Kaiten: Japanese II. The Incredible Torpedo Used in World War II

 If you think that the Japanese only have kamikazes, you are wrong: II. These war torpedoes, in which a Japanese soldier seriously sat down and directed during World War II, and whose death was certain from the very beginning, are at least as terrible as the kamikaze.

 

By 1944, Japan had largely lost its offensive and defensive power against the United States in the Pacific. In this case, the fact that it lagged behind the USA in both technological and numerical naval and air forces played a major role. but they had a chance to balance this situation with the morale motivation advantage of being in the region close to their home and defending their own territory. However, the loss of most of the experienced navy and air force personnel in the Midway and Solomon Islands wars added to the lack of trained personnel to the lack of supplies. It is quite difficult to fight with so many disadvantages.

 

But when it comes to war and the nation is Japanese, things don't go as planned. Saying we've been beaten and stepping aside is unlikely without spilling the last drop of blood. Here, the Japanese decide to do something that should never be done, as a remedy from the desperation that arose in this situation. suicide attacks...

We all know the kamikaze attack pearl harbor raid. but this was not the only method of the Japanese suicide attack. The stubborn Japanese carried out suicide attacks in many ways. suicide ships, mini-tanks and suicides, and perhaps the scariest suicide torpedoes. These suicide torpedoes are called kaiten. It means return to heaven in Japanese.

 

Kaiten torpedoes actually have a pretty simple design. because there is no time needed to make long designs. It was produced with the make it fit this method.

 

 

 

 

They mounted a simple cylinder on top of the famous Japanese torpedo type 93 “long lance”. At the very front of the cylinder is a 3,420-pound warhead. The occupant had a chair, an electric gyroscope, and a simple periscope. Although the control of these torpedoes was very difficult and limited, they also had a rudder that the soldier inside used to provide direction.

 

It was not possible for the soldier who had entered this suicide torpedo to get out even if he wanted to. the lid was sealed so that it could never be opened again. this seal was necessary to prevent water from seeping in.

 

Japan initially produced 100 of the Kaiten torpedoes. It could be fired from under the sea or from a ship. 1 km from the target, the torpedo would come to the surface of the sea, calculate the distance to its target and the right angle for the last time, dive under the sea and collide with the ship and explode, hoping to sink the enemy ship while dying. The soldier, who went at full speed to kill people he did not know, right behind a 3-ton bomb in a narrow cylinder, meters under the sea, could not find out whether he could sink his target or not. because it would have been torn to pieces in the first moment.

 

If he missed the target the first time, he had a chance to make a second attack. he would rise to the sea again, take aim at the ship again and attack again. If this second attack also failed, there was no possibility of a third attack. There are two things it can do at this point:

1. will quietly wait for the air in the glove box to run out.
2. pressing the button that will make it blow up the torpedo.
   

A very limited technology product with unlimited possibilities

All the stories about kaitens are pretty dramatic. but I think one of the saddest aspects is that 15 soldiers died in an explosion during the design of the kaitens. During the design tests, 15 soldiers crashed into the test inflatable ships and killed themselves.

There were even the ashes of the soldier named sekio nishina inside the kaiten, which was fired from the i47 japanese submarine to the uss mississinewa, which organized the first real kaiten attack, and hiroshi kuroki, an engineer who was also involved in the kaiten design, who died during the tests, obtained by burning the parts found in the sea. Hiroshi Kuroki is the only person to ride inside Kaiten twice.

 History is written by the victors of the war... In the US records, it is said that the Kaitens did not have any significant successes and did more harm than good to the Japanese. what is the truth? hard to know.
The Japanese believe they sank between thirty and fifty ships with the Kaiten attacks. In the US records, in the Kaiten attacks, a destroyer escort, a fleet oiler, and an infantry landing craft were sunk. This is because of the sinking of 3 ships, which caused the death of 187 US soldiers. by contrast, he writes that, in addition to the loss of 104 kaiten pilots in training and operations, 846 Japanese soldiers died on the eight submarines carrying them.

My personal opinion about kaiten attacks and the kamikaze method is that it is very possible to die and kill during the war. but no soldier should be entrusted with a mission with certain death on the end. Near impossible tasks can be yes. but absolute death and suicide attacks I think "this is war! An action that goes beyond the limit of what is possible..."

One of the lessons we should learn from this painful period of history is that the acts that commit suicide attacks and are mostly seen in Islamic geography today are not about geography being a destiny, but about the coming of ruthless rulers who see their own right to save on the right to life of their soldiers.

 I hope there is no war anywhere. but even if there is, no soldier in a cylinder would have to follow the order to move towards death with a 3-ton bomb in front of him under meters of water just because he was returning to heaven. Especially after 2 unsuccessful attacks "should I blow myself up or wait until all the air is gone and suffocate to death?" You don't have to choose...