During the Pacific War, Japanese submarines carried out dozens of reconnaissance missions by flying off small seaplanes. These aircraft were stored within water-tight compartments in the vessel’s hull, before being assembled on deck and catapulted off. A few Watanabe E9W Type 96s were still on strength at the start of the war, but the primary aircraft assigned to submarines was the superior Yokosuka E14Y Type 0.
The following is a list of known reconnaissance missions conducted by Japanese submarines.
| Date | Submarine | Aircraft | Target | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30/11/1941 | I-10 | E9W | Suva, Fiji | Aircraft failed to return |
| 16/12/1941 | I-7 | E9W | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
| 04/01/1942 | I-19 | E9W | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
| 17/02/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | Sydney, Australia | |
| 23/02/1942 | I-9 | E9W | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
| 26/02/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | Melbourne, Australia | |
| 01/03/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | Hobart, Australia | |
| 08/03/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | Wellington, New Zealand | |
| 12/03/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 18/03/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | Suva, Fiji | |
| 23/03/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | Pago Pago, Samoa | Cancelled due to poor weather |
| 03/04/1942 | I-7 | E9W | Trincomalee and Colombo, Ceylon | Cancelled due to Allied air patrols |
| 07/05/1942 | I-30 | E14Y | Aden, Yemen | |
| 08/05/1942 | I-30 | E14Y | Djibouti, Somaliland | |
| 19/05/1942 | I-30 | E14Y | Zanzibar and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika | |
| 20/05/1942 | I-10 | E14Y | Durban, South Africa | |
| 23/05/1942 | I-29 | E14Y | Sydney, Australia | |
| 24/05/1942 | I-21 | E14Y | Auckland, New Zealand | |
| 24/05/1942 | I-9 | E14Y | Kiska and Amchitka, Aleutian Islands | |
| 26/05/1942 | I-19 | E9W | Bogoslof Island, Aleutian Islands | |
| 26/05/1942 | I-9 | E14Y | Adak and Kanaga, Aleutian Islands | |
| 27/05/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands | |
| 29/05/1942 | I-10 | E14Y | Diego Suarez, Madagascar | |
| 29/05/1942 | I-21 | E14Y | Sydney, Australia | |
| 31/05/1942 | I-10 | E14Y | Diego Suarez, Madagascar | |
| 10/06/1942 | I-29 | E14Y | Noumea, New Caledonia | |
| 15/06/1942 | I-9 | E14Y | Kodiak, Alaska | |
| 28/08/1942 | I-19 | E14Y | Ndeni, New Hebrides | |
| 29/08/1942 | I-29 | E14Y | Seychelles | |
| 09/09/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | ||
| 11/09/1942 | I-31 | E14Y | Ndeni and Vanikoro, New Hebrides | |
| 13/09/1942 | I-31 | E14Y | Vanikoro, New Hebrides | |
| 29/09/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | Grassy Knob, Oregon | |
| 02/10/1942 | I-21 | E14Y | Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides | |
| 13/10/1942 | I-7 | E9W | Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides | |
| 19/10/1942 | I-19 | E14Y | Noumea, New Caledonia | |
| 30/10/1942 | I-9 | E14Y | Noumea, New Caledonia | |
| 02/11/1942 | I-8 | E9W | Efate, New Hebrides | |
| 04/11/1942 | I-9 | E14Y | Noumea, New Caledonia | |
| 04/11/1942 | I-31 | E14Y | Suva, Fiji | |
| 11/11/1942 | I-7 | E9W | Vanikoro, New Hebrides | |
| 11/11/1942 | I-31 | E14Y | Pago Pago, Samoa | |
| 12/11/1942 | I-9 | E14Y | Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides | |
| 24/01/1943 | I-19 | E14Y | Noumea, New Hebrides | |
| 25/01/1943 | I-21 | E14Y | Sydney, Australia | |
| 16/02/1943 | I-25 | E14Y | Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides | |
| 19/02/1943 | I-21 | E14Y | New South Wales, Australia | |
| 23/08/1942 | I-25 | E14Y | Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides | |
| 20/09/1943 | I-10 | E14Y | Perim Island, Yemen | |
| 08/10/1943 | I-21 | E14Y | Suva, Fiji | |
| 16/10/1943 | I-36 | E14Y | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
| 17/11/1943 | I-19 | E14Y | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
| 03/03/1944 | I-37 | E14Y | Chagos Archipelago, British Indian Ocean Territory | |
| 15/03/1944 | I-37 | E14Y | Diego Suarez, Madagascar | |
| 07/04/1944 | I-37 | E14Y | Pemba Island and Mombasa, Kenya | |
| 22/04/1944 | I-36 | E14Y | Majuro, Marshall Islands | |
| 12/06/1944 | I-10 | E14Y | Majuro, Marshall Islands |
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