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Video: Secret "kaitens" - the history of Japanese underwater kamikaze
2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55
The popularized and highly distorted image of the Japanese kamikaze actually has little to do with reality. In the eyes of most, the kamikaze is a desperate warrior with a red band on his forehead, who is ready to win at the expense of his life. But few people know that Japanese suicide soldiers fought not only in the air, but also under water. During World War II, the Imperial Army operated secret "kaitens" - single-seat submarines that rammed enemy ships.
How it all began
The history of underwater Japanese kamikaze is not as rosy as their counterparts in the air - no one was left alive in it. The idea of creating "kaitens" was born from the Japanese command after a large-scale defeat in the Midway battle. In 1942, the Imperial Navy decided to attack an American military base in Hawaii. Japan's first target was the tiny Midway Atoll, which was home to strategically important US military installations.
AAA The Japanese suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Midway. Four aircraft carriers and several dozen warships were destroyed. The defeat severely undermined the military spirit of the Imperial Navy. The situation had to be urgently corrected. As in many situations, the Japanese command decided not to go the standard way, but to find alternative ways of fighting. Seeing the success of the kamikaze pilots, it was decided to experimentally create a submarine suicide unit. Their task was not much different - to kill the enemy by sacrificing themselves.
From the sky under the water
For these purposes, special submarines were developed - "kaitens", which means "the will of heaven". In fact, these were not even combat submarines, but torpedoes, in which only one pilot could be accommodated. Inside the torpedo was an engine, a huge TNT salvo and a tiny place for a kamikaze submariner. The space was so small that even miniature Japanese people felt a lot of discomfort. On the other hand, it hardly mattered when death was inevitable.
The kaiten's engine was filled with pure oxygen, so the boat could accelerate to a speed of 40 knots. Novate.ru believes that this was enough to hit any target in those years. A periscope, a gear lever and a steering wheel were installed in the torpedo cockpit. Due to the fact that the boat's technology was incomplete, it was extremely difficult to control the "kaiten". And schools for training underwater kamikaze practically did not exist.
At first, "kaitens" were used to destroy enemy warships and submarines moored to the pier. A full-fledged combat submarine with several manned torpedoes along the sides approached the place of attack. The boat turned towards the target, the kamikaze climbed into the "kaitens" through a thin pipe, closed the hatches and went on the attack on command. The Japanese suicide bombers moved almost blindly. The periscope could not be used for more than three seconds, otherwise, the torpedo could be detected by the enemy.
Failure of the project
To date, there is only one known case of a successful kaiten attack on the American tanker Mississinev. Japanese records show thirty ships sunk, but this information has never been confirmed. The main problem with single manned torpedoes was that in most cases they simply did not reach the target, and the kamikaze was dying from a lack of oxygen.
Another reason why most of the "kaitens" died was the case, which was only 6 mm thick. At great depths, the torpedo literally flattened out, and the pilot had no chance of salvation. In the future, the Japanese slightly improved the existing torpedoes and equipped them with a timer, which automatically undermined the boat after a certain time, but this did not save the situation.
By the end of the war, "kaitens" were used less and less by the Imperial Navy, and the project itself was deemed ineffective and closed, but this will not return hundreds of senselessly ruined lives. The war ended in complete defeat for the Japanese, and the "kaitens" became another bloody heritage of history.
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