Researchers from the Hawaii Undersea Research Lab discovered the wreckage of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s 400-foot I-400 World War II submarine off the southern coast of Oahu.

“The I-400 was a real prize 
as the first of its class, and the submarine that trained for a mission to attack the Panama Canal,” said Terry Kerby, operations director and chief submersible pilot of the Hawaii Underwater Research Laboratory, which has conducted test dives to locate historic maritime wreck sites since 1992.

After the Japanese surrendered the I-400 to the U.S. Navy, the agency inspected and sank the sub off Barbers Point, southwest of Oahu.

Marine archaeologists Dr. James Delgado and Dr. Hans Van Tilburg, with Kerby, led the expedition to identify the vessel, which rests at more than 2,000 feet. The first sign of the wreckage — a communications cable — indicated the discovery was going to be big. As the team continued along the length of the cable, “the shape of a huge submarine appeared out of the dark,” Kerby said.

“Wrecks like the I-400 connect us with our maritime past,” 
Kerby said. “Looking at the bow of that once-majestic submarine transported me back in time.”