[Milsurplus] A Visit to Battleship Cove

[Mark Richards]

David Stinson wrote:
> Speaking of museum subs:
> Have any of you seen the Japanese suicide sub ("Ki-ten," or somethin' 
> like that) that's on display at Pearl Harbor?
> It looks like something out of "The Flintstones."  I don't understand 
> how that thing could even float, much less sink a U.S. cruiser.
> 73 Dave S.
The Kaiten was a last-ditch effort that involved the retrofit of 
torpedoes as 1-man bombs.  These were launched from larger sensuikan. 
Allegedly a DE and a tanker sank to these devices.  There was far more 
loss to the Japanese as these weapons were, once launched, not intended 
to return.  The samurai tradition of the Japanese military at that time 
suggested the pilot do himself in rather than face the shame of failure.

Mini-subs involved at Pearl were larger than kaiten (and equally 
clunky).  They were not intended as suicide weapons but rather would 
deliver a Type 97 torpedo.  At Pearl these contributed nothing to the 
success of the attack and in fact nearly tipped off the base to its 
impending doom.

Had they only been awake.

/m