Three Imperial Japanese Navy submarines, including a U-boat transferred from Nazi Germany, have been found lying almost intact on the seabed in the Sea of Japan off Kyoto Prefecture, researchers said Tuesday.

The researchers have identified the names of the submarines, which survived World War II but were scuttled by the U.S.-led occupation forces in 1946.


(Upper: Bow of RO-500 submarine; Lower: Sonar image of RO-68 submarine) 
[Photos courtesy of La Plonge Shinkai Kogakukai]

The submarines -- the RO-68, built in 1924, the I-121, built in 1927 and the RO-500, a German U-boat given to Japan in 1943 -- were lying on the seabed about 90 meters deep in Wakasa Bay, according to Tamaki Ura, a professor at Kyushu Institute of Technology and member of the research team.

The team searched the area in June using sonar and an unmanned submersible.

All three submarines have retained most of their original form, helping the team to identify them from the shape of their bows or the length of their bodies, the researchers said.