Completed and commissioned in August 1945 only eleven days before hostilities ended in World War II, she surrendered in September 1945 and was scuttled in April 1946.

At the end of 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy decided it needed large numbers of high-speed coastal submarines to defend the Japanese Home Islands[1] against an anticipated Allied invasion (named Operation Downfall by the Allies).

[1] For surface running, the submarines were powered by a single 400-brake-horsepower (298 kW) diesel engine that drove one propeller shaft.

[2] Upon commissioning, Ha-208 was attached formally to the Sasebo Naval District and assigned to Submarine Division 52.

[2] She was among a number of Japanese submarines the U.S. Navy scuttled off the Goto Islands in Operation Road's End on 1 April 1946, sinking just beyond the 100-fathom (600 ft; 183 m) line at 32°37′N 129°17′E / 32.617°N 129.283°E / 32.617; 129.283 (Ha-203).