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

by John J. Geoghegan

The riveting true story of Japan's top secret plan to change the course of World War II using a squadron of mammoth submarines a generation ahead of their time In 1941, the architects of Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor planned a bold a potentially devastating air raid—this time against New York City and Washington, DC. The classified Japanese program required developing a squadron of top secret submarines—the Sen-toku or I-400 class—designed as underwater aircraft carriers, each equipped with three Aichi M6A1 attack bombers painted to look like U.S. aircraft. The bombers, called Seiran (which translates as “storm from a clear sky”), were tucked in a huge, water-tight hanger on the sub’s deck. The subs' mission was to travel more than halfway around the world, surface on the U.S. coast, and launch their deadly air attack. This entire operation was unknown to U.S. intelligence. And the amazing thing is how close the Japanese came to pulling it off.John Geoghegan’s meticulous research, including first-person accounts from the I-401 crew and the U.S. capturing party, creates a fascinating portrait of the Sen-toku's desperate push into Allied waters and the U.S. Navy's dramatic pursuit, masterfully illuminating a previously forgotten story of the Pacific war. 

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military Fiction, Military History, Japan, War

574 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Mr. Geoghegan is author of the memoir, "Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow: A True Story of Love, Hearing Loss, Heartbreak and Redemption," which recounts what happens when a seemingly successful husband, father and business exec suddenly loses his hearing over night.

Mr. Geoghegan is also author of “Operation Storm: Japan’s Top Secret Submarines and Its Plan to Change the Course of WWII,” (Crown, 2013), which "The Wall Street Journal" called, "a fascinating, meticulously researched and deft account."

"Operation Storm" grew out of a cover story Mr. Geoghegan wrote about Japan's I-400 subs for "Aviation History" magazine. His article also served as the basis for the PBS documentary, "Japanese SuperSub," on which Mr. Geoghegan served as Technical Consultant and writer. "Japanese SuperSub" was produced by PBS-TV, National Geographic International, and Britain’s Channel Five, and continues to be rebroadcast in the U.S., Great Britain, Europe and Japan. The "New York Times called" it, “consistently...fascinating history.”

Additionally, Mr. Geoghegan specializes in reporting on unusual inventions that fail in the marketplace despite their innovative nature. His articles about White Elephant Technology (WETech) have appeared in the "New York Times" Science section, WIRED, "Smithsonian Air & Space," "Popular Science," "Sail," and the "San Francisco Chronicle" Sunday Magazine among other publications.

Mr. Geoghegan began his career as a Special Correspondent for the "New York Times," and worked for "Connecticut" magazine where he wrote about Connecticut's defense and aerospace industries.

Currently, Mr. Geoghegan is Director of The SILOE Research Institute's Archival Division in Marin County, California.

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It moves at a good pace; the author has an easy reading style, which helps. It was interesting to read, but it was not 'gripping.' I had no issues putting it down if something else came up that needed to be done. I thought the author did an excellent job of presenting the Japanese points-of-view throughout the book.

The author kept referencing how one of two separate attacks against the Americans would "change the course of the war" throughout the book. One involved two separate attacks launched at the same time against New York City and Washington, D.C. The other involved attacking the Panama Canal in hopes of destroying it. Personally, I do not think either attack would have discouraged the Americans enough to sue for peace, especially not an attack against the Panama Canal. I personally think an attack against NYC and DC by the Japanese would only have further incensed Americans and American determination to win the war against Japan, myself. Granted, such an attack might have turned the focus from Europe to Japan, but it might not have. So, I could not decide if the author was stressing the "Japanese point-of-view" about the planned attack(s) or if it was continued 'sensationalizing' of the comments from the dust jacket (where it was said several times that the attacks, if they had occurred, "would have changed the course of the war."

It is a fascinating story, on the one hand, how the Japanese went about building these giant super-submarine carriers in relatively successful secrecy and how, had things gone a bit differently, their plans to attack some major American cities might have come to fruition. It does start out with an encounter at the end of the War before it 'goes back in time' to just prior to the start of the program to build these super-sized submarines. In fact, the 'main story' is bookended by this encounter that occurred at the end of the War. It is amazing what the Japanese were able to accomplish despite their limited resources and the (limited) (rapidly dwindling) time available to them. It also describes how the Japanese went about building the aircraft to be used by these submarine carriers and the trials-and-tribulations involved in designing them, building them, and training in them.

I also liked how the author talked about how these monster Japanese submarines may have actually influenced the development of American submarines for a bit after the war (in the "Epilogue"). The Japanese had come up with the first anechoic coating to be used on submarines to help them move more silently and stealthily through the water. The Americans took their ideas and design(s) to use on future American submarines to make the American subs more stealthy and quiet. Also, the first American missile submarines strongly resembled the Japanese submarines, what with their "hanger deck" that housed nuclear missiles (before the Polaris program was begun). Thus, the Japanese I-400 submarines are seen as being the strategic predecessors to future ballistic missile submarines. The author does make the claim that Americans did learn more from the Japanese and their submarines than they wanted to admit; from some of the examples given, this sounds like this is the case. Americans had a tendency to look down on the Japanese, even after what they were able to accomplish during the War, so it seems reasonable that the Americans would also look down on the advances that went into making the I-400 class submarines.

It was interesting to learn that a Japanese submarine or two had shelled parts of the western coast and that a Japanese aircraft had actually dropped two pairs of bombs in the forests of Oregon and Washington in hopes of starting forest fires. The season was too wet, though, and very little, if any, damage was done during the first bombing run. No damage was ever reported from the second bombing run and the author claims the two bombs that were dropped have never been found. I was surprised to learn that a Japanese plane from a submarine had attacked the American mainland like it did in the early beginning(s) of the War.

It was also crazy how the Japanese High Command kept changing the plans for these submarines and their crews. It seemed like each time the crews started training for a new mission, it was changed on them 'at the last second' and a new mission given to them. Their mission changed three, four, times but it was enough to get the crews annoyed and a bit more fatalistic about their chances of surviving the War.

I also liked how the author shared what became of some of the various crew members of the three surviving I-400 submarines after the war. It was mostly those in command positions or former pilots, but it was still interesting to see how these men handled losing the war and then were instrumental in the recovery of Japan after the War.

I assume the constant references throughout the book about how attacking two major American cities followed by changing to attacking the Panama Canal to change the course of the War were Japanese ideas or beliefs. Especially the Panama Canal. After Germany surrendered, the Japanese High Command canceled the mission to attack Gatun Lake to destroy the Canal because American forces were either traversing through the Suez Canal or around the tip of Africa to head towards the Pacific and Japan.

It was crazy to read about how the I-400 submarines 'ran into' various American warships heading toward Japan. The number of enemy warships that constantly passed overhead convinced the various submarine captains the war could not be won by the Japanese and the best the captains could hope for was to try to ensure their crews survived and could return home to rejoin society.
The submarines sometimes had to wait for hours as the American fleets passed overhead; I took it that the Americans were not attacked because the pending plans for these submarines took precedence over the "inconsequential" sinking of a few American warships that would have zero effect upon the outcome of the War.

I did enjoy reading this book. It discussed events that I was not in the least bit aware of. The I-400 submarines were enormous and amazing and marvels of engineering (in some respects); I found it fascinating to learn about them as I had no idea they existed. I am glad I took a chance and read this book.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, an excellent bit of arcane history. Well written and fast paced. I had a "professor" who once vehemently denied that the Japanese actually shelled the mainland US and dismissed the fire balloons as so much propaganda. He also stated that the invasion hysteria in 1942-3 was another overblown bit of hyperbole. In response, I stated much like the author of Operation Storm that despite the minimal damage caused by a single Japanese I-boat it was enough of a threat that the US diverted badly needed military material and personnel for homeland defense.

I've always been a sucker for lost causes.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating! Somehow I missed this whole plan -- to develop submarine aircraft carriers and bomb major American cities. These submarines, with the range to attack New York or DC and return to Japan without refueling, represent the pre-rocket version of today's "boomer" but never became operational. They were waiting to launch the day Hirohito asked for a ceasefire.

[Rafeeq O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Geoghegan's Operation Storm: Japan's Top Secret Submarines and Its Plan to Change the Course of World War II provides a solid and fascinating account of Imperial Japan's bold though ultimately doomed attempt to bomb either the mainland United States or the Panama Canal--planners began with the former, then shifted to the latter--with aircraft carried to striking distance by huge submarines. Many interested in the Second World War will have heard of this scheme, though often only through a one- or two-line mention in a text focusing on, say, submarines or aircraft. Here, however, Geoghegan draws on previous book-length works, articles, and, perhaps most interestingly, his own interviews with surviving veterans on both sides of the final missions, to tell the whole story.

Some students of World War II will be familiar with the attempted Japanese firebombing of the great forests of the American Northwest. Although one of these jetstream-borne balloons did end up killing a family of picnickers, this naturally was hushed up at the time. What was not hushed up--and what, indeed, was front-page news, though now it often is forgotten--is that the Japanese also shelled the West Coast via submarine deck gun, and even dropped bombs from an airplane ferried aboard a sub. Like the Doolittle Raid, these attacks were designed to show that a seemingly distant enemy could touch not just the outposts of empire but the homeland itself; they also hoped to force the United States to spend naval resources defending itself on the West Coast rather than sending those ships and men across the Pacific into the main fight.

Although Geoghegan notes that the U.S. Navy indeed did end up convoying merchant ships in America's backyard against the threat of Japanese submarine attack, Japan's big plans focused on big subs, behemoths much larger than the submarines of other navies and capable of sailing around the world without refueling...and each carrying in a watertight hangar three catapult-launched floatplanes to drop bombs. The book chronicles not only the designing and building of the subs--whose fate in the Japanese naval bureaucracy at first was by no means certain--but also the production and testing of the specialized aircraft, which grew harder and harder to manufacture as American B-29 raids struck ever more devastatingly when Japan's defense perimeter collapsed.

Geoghegan explores the personalities of the man who captained the last of these boats and his ruthless unit commander, who also was aboard for the final mission, as well as the contrasting styles of the outgoing and incoming captains of the American submarine that finally captured the strange craft. We will hear details from surviving crew members from the big Japanese boats, pilots who saw their planned missions eventually turned into suicide attacks, and members of the American crew that chased and finally boarded the warship of an enemy that officially already had surrendered just days earlier.

Could these underwater aircraft carriers really have "Change[d] the Course of World War II," as Geoghegan's title so splashily suggests? No, of course not. By the time the project got rolling, the overwhelming might of a continent-wide nation already had pushed back far too deeply against a Japanese military that at first had seemed unstoppable; the discussion makes this clear from fairly early on.

Another point that should be in the back of the reader's mind is, even supposing an aerial attack to have knocked the Panama Canal out of commission, whether these missions even could have had slowed the final defeat of the Japanese Empire to any worthwhile extent. Surely, after all, the U.S. already had plenty of military assets in the Pacific, either already closing in on the Home Islands or on the way from the States. And while men and materiel freed up from the surrender of Germany would go faster through the Canal than around South America or through the Indian Ocean, they were going to get there eventually--presuming, that is, the pre-nuclear expectation of "Golden Gate in '48"--so whether Operation Olympic began in this month or that in 1946 really would have made no difference in the end. Geoghegan admits this toward the end of the book, of course, but not until after a lot of previous breath-holding that the educated reader should find a bit misplaced or overblown.

Finally, while the writing here is generally good, and the single-line oh-so dramatic cliffhangers at the end of each chapter can be tolerated even when they get to be too much, one mechanical gaffe is more than a tad annoying: the failure to use a comma when though is used like however. When we say something like "This was important, though," that construction simply does require a comma. Period. I cannot fathom how the editors at Crown allowed the lack--maybe the prices on commas were too high that year?

Despite these couple of shortcomings, though, John's Geoghegan's Operation Storm is an able and fascinating revelation of a piece of World War II history that definitely deserves telling.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s so much documented World War II material that somehow Japanese underwater aircraft carriers built to bomb New York and DC qualify as historical footnotes. Operation Storm never quite reaches the narrative heights of an Erik Larson book, but it’s still fairly paced considering all of the engineering, military bureaucracy, and Pacific campaign details that go into it. Would recommend highly to WWII or engineering buffs.

[Steve Barney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5+ star. Interesting book about large Japanese submarines built at the end of WW2 to carry attack aircraft. Their mission never completed as the war ended for they were able to complete their ever changing mission.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attack planes? On a submarine? On a mission to blow up the Panama Canal?

Absolutely fascinating account of Japan's secret aircraft-carrying submarine attack fleet.

[Loy Hower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great historical accounts of submarine warfare in the Pacific.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically written and well researched account of the Japanese top secret underwater aircraft carrier program, told from the perspectives of the men involved.

[Liz V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Japanese planned surprise attacks on the continental US and Panama Canal through airplanes to be launched from submarine carriers. Operation Storm traces the planning, construction, staffing, and sea trials of the carriers and their surrender at the end of WWII.

Geoghegan assembled detailed information, which undoubtedly is of great interest to naval historians and which demonstrates clearly that Japanese military leaders intended to carry the war back to the US mainland and at least some urged the use of biological agents previously used against China.

Geoghegan's scholarship may deserve a higher rating, but submarine warfare does not engage my interest.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. The author reveals an amazing (and true!) story of Japanese subs that served as "underwater aircraft carriers" during WWII. He uncovers through extensive research the lives and personalities of the protagonists on both the Japanese and American sides. It is a story replete with heroes and villains, yet very nuanced and rigorous in the telling. Geoghegan has a lively and accessible writing style that keeps you turning the pages. I couldn't put it down and highly recommend this book, even if you're not a serious history buff.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very fascinating book. Japan had a top secret submarine program that the Allies really knew very little about. These were huge, for their day, submarines capable of launching aircraft. The initial plans were to bomb major cities on the East Coast. Later modified to bomb the Panama Canal. Fortunately the war end prior to a single shot being fired in anger. Interesting that it is only recently that any of this has come to light.

[Michael Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written in a clear and casual style, depicting the story of Japan's underwater aircraft carriers. The author had his work cut out for him in trying to piece together the story, given the destruction of documents toward the end of the war. Still, he weaves a coherent story. The "plan the change the course of the war" takes several unanticipated turns as the US approaches Japan, but it is interesting to see the project unfold. I highly recommend.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Send an editor. Interesting story because I live on Oahu where most of these subs were sunk after WW2 to keep them from the Soviet Union. So, it's no "secret" here.

Don't be afraid to skim this book.

[Aloysius · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible story of the men behind the plot by the Empire of Japan to use super-sized submarines to take the fight to the American mainland.

[Kent Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conveys a sense of the futility of the last two years of the war for Japan. Nicely framed by the story of the attempt to make the last super sub surrender.

[Bruce Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating little known story about Japanese submarine "aircraft carrier".

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love submarine books and this one sheds light on subs I know nothing about. Riveting. Too bad they're all at the bottom of the Pacific.