Aoshima 05209 US Navy Balao Class Submarine

The Balao is the name of a class of American diesel-electric fighter submarines (SS) of the Second World War. The first unit of this type was launched in 1942. In total, 120 units of this type were created. The Balao-class ship was 95 m long, 8.3 m wide, and had a displacement of about 2,400 tons. The maximum underwater speed is around 8.5-9 knots. The ships of this type had ten 533 mm torpedo tubes - including six bow and four stern. The ship's armament also included single 127 mm, 40 mm and 20 mm cannons.

Balao-class ships were developed and put into production as one of the basic types of US Navy submarines. The ships were very similar to the Gato-class ships, but were made of a different type of steel, the so-called HTS, which allowed them to reach a greater immersion depth of 120-130 meters. They also had other artillery weapons in a marginal way. Like the Gato-type units, they had highly reliable and proven diesel engines, which allowed for a relatively long patrol time of a single ship. Units of this type also offered - as for the submarines of that time - a good working comfort for the crew. They also had radio and electronic equipment as rich as those times. For example, the airspace search radar was mounted on them. Balao-class ships played a gigantic role in World War II, inflicting huge losses on the Japanese merchant navy in 1942-1945. It is worth adding that after the end of World War II, many of them underwent modernization and remained in service or in reserve until the beginning of the 1970s. Many Balao class units were transferred to other fleets, incl. to: Argentina, Greece, Turkey and Spain.