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The suicide weapons of Japan

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The suicide weapons of Japan The suicide weapons
of Japan
After the Second World War, very many reporters, journalists and writers have dedicated dozens of books to the attempt of explaining to the western mentality the causes of the "kamikaze" phenomenon. But nobody managed to give a valid explanation to the questions that our curiosity and convictions encourage us to formulate. Actually, this is very logical. Nobody can demonstrate to those who were grown within an enviroment soaked with a certain culture and civilization the feelings of those who, on the contrary, have lived within a society marked by a different culture. It is useless, for example, to try to judge with a western perspective, as many do, the actions of those who, out of their free will, have killed others by means of killing themselves. The only way of observing the phenomenon in question is to fit it in the period in which it took place, and to accept its reality as it is. But something less known is that along with the most famous "kamikaze" (the suicide pilots) there were many others who operated in sea and land. Albeit the scenarios which witnessed their last actions were different, the methods and intentions of these actions were not different. To achieve the destruction of the enemy contraptions which were built on purpose for achieving this goal, and which allowed to achieve it only at the expense of the life of those who manned them, were frequently used. Let us see some of these weapons.
The aircraft employed by the suicide pilots were of the most diverse types, for whatever was available in the moment was used. Only three aircraft were designed for suicide attacks: a rocket-propelled bomb, a twin-engine turbojet aircraft and a piston-engine aircraft. The latter two had no time to enter service.
NAKAJIMA J9Y "KIKKA" (Azahar)

This twin-engine turbojet aircraft, whose common name was "Kitsuka", was of clearly national inspiration, albeit it was undoubtedly a derivative of the German Me 262. Originally planned as an interceptor and bomber aircraft, it had been adapted to the suicide employment because of the necessities of the moment. It was an aircraft endowed with excellent characteristics, but in the last days of the war it was still in the stage of prototype.

 YOKOSUKA MXY-7 "OHKA" (Cherry Blossom)

This was a contraption which had an ogive filled with 1,200 kilograms of explosive and was propelled by a battery of three rockets, which allowed it to reach a maximum speed of 925 kilometers/hour at the end of its diving trajectory. But this one demonstrated to be a contraption of limited effectiveness and only 852 exemplars were produced.
NAKAJIMA KI-115 "TSURUGI" (Sword)

This was a piston-engine monoplane aircraft of conventional type, fitted with a single engine, which was capable of carrying a 500-kilogram bomb while flying at a maximum speed of 522 kilometers/hour. It was an aircraft of very economical construction, which allowed to spare other types of aircraft. A good amount of exemplars were prepared but they were never used.
KAITEN (Return to Heaven)

This was a midget submarine which was manned by a single pilot who should launch the attack similarly as the Italian "Maiali" (Pigs) did, but with the difference that we already know. They were deployed near the target either by submarines or by fast surface ships which were especially adapted for this role. They were used in diverse attacks (generally at night), but apparently without result. Only at the end of the war it was known that the "Kaiten" had damaged some American ships, among them an aircraft carrier.
SHINYO (Sea Quake)

These were small boats, of about six meters in length, built like the assault "barchini" of the Italian Navy. The difference was that in this case the pilot should not get out of the boat before the impact against the enemy vessel, but stay at the controls until crashing against the target at a speed of 30 knots. Some more than 5,000 exemplars were built, but very few of them were used and they did not yield significant results.
ANTI-TANK POLE BOMBS

These were generally Type 3 hollow-charge anti-tank hand grenades which were attached to the end of one or more wooden poles, to distantiate them two or three meters away from the operator. These bombs, by capitalizing on the hollow-charge effect, were capable of perforating up to 150 millimeters of steel armor if the operator, after having removed the safety device, pushed them with strength against a vertical armor plate of an enemy tank. Since the effect of these charges was directional the explosion should develop only before the weapon, but what actually happened was that, regardless of having destroyed the tank, the operator was killed by the explosion.

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