This is one of the best documentaries about the insanity of war and the lengths the leaders of men would go to. Talk about sending young men to their deaths. I'm just glad that these stories exist to show the extremes of War . There's not a lot of difference to sending soldiers to the beaches of Normandy on D.Day.
By 1944 the Americans had become so good at anti-submarine warfare that any Japanese submarine that was foolish to sail near a major American naval base was at severe risk of being sunk. Although the Kaiten was a suicide weapon, any Japanese mother ship that ventured anywhere near an American anchorage was at risk of becoming one too
Not sure why you would call the human torpedo "insane". Most countries had them in WWII. The Italians and their "pig" sunk a British battleship in the Mediterranean. I don't think the German version got past the trial stage.
Theirs was insane because it was designed and intended as a suicide device, in spite of the fact that the conventional long lance was much more effective. And no, the kaitens were the only human torpedos. Other countries had midget subs designed for the operators to survive. Totally different device and purpose.
For the complete story on which this video was based, read 'Kaiten Special Attack Group, A Story of Stolen Youth', the autobiography of Yutaka Yokota. In it, Yutaka describes how he was selected to be a kaiten pilot, the incredibly dangerous training process, the dark side of the IJN and his incredible tale of survival. Included are vivid descriptions of civilian life in wartime Japan and the harsh reality of life and death on Japanese submarines.
There was a mid 1980s made for TV movie called The Road Raiders that had the destruction of Kamikaze subs/torpedoes as it's objective. This movie was slated to be the pilot episode for a series that didn't get the green light. The episode saw the introduction of a misfit group of US and British military that fate had thrown together around the time the Island Hopping campaign in the Pacific Theater was heating up. This rag tag band was on the same plane shot down in the vicinity of a seemingly abandoned air base/military junkyard, with the group initially elated that they had found a place to lay low and let the war pass them by. Of course, the Japanese Army immediately arrived in preparation for the deployment of the Kamikaze subs. The group then created a number of Mad Max style vehicles using the assorted military scrap to drive the Japanese from the island and thwart the sub's implementation. Think of it kinda like a military version of The A Team. I loved the movie as a kid, and I actually rediscovered it on UA-cam last month for free and gave it a rewatch. A little corny to my now 48 year old logic, but still not too bad.
Could you imagine being told you’re going to test out a new weapon for the war effort. They order you to get in the torpedo and then tell you “The door can only be opened from the outside” right before they close the hatch 💀 I would have an actual heart attack
-Italian frogmen used "similar" manned, powered torpedoes against the Brits in WWII. With some success. Only difference the Luigi's attached the warhead to the enemy ship and retreated, before ...........KA-BOOM!
Would not have been more sensible to just attack ships on the open ocean with conventional torpedoes. I have the feeling that the Japanese were engaging in suicide attacks for the sake of engaging in suicide attacks.
Human torpedoes existed way before the Kayten or even world war 2. They were used by the Italians in the end of world war 1 but off-course in a different manner. The non-Japanese varieties were infiltration vehicles and were used to insert commandos into enemy ports who attached mines to the ships anchored there. The concept was used later by the British and the Germans. Similar vehicles were used by US special ops and by the Israelis up to the 80ies and only in recent years were replaced by underwater drones. The Japanese concept is just the only one that's explicitly suicidal (not that other manned torpedoes weren't de-facto suicidal or at least one-way, commandos infiltrating by such means frequently couldn't be extracted so they were either killed or surrendered after the mission)
Why say, “Fortunately,” or, “Unfortunately,” in reference to the kaitans to go to sea in order to sink, or not to be able to sink American ships?? I should think you’d express the exact opposite! Whose side are you on, anyway??
ANOTHER uninspired, uncreative and unimaginative UA-cam content creator that just HAS to use the word “INSANE” to describe something that isn't and has nothing to do with sanity. Just another crutch word for the masses.
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1:25
This is one of best videos on this subject I've ever heard, thank you
Greatly appreciate it! Thanks for watching and have a fantastic rest of your week :)
Excellent research! Great video
Appreciate you watching and have a great week :)
As usual, great video. I really enjoyed it.
Greatly appreciate it! Have a fantastic rest of your week :)
Another great video mate
Appreciate you watching and have a great rest of your week :)
This is one of the best documentaries about the insanity of war and the lengths the leaders of men would go to. Talk about sending young men to their deaths. I'm just glad that these stories exist to show the extremes of War . There's not a lot of difference to sending soldiers to the beaches of Normandy on D.Day.
Greatly appreciate the kind words :) Have a fantastic week!
There's so much of a difference i don't want to start.
By 1944 the Americans had become so good at anti-submarine warfare that any Japanese submarine that was foolish to sail near a major American naval base was at severe risk of being sunk. Although the Kaiten was a suicide weapon, any Japanese mother ship that ventured anywhere near an American anchorage was at risk of becoming one too
And then there was USS Growler. Rammed a Japanese ship, dived, and made it back to port. Sadly Howard Gilmore sacrificed himself for Growler to dive.
Thanks for watching and have a great rest of your week :)
I feel pride at the innovation and invention brought to bear. It took a lot to solve these terrible challenges
41:19 the front row of pilots looks like they rammed their right eye into the periscope.
Thanks for watching and have a great week :)
Super interesting, thank you.
Appreciate you watching and have a great rest of your week :)
Battleship Tamato?
Not sure why you would call the human torpedo "insane". Most countries had them in WWII. The Italians and their "pig" sunk a British battleship in the Mediterranean. I don't think the German version got past the trial stage.
There’s were more kamikaze while others at least still pretended to care about the pilots safety
Theirs was insane because it was designed and intended as a suicide device, in spite of the fact that the conventional long lance was much more effective. And no, the kaitens were the only human torpedos. Other countries had midget subs designed for the operators to survive. Totally different device and purpose.
yeah but the italians had a watch to open the hatch from the INSIDE. japan's did NOT
For the complete story on which this video was based, read 'Kaiten Special Attack Group, A Story of Stolen Youth', the autobiography of Yutaka Yokota. In it, Yutaka describes how he was selected to be a kaiten pilot, the incredibly dangerous training process, the dark side of the IJN and his incredible tale of survival. Included are vivid descriptions of civilian life in wartime Japan and the harsh reality of life and death on Japanese submarines.
There was a mid 1980s made for TV movie called The Road Raiders that had the destruction of Kamikaze subs/torpedoes as it's objective. This movie was slated to be the pilot episode for a series that didn't get the green light. The episode saw the introduction of a misfit group of US and British military that fate had thrown together around the time the Island Hopping campaign in the Pacific Theater was heating up. This rag tag band was on the same plane shot down in the vicinity of a seemingly abandoned air base/military junkyard, with the group initially elated that they had found a place to lay low and let the war pass them by. Of course, the Japanese Army immediately arrived in preparation for the deployment of the Kamikaze subs. The group then created a number of Mad Max style vehicles using the assorted military scrap to drive the Japanese from the island and thwart the sub's implementation. Think of it kinda like a military version of The A Team.
I loved the movie as a kid, and I actually rediscovered it on UA-cam last month for free and gave it a rewatch. A little corny to my now 48 year old logic, but still not too bad.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing I hadn’t heard of that! Appreciate you watching and have a fantastic week :)
Could you imagine being told you’re going to test out a new weapon for the war effort. They order you to get in the torpedo and then tell you “The door can only be opened from the outside” right before they close the hatch 💀 I would have an actual heart attack
Excellent presentation!
Greatly appreciate it! Thanks for watching and have a fantastic rest of your week :)
Thank you hidden history for yet another professional video.😊
Greatly appreciate it! Thanks for watching and have a fantastic rest of your week :)
Outstanding, thank you.
Appreciate you watching and have a great rest of your week :)
im about to diiiiiive in
Splasshhhh
Tenacious Tanaka?
-Italian frogmen used "similar" manned, powered torpedoes against the Brits in WWII. With some success. Only difference the Luigi's attached the warhead to the enemy ship and retreated, before ...........KA-BOOM!
Appreciate you watching and have a great rest of your week :)
@@HiddenHistoryYT You too, enjoy the weekend.
Just goes to show how incomprehensable the Japanese concept of `Honour` was, and still is! us(typo!)
Appreciate you watching and have a great rest of your week :)
Would not have been more sensible to just attack ships on the open ocean with conventional torpedoes. I have the feeling that the Japanese were engaging in suicide attacks for the sake of engaging in suicide attacks.
Probably correct. Appreciate you watching and have a great rest of your week :)
Human torpedoes existed way before the Kayten or even world war 2. They were used by the Italians in the end of world war 1 but off-course in a different manner. The non-Japanese varieties were infiltration vehicles and were used to insert commandos into enemy ports who attached mines to the ships anchored there. The concept was used later by the British and the Germans. Similar vehicles were used by US special ops and by the Israelis up to the 80ies and only in recent years were replaced by underwater drones.
The Japanese concept is just the only one that's explicitly suicidal (not that other manned torpedoes weren't de-facto suicidal or at least one-way, commandos infiltrating by such means frequently couldn't be extracted so they were either killed or surrendered after the mission)
Isn't. That the Kai 10 suicide. Submarine it was only used once
Kuroki, looks to have European features ?
名前からしてたぶん九州南部の人間です。私の親戚などそうゆう顔立ちの人は昔の日本人のなかにはたくさんいます。
Your pronunciation of the Kaiten hurts my ears. It is pronounced KI-ten.
Great collection of random pics - waste of time
Thanks!
They didn't have iphones to film everything at that time.
Why say, “Fortunately,” or, “Unfortunately,” in reference to the kaitans to go to sea in order to sink, or not to be able to sink American ships?? I should think you’d express the exact opposite! Whose side are you on, anyway??
Oxygen a fuel....interesting concept.
Also pick a pronunciation and stick with it.
ANOTHER uninspired, uncreative and unimaginative UA-cam content creator that just HAS to use the word “INSANE” to describe something that isn't and has nothing to do with sanity. Just another crutch word for the masses.