, sunk as a target off the Gotō Islands on 01-04-1946. |
| 378 | (Latter batch) | Sasebo Naval Arsenal | 19-06-1943 | 12-12-1943 | 05-09-1944 | Converted to a Kaiten mother ship, end of 1944, sunk by and at Ulithi 9.75°N 158°W on 23-01-1945.[5] | |
See main article: I-52-class submarine. Project number S37D. Twenty boats were planned under the Maru Tsui Programme (Boats 625 - 632) and the Kai-Maru 5 Programme (Boats 5141 - 5155). According to their Project number, they were one of the variants of the Type-B submarine. Seventeen boats were cancelled in late 1943, because the IJN was planning to build the which was to become the primary submarine in 1945.
| Boat No. | Boat | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Results | Fate |
| 625 | Kure Naval Arsenal | 18-03-1942 | 10-11-1942 | 28-12-1943 | Sunk by aircraft from west of Cap-Vert at 15.2667°N -94°W on 24-06-1944. | ||
| 626 | Kure Naval Arsenal | 15-05-1942 | 24-12-1942 | 20-02-1944 | Damaged 21-07-1945 by Kaiten. Sank on 24-07-1945 by Kaiten. Damaged on 04-08-1945 by Kaiten. | Converted to a Kaiten mother ship in July 1944. Decommissioned on 30-11-1945, sunk as a target off the Gotō Islands on 01-04-1946. | |
| 628 | Kure Naval Arsenal | 15-06-1942 | 20-04-1943 | 20-04-1944 | Sunk by, and aircraft from east of the Mariana Islands on 28-07-1944.[6] | ||
| 630 632 | I-57 I-59 | Cancelled in 1943. | |||||
| 5141 - 5155 | |||||||
Project number S49B. Twenty eight boats were planned under the Maru Kyū Programme (Boats 379 - 381) and the Kai-Maru 5 Programme (Boats 5156 - 5180). All boats were cancelled in late 1943, because the IJN was planning to build the .
| Boat No. | Boat | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
| 379 - 381 | Cancelled in 1943. | |||||
| 5156 - 5180 | ||||||
| Type | Type-C (I-16) | Type-C Latter batch (I-46) | Type-C Mod. (I-52) | Type V22B | |
| Displacement | Surfaced | 2184LT | 2184LT | 2095LT | 2285LT |
| Submerged | 3561LT | 3564LT | 3644LT | No data | |
| Length (overall) | 109.3m (358.6feet) | 109.3m (358.6feet) | 108.7m (356.6feet) | 106.5m (349.4feet) (waterline) | |
| Beam | 9.1m (29.9feet) | 9.1m (29.9feet) | 9.3m (30.5feet) | 9.64m (31.63feet) | |
| Draft | 5.34m (17.52feet) | 5.35m (17.55feet) | 5.12m (16.8feet) | 5.26m (17.26feet) | |
| Depth | 7.8m (25.6feet) | 7.8m (25.6feet) | 7.9m (25.9feet) | No data | |
| Power plant and shaft | 2 × Kampon Mk.2 Model 10 diesels 2 shafts | 2 × Kampon Mk. 2 Model 10 diesels 2 shafts | 2 × Kampon Mk. 22 Model 10 diesels 2 shafts | 2 × Kampon Mk. 2 Model 10 diesels 2 shafts | |
| Power | Surfaced | 12,400 bhp | 12,400 bhp | 4,700 bhp | 11,000 bhp |
| Submerged | 2,000 shp | 2,000 shp | 1,200 shp | 2,400 shp | |
| Speed | Surfaced | 23.6kn | 23.6kn | 17.7kn | 22.4kn |
| Submerged | 8kn | 8kn | 6.5kn | 8kn | |
| Range | Surfaced | 14000abbr=onNaNabbr=on at 16kn | 14000abbr=onNaNabbr=on at 16kn | 21000abbr=onNaNabbr=on at 16kn | 14000abbr=onNaNabbr=on at 16kn |
| Submerged | 60abbr=onNaNabbr=on at 3kn | 60abbr=onNaNabbr=on at 3kn | 105abbr=onNaNabbr=on at 3kn | 80abbr=onNaNabbr=on at 3kn | |
| Test depth | 100m (300feet) | 100m (300feet) | 100m (300feet) | 100m (300feet) | |
| Fuel | 816 tons | 751 tons | 842.8 tons | 735 tons | |
| Complement | 95 | 94 | 94 | No data | |
| Armament (initial) | • 8 × 5330NaN0 Torpedo tubes (8 × front) • 20 × Type 95 torpedoes • 1 × 140mm L/40 11th Year Type Naval gun[7] • 2 × Type 96 25mm AA guns | • 8 × 5330NaN0 TTs (8 × front) • 20 × Type 95 torpedoes • 1 × 140mm L/40 11th Year Type Naval gun • 2 × Type 96 25mm AA guns | • 6 × 5330NaN0 TTs (6 × front) • 17 × Type 95 torpedoes • 2 × 140mm L/40 11th Year Type Naval gun • 2 × Type 96 25mm AA guns | • 8 × 5330NaN0 TTs (8 × front) • 18 × torpedoes • 1 × 140 mm Naval gun • 4 × 25mm AA guns • 8 × naval mines | |