Forum: aviation.stackexchange.com
Tags: <takeoff><aircraft-carrier>
Title: Has an airplane ever been launched from a submarine?
Question: Airplanes are routinely launched from  ocean going vessels , namely carriers.    Missiles are routinely launched from  submarines .   Has an airplane ever been launched from a submarine?  From questions about what qualifies:   Manned or unmanned is ok, but payload mass has to approximate a least a small person  One way trip is ok  Airboat dropped in the water is ok  Airbreathing primary propulsion required, rocket assist for takeoff is ok  Wings for lift are required, control fins alone do not qualify

Answers:
sents: text: Yes, The HMS M2 had a single seaplane aboard that it was capable of launching.
text: Her 12-inch gun was removed, replaced by a small aircraft hangar, the work being completed in 1927.
text: This could carry a small Parnall Peto seaplane, specially designed for the M2, which, once its wings had been unfolded, could be lowered onto the sea alongside by a derrick for take off.
text: On landing, the aircraft was hoisted back onto the deck and replaced into the hangar. ...
text: In October 1928, a hydraulic aircraft catapult was fitted, to enable the seaplane to take off directly from the deck.
text: The I-400 class submarine was also capable of aircraft launches .
text: The type name was shortened to Toku-gata Sensuikan (特型潜水艦 Special Type Submarine).
text: They were submarine aircraft carriers able to carry three Aichi M6A Seiran aircraft underwater to their destinations.
text: They were designed to surface, launch their planes, then quickly dive again before they were discovered.
text: There are some more info blurbs here worth checking out about various submarine/aircraft creations.
answer_details: author: aviation.stackexchange.com/users/3677/Dave
score: 93
sents: text: Also consider the Japanese I-400 class submarine, that carried three Aichi M6A Serian bombers.
text: Probably the most advanced aircraft carrying submarines ever built.
text: They entered service too late to have any meaningful impact, but the engineering that went into them was amazing for its time.
text: Just designing a submarine that could carry a watertight aircraft hangar without the topside weight capsizing the submarine was no simple feat.
text: They built preheaters for the aircraft engines into the submarine, so the submarine didn't have to linger on the surface while the aircraft warmed their engines.
text: There was a plan to attack the Panama Canal locks with torpedos launched from the Serian aircraft, but it was never carried out.
answer_details: author: aviation.stackexchange.com/users/22436/tj1000
score: 26
sents: text: If you allow "airplane" = "unmanned aircraft"...
text: then, jets!
text: There was Regulus 1 Submarine testing was performed from 1947 to 1953 at the Navy's facility at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, with USS Cusk (SS-348) and USS Carbonero (SS-337) converted as test platforms, initially carrying the missile unprotected, thus unable to submerge until after launch.
text: And Regulus II ...
text: the only submarine launch was carried out from USS Grayback in September 1958
text: The air inlet on Regulus II always makes me think it's laughing for joy to be launched.
answer_details: author: aviation.stackexchange.com/users/31936/Organic Marble
score: 17
sents: text: If a kite rather than an aircraft qualifies: German U-boats used a towed autogyro to lift a lookout/pilot to a more advantageous altitude (about 120 m). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Achgelis_Fa_330 .
text: The strategy increased the visible range from 5 nautical miles to 25 nautical miles.
text: There is one recorded instance of a submarine detecting, attacking and sinking the Greek steamer Efthalia Mari on 6 August 1943.
text: If a hostile vessel was seen, If the U-boat captain were forced to abandon it on the surface, the tether would be released and the Fa 330 descend slowly to the water.
text: I believe this might discourage reports of enemy warships by the pilot/observer.
answer_details: author: aviation.stackexchange.com/users/2701/DJohnM
score: 14
sents: text: (Wikipedia)I got beat to mentioning Regulus, but the Tomahawk cruise missile has been launched from a submerged sub.
text: A rocket is used to initially launch the missile.
text: ( reference )
answer_details: author: aviation.stackexchange.com/users/14931/Eugene Styer
score: 10
sents: text: Yes.
text: Here is a wikipedia article about many of the designs:
text: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_aircraft_carrier Most seem to have gone out of service before the end of WWII, but a German submarine, the Type 212, is being designed to launch UAVs out of its mast: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_212_submarine
text: (see the last paragraph in the "Weapons" section).
answer_details: author: aviation.stackexchange.com/users/26483/fectin
score: 7

Summary of the answers:
An airplane has been launched from a submarine. The HMS M2 has a single seaplane aboard. The I-400 class submarine was also capable of launching aircraft.
The answer is yes and there some examples from the past that confirm this possibility, such as the  HMS M2 and the I-400 class submarine.