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A “Kaiten”, Japanese suicide torpedo. A soldier would enter and direct the weapon to its target, sacrificing his life.
Kaiten (回天, literal translation: “Turn the Heaven”, commonly rendered as “turn of the Heaven’s will”, “the heaven shaker”) were manned torpedoes and suicide craft, used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the final stages of World War II.
Kaiten pilots were all men aged between 17 and 28. Initial training consisted of sailing fast surface boats by periscope and instrument readings alone.
When a pilot had advanced past this basic training, he would begin training on Kaitens. Training craft were fitted with a dummy warhead that contained telemetry equipment and an emergency blowing tank that could return the craft to the surface should the trainee dive to a dangerous depth.
Kaiten training started with basic circular runs to and from a fixed landmark at a reduced speed; the training advanced to faster and more hazardous runs around rocks and through channels in deeper waters. The more difficult runs required the pilot to surface and check the periscope repeatedly, and required conscientious adjusting of trim tank levels because of the reducing weight as oxygen was used up.
When the instructors were confident about a pilot’s abilities, they would advance the pilot to open water training against target ships. Training at this level was often done at full attack speed, and either at night or in twilight.
The final phase of training would be a submarine launch and more open water attack runs on target ships.
Training was dangerous, and 15 men died in accidents, most commonly collisions with the target vessels. Although the warheads were only dummies, the impact at ramming speed was enough to both cripple the Kaiten and severely injure the pilot.
In action, the Kaiten was always operated by one man, but the larger training models (Types 2, 4, and 5) could carry two or even four. Kaiten pilots who were leaving for their final missions would leave testaments and messages behind for their loved ones.
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.