Kamikaze is a term that became widely known during the Second World War. This word denoted Japanese suicide pilots who attacked enemy aircraft and ships and destroyed them by ramming them.

The meaning of the word "kamikaze"

The appearance of the word is associated with Kublai Khan, who, after the conquest of China, twice assembled a huge fleet to reach the shores of Japan and conquer it. The Japanese were preparing for war with an army many times greater than their own. In 1281, the Mongols assembled almost 4.5 thousand ships and a hundred and forty thousand army.

But both times before major battle it didn't work out. Historical sources claim that off the coast of Japan, the ships of the Mongolian fleet were almost completely destroyed by sudden storms. These typhoons that saved Japan from conquest were called the “divine wind” or “kamikaze”.

And when, during the Second World War, it became obvious that the Japanese were losing to the United States and the allies, squads of suicide pilots appeared. They had to, if not turn the tide of hostilities, then at least inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy. These pilots came to be called kamikazes.

First kamikaze flight

Already from the very beginning of the war, there were single rams carried out by pilots of airplanes that caught fire. But these were forced sacrifices. In 1944, an official squad of suicide pilots was formed for the first time. Five pilots flying Mitsubishi Zero fighters under the leadership of Captain Yukio Seki took off on October 25 from the Philippine Mabarakat airfield.

The first victim of a kamikaze was the American aircraft carrier Saint Lo. Seki's plane and another fighter crashed into it. A fire started on the ship, and soon it sank. This is how the whole world learned who the kamikazes were.

"Living weapons" of the Japanese army

After the success of Yukio Seki and his comrades, mass hysteria about heroic suicide began in Japan. Thousands of young people dreamed of accomplishing the same feat - dying, destroying the enemy at the cost of their lives.

"Special shock troops", and not only among pilots. Suicide squads were also among paratroopers who were dropped onto enemy airfields or other technical structures. Suicide sailors controlled either boats filled with explosives or enormously powerful torpedoes.

At the same time, the consciousness of young people was actively processed; they were taught that kamikazes are heroes who sacrifice themselves to save their homeland. They completely obey the one who called for constant readiness to death. which one should strive for.

The last flight of suicide bombers was staged as a solemn ritual. White bandages on the forehead, bows, and the last cup of sake were an integral part of it. And almost always - flowers from girls. And even the kamikazes themselves were often compared to sakura flowers, hinting at the speed with which they bloom and fall. All this surrounded death with an aura of romance.

The relatives of the kamikaze victims were honored and respected by the entire Japanese society.

Results of the actions of the shock troops

Kamikazes are those who made almost four thousand combat missions, each of which was the last. Most flights led, if not to destruction, then to damage to ships and other military equipment enemy. They managed to instill terror in the American sailors for a long time. And only towards the end of the war did they learn to fight suicide bombers. In total, the list of kamikaze deaths consists of 6,418 people.

US official figures indicate approximately 50 ships sunk. But this figure hardly accurately reflects the damage caused by the kamikaze. After all, ships did not always sink immediately after a successful Japanese attack; they managed to stay afloat sometimes for several days. Some vessels were able to be towed to the shore, where they were carried out renovation work, without which they would be doomed.

If we consider the damage to manpower and equipment, the results immediately become impressive. After all, even giant aircraft carriers with enormous buoyancy are not immune from fires and explosions as a result of a fiery ram. Many ships burned out almost completely, although they did not sink to the bottom. About 300 ships were damaged, and about 5 thousand US and allied sailors were killed.

Kamikaze - who are they? Change of world view

After 70 years since the appearance of the first suicide squads, the Japanese people are trying to determine for themselves how to treat them. Who are kamikazes? Heroes who deliberately chose death in the name of bushido ideals? Or victims intoxicated by state propaganda?

There was no doubt during the war. But archival materials lead to reflections. Even the first kamikaze, the famous Yukio Seki, believed that Japan was killing its best pilots in vain. They would do more good by continuing to fly and attack the enemy.

Be that as it may, kamikazes are part of Japanese history. That part that causes ordinary Japanese pride in their heroism, self-denial, and pity for people who died in the prime of life. But she does not leave anyone indifferent.

About the pilots of the Imperial Japanese Navy

The main feature of the Japanese is their collectivism. For many centuries, the main source of food for the Japanese was rice. To grow rice, it had to be constantly watered. In the mountainous regions of the country it is impossible to water rice alone; here people acted as one team. The crop could be grown either by everyone together or by no one. The Japanese had no room for error. There will be no rice, famine will begin. Hence the collectivism of the Japanese. There is a Japanese proverb that goes something like this: “The nail that sticks out gets hammered in first.” That is, don’t stick your head out, don’t stand out from the crowd—the Japanese don’t tolerate white crows. From early childhood, Japanese children were instilled with the skills of collectivism and the desire not to stand out from the rest. This feature of Japanese culture was also reflected in naval aviation pilots during the Great Pacific War or, as we commonly call it, World War II. Instructors at flight schools taught cadets as a whole, without singling out any of them; there was no individual approach at all. In parts of the incentive or penalty, the entire unit usually also received.

Mitsubishi Zero A6M5

In naval aviation, the number of enemy aircraft shot down was not determined by individual pilots, but by unit, since victory in air combat is the fruit of collective efforts. But the Japanese guys, in their reports and letters to their relatives, always jealously counted the number of planes they shot down. There was no system for confirming victories at all, and there were no documents officially regulating this process. There was little exaggeration and attribution of false victories to oneself; in contrast to European traditions, no titles, awards, distinctions, commendations or promotions were provided for the pilot based on the number of aircraft shot down. Pilots could serve the entire war with the rank of sergeant or corporal. Only at the end of the war did the best pilots in Japan begin to receive insignia for the planes they shot down - thanks in the order and ceremonial samurai swords.

Japanese pilots fought in the skies over China long before the start of the Pacific War, they gained experience and became outstanding combat pilots. Japanese pilots swept away everything over Pearl Harbor and spread death over the Philippines, New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. They were aces. French word as means ace, the first in his field - is a master of air combat, it appeared during the First World War and referred to military pilots who were fluent in the art of piloting and air combat and who shot down at least five enemy aircraft. There were aces in the Second world war, for example, the best Soviet pilot Ivan Kozhedub shot down 62 enemy aircraft, the Finn was credited Eino Ilmari Juutilainen 94 Soviet aircraft. The best pilots of the Imperial Japanese Navy - Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Saburo Sakai And Shioki Sugita were also aces. For example, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa reported to his family about 147 downed planes, some sources mention 102, according to other sources - 87 planes, which is still much more than the American and British aces, who shot down at most 30 planes.

Hiroyoshi Nishizawa on Mitsubishi Zero A6M5

The success of the pilots of the Imperial Japanese Navy was also facilitated by the fact that they mainly flew the Mitsubishi Zero A6M5 fighter, which participated in almost all air battles conducted by the imperial fleet. Its excellent maneuverability and long flight range became almost a legend, and to this day the Zero remains a symbol of Japanese aviation. In the hands of well-trained Japanese pilots, the Zero was at the zenith of its glory, fighting against American aircraft. But the victory was forged by people, Japanese naval aviation pilots. They excelled in the art of aerobatics and aerial shooting, which brought them many victories, and they went through a harsh and strict school like nowhere else in the world.

Hiroyoshi Nishizawa (1920-1944)

The best of all Japanese aces of World War II in terms of the number of victories won was Hiroyoshi Nishizawa(Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, 1920-1944), who was called the "Devil of Rabaul". Rabaul is main city New Guinea, where the Japanese had the largest base in the Pacific Ocean, where this pilot served. Hiroyoshi Nishizawa not only fought in New Guinea, he participated in the Battle of the Solomon Islands and Leyte Gulf.

For a Japanese, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa was quite tall - 173 cm, he was a reserved, silent, reserved, secretive and even arrogant person, avoided the company of his comrades, he had only one friend, the other an outstanding one Japanese pilot- Saburo Sakai. Together with him and another pilot named Ota, they formed the famous "Brilliant Trio" of the Tainan Air Group. The pilot was subject to attacks of tropical fever and was often in a painful state, but when he sat down in the cockpit of his plane, he forgot about his illnesses, immediately regaining his legendary vision and art of flight. In the air, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa forced his Zero to perform acrobatic tricks, in his hands the limits of the machine's design meant absolutely nothing.

Zero pilots during the pre-flight briefing

On October 25, 1944, the first kamikaze attack was carried out, Lieutenant Yukio Shiki and four other pilots attacked American aircraft carriers in Leyte Gulf. Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, at the head of four fighters, escorted the planes of the kamikaze pilots of this attack, shot down two patrol planes and allowed Yukio Shiki to launch his last attack in his life. Hiroyoshi Nishizawa also asked the command to allow him to become a kamikaze, but the request was denied; very experienced pilots were not used in suicide attacks.

Pilot Saburo Sakai

He died while piloting an unarmed twin-engine transport plane with pilots on board who were en route to receive new aircraft at a base in the Philippines. The heavy, clumsy machine was intercepted by the Americans, and even the invincible art and experience of Hiroyoshi Nishizawa were useless. After several passes by fighter jets, the transport plane, engulfed in flames, crashed down, taking with it the life of the outstanding pilot and other pilots. Despising death, Japanese pilots did not take a parachute with them on flights; they only had a pistol or a samurai sword. The circumstances of his death became clear only in 1982. Hiroyoshi Nishizawa was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

Popularized and highly distorted image Japanese kamikaze, formed in the minds of Europeans, has little in common with who they actually were. We imagine the kamikaze as a fanatical and desperate warrior, with a red bandage around his head, a man with an angry look at the controls of an old plane, rushing towards the target shouting “banzai!” But kamikazes were not only suicide bombers in the air; they also operated underwater. Preserved in a steel capsule - a guided torpedo-kaiten, kamikazes destroyed the enemies of the emperor, sacrificing themselves for the sake of Japan and at sea. They will be discussed in today’s material.

Before moving directly to the story about “live torpedoes,” it is worth briefly diving into the history of the formation of schools and kamikaze ideology.

The education system in Japan in the mid-20th century was not much different from dictatorial schemes for the formation of a new ideology. From an early age, children were taught that by dying for the emperor they were doing the right thing and their death would be blessed. As a result of this academic practice, young Japanese grew up with the motto “jusshi reisho” (“sacrifice your life”).

Plus, the state machine did its best to hide any information about the defeats (even the most insignificant) of the Japanese army. The propaganda created a false impression of Japan's capabilities and effectively indoctrinated poorly educated children with the fact that their death was a step towards total Japanese victory in the war.

It is also appropriate to recall the Code of Bushido, which played an important role in the formation of kamikaze ideals. Since the time of the samurai, Japanese warriors have viewed death literally as a part of life. They got used to the fact of death and were not afraid of its approach.

Educated and experienced pilots flatly refused to join kamikaze squads, citing the fact that they simply had to stay alive in order to train new fighters who were destined to become suicide bombers.

Thus, the more young people sacrificed themselves, the younger were the recruits who took their places. Many were practically teenagers, not even 17 years old, who had the chance to prove their loyalty to the empire and prove themselves as “real men.”

Kamikazes were recruited from poorly educated young men, the second or third boys in families. This selection was due to the fact that the first (that is, eldest) boy in the family usually became the heir to the fortune and was therefore not included in the military sample.

Kamikaze pilots received a form to fill out and took five oaths:

The soldier is obliged to fulfill his obligations.
A soldier is obliged to observe the rules of decency in his life.
The soldier is obliged to highly respect the heroism of the military forces.
A soldier must be a highly moral person.
A soldier is obliged to live a simple life.

So simply and simply, all the “heroism” of the kamikaze came down to five rules.

Despite the pressure of ideology and the imperial cult, not every young Japanese was eager to accept with a pure heart the fate of a suicide bomber ready to die for his country. There were indeed lines of young kids lining up outside kamikaze schools, but that’s only part of the story.

It’s hard to believe, but even today there are still “live kamikazes”. One of them, Kenichiro Onuki, said in his notes that young people could not help but enroll in kamikaze squads, because this could bring disaster to their families. He recalled that when he was “offered” to become a kamikaze, he laughed at the idea, but changed his mind overnight. If he dared not carry out the order, then the most harmless thing that could happen to him would be the brand of “coward and traitor,” and in the worst case, death. Although for the Japanese everything can be exactly the opposite. By chance, his plane did not start during the combat mission, and he survived.
The story of underwater kamikazes is not as funny as Kenichiro's story. There were no survivors left in it.

The idea of ​​​​creating suicide torpedoes was born in the minds of the Japanese military command after a brutal defeat in the Battle of Midway Atoll.

While Europe was unfolding known to the world drama, a completely different war was going on in the Pacific. In 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy decided to attack Hawaii from the tiny Midway Atoll, the outermost one in the western group of the Hawaiian archipelago. There was a US air base on the atoll, with the destruction of which the Japanese army decided to begin its large-scale offensive.

But the Japanese greatly miscalculated. The Battle of Midway was one of the main failures and the most dramatic episode in that part globe. During the attack, the imperial fleet lost four large aircraft carriers and many other ships, but exact data regarding human losses on the part of Japan has not been preserved. However, the Japanese never really considered their soldiers, but even without that, the loss greatly demoralized the military spirit of the fleet.

This defeat marked the beginning of a series of Japanese failures at sea, and the military command was forced to invent alternative ways of waging war. Real patriots should have appeared, brainwashed, with a sparkle in their eyes and not afraid of death. This is how a special experimental unit of underwater kamikazes arose. These suicide bombers were not much different from airplane pilots; their task was identical - by sacrificing themselves, to destroy the enemy.

Underwater kamikazes used kaiten torpedoes to carry out their mission underwater, which translated means “will of heaven.” In essence, the kaiten was a symbiosis of a torpedo and a small submarine. It ran on pure oxygen and was capable of reaching speeds of up to 40 knots, thanks to which it could hit almost any ship of that time.

The inside of a torpedo is an engine, a powerful charge and a very compact place for a suicide pilot. Moreover, it was so narrow that even by the standards of small Japanese, there was a catastrophic lack of space. On the other hand, what difference does it make when death is inevitable?

1. Japanese kaiten at Camp Dealy, 1945. 2. USS Mississinewa burning after being hit by a kaiten in Ulithi Harbor, November 20, 1944. 3. Kaitens in dry dock, Kure, October 19, 1945. 4, 5. A submarine sunk by American aircraft during the Okinawa campaign.

Directly in front of the kamikaze's face is a periscope, next to it is a speed shift knob, which essentially regulates the supply of oxygen to the engine. At the top of the torpedo there was another lever responsible for the direction of movement. The instrument panel was stuffed with all sorts of devices - fuel and oxygen consumption, pressure gauge, clock, depth gauge, etc. At the pilot's feet there is a valve for admitting sea water into the ballast tank to stabilize the weight of the torpedo. It was not so easy to control a torpedo, and besides, the training of pilots left much to be desired - schools appeared spontaneously, but just as spontaneously they were destroyed by American bombers.

Initially, kaiten were used to attack enemy ships moored in bays. The carrier submarine with kaitens attached to the outside (from four to six pieces) detected enemy ships, built a trajectory (literally turned around relative to the location of the target), and the captain of the submarine gave the last order to the suicide bombers.

The suicide bombers entered the kaiten's cabin through a narrow pipe, battened down the hatches and received orders via radio from the submarine captain. The kamikaze pilots were completely blind, they did not see where they were going, because the periscope could be used for no more than three seconds, since this led to the risk of detection of the torpedo by the enemy.

At first, kaitens terrified the American fleet, but then the imperfect technology began to malfunction. Many suicide bombers did not swim to the target and suffocated from lack of oxygen, after which the torpedo simply sank. A little later, the Japanese improved the torpedo by equipping it with a timer, leaving no chance for either the kamikaze or the enemy. But at the very beginning, kaiten claimed to be humane. The torpedo had an ejection system, but it did not work in the most efficient way, or rather, it did not work at all. At high speed, no kamikaze could eject safely, so this was abandoned in later models.

Very frequent raids of the submarine with kaitens led to the devices rusting and breaking down, since the torpedo body was made of steel no more than six millimeters thick. And if the torpedo sank too deeply to the bottom, then the pressure simply flattened the thin hull, and the kamikaze died without due heroism.

The first evidence of a kaiten attack recorded by the United States dates back to November 1944. The attack involved three submarines and 12 kaiten torpedoes against a moored American ship off the coast of Ulithi Atoll (Carolina Islands). As a result of the attack, one submarine simply sank, of the eight remaining kaitens, two failed upon launch, two sank, one disappeared (although was later found washed ashore) and one exploded before reaching its target. The remaining kaiten crashed into the tanker Mississinewa and sank it. The Japanese command regarded the operation as successful, which was immediately reported to the emperor.

It was possible to use kaitens more or less successfully only at the very beginning. Thus, following the results of naval battles, official Japanese propaganda announced 32 sunk American ships, including aircraft carriers, battleships, cargo ships and destroyers. But these figures are considered too exaggerated. By the end of the war, the American navy had significantly increased its combat power, and it was increasingly difficult for kaiten pilots to hit targets. Large combat units in the bays were reliably guarded, and it was very difficult to approach them unnoticed even at a depth of six meters; the kaitens also did not have the opportunity to attack ships scattered on the open sea - they simply could not withstand long swims.

The defeat at Midway pushed the Japanese to take desperate steps in blind revenge against the American fleet. Kaiten torpedoes were a crisis solution that imperial army I had high hopes, but they did not materialize. Kaitens had to solve the most important task - to destroy enemy ships, and no matter at what cost, but the further they went, the less effective their use in combat operations seemed to be. A ridiculous attempt to irrationally use human resources led to the complete failure of the project. The war ended with the total defeat of the Japanese, and kaitens became another bloody heritage of history.

The popularized and highly distorted image of the Japanese kamikaze that has formed in the minds of Europeans has little in common with who they actually were. We imagine the kamikaze as a fanatical and desperate warrior, with a red bandage around his head, a man with an angry look at the controls of an old plane, rushing towards the target shouting “banzai!” But kamikazes were not only suicide bombers in the air; they also operated underwater.

Preserved in a steel capsule - a guided torpedo-kaiten, kamikazes destroyed the enemies of the emperor, sacrificing themselves for the sake of Japan and at sea. They will be discussed in today’s material.

Restored Na-51 (Type C) submarine on display in Guam

Kamikaze schools

Before moving directly to the story about “live torpedoes,” it is worth briefly diving into the history of the formation of schools and kamikaze ideology.

The education system in Japan in the mid-20th century was not much different from dictatorial schemes for the formation of a new ideology. From an early age, children were taught that by dying for the emperor they were doing the right thing and their death would be blessed. As a result of this academic practice, young Japanese grew up with the motto “jusshi reisho” (“sacrifice your life”).

Plus, the state machine did its best to hide any information about the defeats (even the most insignificant) of the Japanese army. The propaganda created a false impression of Japan's capabilities and effectively indoctrinated poorly educated children with the fact that their death was a step towards total Japanese victory in the war.

It is also appropriate to recall the Code of Bushido, which played an important role in the formation of kamikaze ideals. Since the time of the samurai, Japanese warriors have viewed death literally as a part of life. They got used to the fact of death and were not afraid of its approach.

Educated and experienced pilots flatly refused to join kamikaze squads, citing the fact that they simply had to stay alive in order to train new fighters who were destined to become suicide bombers.

Thus, the more young people sacrificed themselves, the younger were the recruits who took their places. Many were practically teenagers, not even 17 years old, who had the chance to prove their loyalty to the empire and prove themselves as “real men.”

Kamikazes were recruited from poorly educated young men, the second or third boys in families. This selection was due to the fact that the first (that is, eldest) boy in the family usually became the heir to the fortune and was therefore not included in the military sample.

Kamikaze pilots received a form to fill out and took five oaths:

The soldier is obliged to fulfill his obligations.
A soldier is obliged to observe the rules of decency in his life.
The soldier is obliged to highly respect the heroism of the military forces.
A soldier must be a highly moral person.
A soldier is obliged to live a simple life.

So simply and simply, all the “heroism” of the kamikaze came down to five rules.

Despite the pressure of ideology and the imperial cult, not every young Japanese was eager to accept with a pure heart the fate of a suicide bomber ready to die for his country. There were indeed lines of young kids lining up outside kamikaze schools, but that’s only part of the story.

It’s hard to believe, but even today there are still “live kamikazes”. One of them, Kenichiro Onuki, said in his notes that young people could not help but enroll in kamikaze squads, because this could bring disaster to their families. He recalled that when he was “offered” to become a kamikaze, he laughed at the idea, but changed his mind overnight. If he dared not carry out the order, then the most harmless thing that could happen to him would be the brand of “coward and traitor,” and in the worst case, death. Although for the Japanese everything can be exactly the opposite. By chance, his plane did not start during the combat mission, and he survived.

The story of underwater kamikazes is not as funny as Kenichiro's story. There were no survivors left in it.

Midway operation

The idea of ​​​​creating suicide torpedoes was born in the minds of the Japanese military command after a brutal defeat in the Battle of Midway Atoll.

While the world-famous drama was unfolding in Europe, a completely different war was going on in the Pacific. In 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy decided to attack Hawaii from the tiny Midway Atoll, the outermost one in the western group of the Hawaiian archipelago. There was a US air base on the atoll, with the destruction of which the Japanese army decided to begin its large-scale offensive.

But the Japanese greatly miscalculated. The Battle of Midway was one of the major failures and the most dramatic episode in that part of the globe. During the attack, the imperial fleet lost four large aircraft carriers and many other ships, but exact data regarding human losses on the part of Japan has not been preserved. However, the Japanese never really considered their soldiers, but even without that, the loss greatly demoralized the military spirit of the fleet.

This defeat marked the beginning of a series of Japanese failures at sea, and the military command was forced to invent alternative ways of waging war. Real patriots should have appeared, brainwashed, with a sparkle in their eyes and not afraid of death. This is how a special experimental unit of underwater kamikazes arose. These suicide bombers were not much different from airplane pilots; their task was identical - by sacrificing themselves, to destroy the enemy.

Main caliber turret of a battleship MUTSU(Mutsu)

From sky to water

Underwater kamikazes used kaiten torpedoes to carry out their mission underwater, which translated means “will of heaven.” In essence, the kaiten was a symbiosis of a torpedo and a small submarine. It ran on pure oxygen and was capable of reaching speeds of up to 40 knots, thanks to which it could hit almost any ship of that time.

The inside of a torpedo is an engine, a powerful charge and a very compact place for a suicide pilot. Moreover, it was so narrow that even by the standards of small Japanese, there was a catastrophic lack of space. On the other hand, what difference does it make when death is inevitable?

1. Japanese kaiten at Camp Dealy, 1945. 2. USS Mississinewa burning after being hit by a kaiten in Ulithi Harbor, November 20, 1944. 3. Kaitens in dry dock, Kure, October 19, 1945. 4, 5. A submarine sunk by American aircraft during the Okinawa campaign.

Directly in front of the kamikaze's face is a periscope, next to it is a speed shift knob, which essentially regulates the supply of oxygen to the engine. At the top of the torpedo there was another lever responsible for the direction of movement. The instrument panel was stuffed with all sorts of devices - fuel and oxygen consumption, pressure gauge, clock, depth gauge, etc. At the pilot's feet there is a valve for admitting sea water into the ballast tank to stabilize the weight of the torpedo. It was not so easy to control a torpedo, and besides, the training of pilots left much to be desired - schools appeared spontaneously, but just as spontaneously they were destroyed by American bombers.

Initially, kaiten were used to attack enemy ships moored in bays. The carrier submarine with kaitens attached to the outside (from four to six pieces) detected enemy ships, built a trajectory (literally turned around relative to the location of the target), and the captain of the submarine gave the last order to the suicide bombers.

The suicide bombers entered the kaiten's cabin through a narrow pipe, battened down the hatches and received orders via radio from the submarine captain. The kamikaze pilots were completely blind, they did not see where they were going, because the periscope could be used for no more than three seconds, since this led to the risk of detection of the torpedo by the enemy.

At first, kaitens terrified the American fleet, but then the imperfect technology began to malfunction. Many suicide bombers did not swim to the target and suffocated from lack of oxygen, after which the torpedo simply sank. A little later, the Japanese improved the torpedo by equipping it with a timer, leaving no chance for either the kamikaze or the enemy. But at the very beginning, kaiten claimed to be humane. The torpedo had an ejection system, but it did not work in the most efficient way, or rather, it did not work at all. At high speed, no kamikaze could eject safely, so this was abandoned in later models.

Very frequent raids of the submarine with kaitens led to the devices rusting and breaking down, since the torpedo body was made of steel no more than six millimeters thick. And if the torpedo sank too deeply to the bottom, then the pressure simply flattened the thin hull, and the kamikaze died without due heroism.

Project Kaiten fails

The first evidence of a kaiten attack recorded by the United States dates back to November 1944. The attack involved three submarines and 12 kaiten torpedoes against a moored American ship off the coast of Ulithi Atoll (Carolina Islands). As a result of the attack, one submarine simply sank, of the eight remaining kaitens, two failed upon launch, two sank, one disappeared (although was later found washed ashore) and one exploded before reaching its target. The remaining kaiten crashed into the tanker Mississinewa and sank it. The Japanese command regarded the operation as successful, which was immediately reported to the emperor.

It was possible to use kaitens more or less successfully only at the very beginning. Thus, following the results of naval battles, official Japanese propaganda announced 32 sunk American ships, including aircraft carriers, battleships, cargo ships and destroyers. But these figures are considered too exaggerated. By the end of the war, the American navy had significantly increased its combat power, and it was increasingly difficult for kaiten pilots to hit targets. Large combat units in the bays were reliably guarded, and it was very difficult to approach them unnoticed even at a depth of six meters; the kaitens also did not have the opportunity to attack ships scattered on the open sea - they simply could not withstand long swims.

The defeat at Midway pushed the Japanese to take desperate steps in blind revenge against the American fleet. Kaiten torpedoes were a crisis solution for which the imperial army had high hopes, but they did not materialize. Kaitens had to solve the most important task - to destroy enemy ships, and no matter at what cost, but the further they went, the less effective their use in combat operations seemed to be. A ridiculous attempt to irrationally use human resources led to the complete failure of the project. War is over

In general, we can recall in more detail the history of Japanese ultra-small boats. The Washington Naval Agreement of 1922 was a significant setback in the growing naval arms race that began during the First World War. According to this agreement, the Japanese fleet was significantly inferior to the fleets of England and the United States in the number of aircraft carriers and “capital” ships (battleships, cruisers). Some compensation for this could be permission to build forward bases on the Pacific islands. And since agreements on the number of submarines could not be reached in Washington, Japanese admirals began to plan the deployment of small coastal boats at remote island bases.

In 1932, Captain Kishimoto Kaneji stated: “If we launch large torpedoes with men on board, and if these torpedoes penetrate deep into enemy waters and, in turn, launch small torpedoes, it will be almost impossible to miss.” This statement determined that in the event of attacks on enemy bases and anchorages, small boats would be delivered to the site of the operation on a specialized carrier ship or submarine. Kishimoto believed that if you installed twelve midget submarines on four ships, then victory in any naval battle would be ensured: “In decisive battle between the American and Japanese fleets we will be able to fire almost a hundred torpedoes. By doing this we will immediately reduce the enemy’s forces by half.”

Kishimoto received permission to implement his idea from the head of the naval headquarters, Admiral of the Fleet, Prince Fushimi Hiroyashi. Kishimoto, together with a group of naval officers consisting of four specialists, developed the drawings and, in conditions of the strictest secrecy, two experimental midget submarines were built in 1934. They were officially classified as A-Hyotek (“type A target boats”). To achieve high underwater speed for ultra-small boats, a powerful electric motor was installed on them, and the hull was given a spindle-shaped shape.

Based on the test results, the necessary improvements were made to the project, after which serial construction of boats under the designation Ko-Hyotek was launched. Changes in the design of the submarine turned out to be small - the displacement increased (47 tons instead of 45 tons), the caliber of torpedoes decreased to 450 mm (instead of 533 mm) and The maximum underwater speed of the submarine decreased to 19 knots (from 25).

Japanese Type A boat, Second Lieutenant Sakamaki, at low tide on a reef off the coast of Oahu, December 1941.

Japanese Type C dwarf boats on American-occupied Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, September 1943.

At the same time, Chiyoda and Chitose air transports, as well as Hei-Gata (C) type submarines, were equipped as carrier ships. There is evidence that the Mizuiho and Nisshin seaplanes were also modernized for the same purpose, each of which could transport 12 midget submarines.

The deck sloped towards the stern and the rails made it possible to quickly, in just 17 minutes, launch all the boats. The motherships of ultra-small submarines were supposed to be used in naval battle along with battleships.

On April 15, 1941, 24 junior naval officers received a secret order to join a special formation. They met on board the seaplane carrier Chiuod. The commander of the ship, Harada Kaku, announced to them that the Japanese fleet possesses a top-secret weapon that will revolutionize naval battles, and their task is to master it. All the young officers had diving experience, and Lieutenant Iwasa Naoji and Sub-Lieutenant Akied Saburo had been testing the new weapon for over a year.

Submarine crew training was conducted at Base II, located on the small island of Ourazaki 12 miles south of Kure. During the development of submarines, accidents and breakdowns sometimes occurred. The crews also died, and instead of targets, the boats that ensured their delivery were hit...

The first ultra-small boats had too short a cruising range, which was determined by the capacity of the batteries, and their recharging was possible only on the carrier ship. For the same reason, it was impossible to use boats from unequipped parking lots on the islands. To eliminate this drawback, in the fall of 1942, the design of an improved version of Type B submarines began, which took into account the operational experience of Type A.

At the beginning of 1943, the last five Type A submarines (the total order for them was 51 units) were converted to Type B.

Japanese landing ship Type 101 (S.B. No. 101 Type) in Kure Harbor after the Japanese surrender. 1945

The first of the improved submarines to be tested was the Na-53, and after their completion a series of specially designed modernized Type C submarines was built. The main difference from the Type A submarines was the installation of a diesel generator - with its help, the battery was completely recharged in 18 hours .

T-1 type landing ships were used as carrier ships for type B and C boats.

In December 1943, based on the Type C submarine, the design of a larger Type D (or Koryu) submarine began. The main differences from Type C submarines were the installation of a more powerful diesel generator - with it, the battery charging process decreased to eight hours, seaworthiness increased and living conditions for the crew increased to five people improved. In addition, the hull has become noticeably stronger, which increases the diving depth to 100 m.

In the spring of 1945, even before the completion of testing of the lead ship, serial construction of submarines began. In accordance with the plans of the naval command, by September 1945 it was planned to deliver 570 units to the fleet, with a subsequent construction rate of -180 units per month. To speed up the work, a sectional method was used (the boat was assembled from five sections), which reduced the construction period to 2 months. However, despite the involvement of a large number of shipyards in the Koryu construction program, the pace of delivery of these submarines to the fleet could not be maintained, and by August 1945 there were only 115 boats in service, and another 496 were at various stages of construction.

On the basis of the midget submarine (SMPL) Koryu, in 1944, a project was developed for the underwater ultra-small minelayer M-Kanamono (literal translation - “Metal product Type M”), intended for laying mine cans at enemy bases. Instead of torpedo armament, it carried a mine tube containing four bottom mines. Only one such submarine was built.

At the end of the war, in addition to the family of dwarf submarines, descending from the A-class submarines (types A, B, C and D), the Japanese fleet was also replenished with smaller Kairyu-class submarines (their characteristic feature was fixed side rudders (fins) in the middle part of the hull The design armament consisted of two torpedoes, but their shortage led to the appearance of a boat version with a 600-kg demolition charge instead of torpedo tubes, which actually turned them into human torpedoes.

Serial construction of Kairyu class boats began in February 1945. To speed up the work, it was carried out using a sectional method (the submarine was divided into three sections). The plans of the naval leadership provided for the delivery of 760 ultra-small boats of this type to the fleet by September 1945, but by August only 213 units were delivered, and another 207 were under construction.

Information about the fate of Japanese midget submarines is fragmentary and often contradictory. It is known that during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, 5 Type A midget boats were lost.

Young submarine officers persistently sought the inclusion of midget submarines in the operation against Pearl Harbor. And finally, in October, the command allowed them to be turned on, with the condition that the drivers return after the attack. Work was in full swing. I-22 was the first to arrive in Kure to make the necessary modifications to the design.

A few days later, three more arrived. The fourth submarine, I-24, had just been built in Sasebo and immediately began its sea trials.

The following commanders arrived on the submarines: Lieutenant Iwasa Naoji (I-22), Sub-Lieutenant Yokoyama Masaharu (I-16), Sub-Lieutenant Haruno Shigemi (I-18), Second Lieutenant Hiroo Akira (1-20) and Second Lieutenant Sakamaki Katsuo (I- 24). The second crew members were non-commissioned officers: Sasaki Naoharu (I-22), Ueda Teji (I-16), Yokoyama Harunari (I-18), Katayama Yoshio (I-20), Inagaki Kyoji (I-24). A characteristic detail: the crews were formed only from unmarried submariners, from large families and older sons. Sakamaki Katsuo, for example, was the second of eight sons.

The formation of midget submarines was called Tokubetsu Kogekitai, or Tokko for short. This phrase can be translated as “Special Attack Force”, or “Special Naval Strike Force”.

Early on the morning of 18 November, the submarines left Kure, stopping briefly at Ourazaki to pick up small boats. In the evening they headed for Pearl Harbor. The boats sailed, staying 20 miles apart. The flagship - I-22 - was located in the center. In the daytime, the boats went underwater, fearing detection, and surfaced only at night. According to the plan, they were supposed to arrive at the assembly point, located 100 miles south of Pearl Harbor, at night, after sunset, two days before the attack. Having once again checked the boats under cover of darkness, the carrier submarines were then to leave for Pearl Harbor, take up a position 5 - 10 miles from the entrance to the harbor and disperse in an arc. Three hours before dawn, the leftmost submarine I-16 is the first to launch its midget boat. Then, sequentially, with an interval of 30 minutes, ultra-small boats launch from carriers I-24, I-22, I-18. And finally, the dwarf boat from the last boat I-20 was supposed to pass through the harbor gate half an hour before dawn. In the harbor, all boats were ordered to lie on the bottom, after which they would join the air attack and inflict maximum destruction on the enemy with their ten torpedoes.

At 3:00 the midget boats were launched, and the carrier boats began diving. The “little one” of Lieutenant Sakamaki was unlucky. The gyrocompass failed and the problem could not be eliminated. It was already 5:30, and she was not yet ready to descend, two hours late from the scheduled time. Dawn was approaching when Sakamaki and Inagaki squeezed through the hatch of their boat.

The entrance to Pearl Harbor Bay was blocked by two rows of anti-submarine nets. American minesweepers carried out control trawling of the waters surrounding the base every morning. It was not difficult to follow them into the bay. However, the Japanese plans were disrupted from the very beginning. At 3:42, the minesweeper Condor discovered the submarine's periscope in front of the entrance to the bay. The old destroyer Ward, built in 1918, was included in her search. At about 5:00 the Americans opened a passage in the nets to allow the minesweepers, as well as vehicles, a tug and a barge, to pass. Apparently, two midget submarines managed to sneak into the harbor, and the third was spotted from the Ward and from the Catalina flying boat circling over the sea.

The boat's wheelhouse and part of the cigar-shaped hull rose above the surface of the water. She seemed to notice no one as she moved into the harbor at 8 knots. "Ward" opened direct fire from a distance of 50 meters and hit the base of the wheelhouse with the second shot. The boat shuddered, but continued to move with a ragged hole in the wheelhouse. The explosions of four depth charges tore the boat in half. Catalina also made its contribution, also dropping several bombs. Presumably, the boat of Lieutenant Iwas from the carrier boat I-22 was hit.

Second Lieutenant Sakamaki and Non-Commissioned Officer Inagaki desperately tried to correct the trim of their submarine for more than an hour. With difficulty they managed to do this, and they reached the entrance to the bay. The gyrocompass was still faulty. Sakamaki was forced to raise the periscope, and the boat was spotted from the destroyer Helm. Having sunk and moving away from him, the boat hit a reef and stuck out of the water. The destroyer opened fire and rushed to the ram. However, he slipped past, while the boat managed to free itself from the reef and leave, but as a result of hitting the reef, one of the torpedo tubes jammed, and water began to flow into the hull. Due to the chemical reaction of water with sulfuric acid in the batteries, a suffocating gas began to be released. Somewhere at 14:00 the submarine hit the reef again. The second torpedo tube failed.

On the morning of December 8, a helpless, uncontrollable boat found itself close to the shore. Sakamaki started the engine, but the boat hit the reef again! This time she was stuck firmly. Sakamaki decided to blow up the boat and swim to land himself. Having inserted detonators into the demolition charges, he lit the fuse. Sakamaki and Inagaki rushed into the sea. It was 6 o'clock. 40 minutes... Inagaki, who jumped into the water after commander, drowned. The exhausted Sakamaki was captured on the shore by five patrolmen of the 298th American Infantry Division...

Another super small one Submarine, most likely, was sunk at 10:00 by the cruiser Saint Louis. Heading towards the exit from the bay, he came under torpedo attack. Having dodged two torpedoes, the cruiser discovered a boat behind the outside of the net fence and fired at it. As for the fifth boat, according to modern data, it managed to get into the harbor, where it took part in a torpedo attack on a battleship, and then sank along with the crew (possibly sunk by them).

Among other operations of midget submarines, it should be mentioned that three more boats of this type were lost on May 30, 1942 in the Diego Suarez area, and four in Sydney Harbor on May 31, 1942.

During the battles near the Solomon Islands in 1942, eight Type A submarines (including Na-8, Na-22 and Na-38) were lost. In the area of ​​the Aleutian Islands in 1942 - 1943, three more Type A boats were lost. In 1944 - 1945, during the defense of the Philippines and the island of Okinawa, eight Type C boats were lost.

sources

http://www.furfur.me/furfur/all/culture/166467-kayten

http://modelist-konstruktor.com/morskaya_kollekcziya/yaponskie-sverxmalye

http://www.simvolika.org/mars_128.htm

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