The Kaiten Weapon PDF
Preview The Kaiten Weapon
w JAPAN'S SECRET WEAPON S600 1 Japan's suicide torpedo pilots -underwater counterjmrt of the deadly and fanatic Kamikaze. BY YUTAKA YOKOTA. FORMER PETTY OFFICER IN THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY WITH JOSEPH D. HARRINGTON ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS In August 1944, the author of this book volun- teered to give his life in defense of Japan. With 100 other men he was transferred fronn training as a fighter pilot to a top-secret naval base. There, forthefirsttinne, he sawthe suicide weapon in which he had volunteered to die. It was a torpedo, 54 feet long and carrying 3,000 pounds of high explosive in the warhead at its nose. — It could run at 40 knots underwater faster than any ship. And it would be guided to a direct hit on a U.S. warship by a human pilot who would die in the blast. In THE KAITEN WEAPON Yutaka Yokota. who miraculously survived the war, tells how he learned to operate his suicide torpedo and describes the farewell ceremony in which a man is dedicated to death. Most important, he suc- ceeds in conveying to American readers an understanding of men like himself who delib- erately accepted annihilation in the hope of defeating us in World War IL other books in this Bailantine Series ... 227 THE BAHLE FOR LEYTE GULF 35( C. Vann Woodward The full account of the Japanese Navy in the greatest naval battle of World War 11. 317K KAMIKAZE 350 Yasuo Kuwahara & Gordon T. Alfred The pov/erful story of a suicide pilot who es- caped death by an Ironic miracle. S457K JAPANESE DESTROYER CAPTAIN 75t Capt. Tomeichi Hara, Fred Saito & Roger Pineau From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa, the great naval battles as seen by Japanese eyes. Photos. F404K SAMURAI SOif Soburo Sakai with Martin Caidin & Fred Saito The extraordinary account of the Japanese sur- vivor of over 200 air battles. F425K A TORCH TO THE ENEMY 50$ Martin Caidin The War's most spectacular fire-raid that de- stroyed Tokyo. Photos. S467K ZERO 75$ Masatake Okumiya & Jiro Horikoshi with Martin Caidin The inside story ofJapan's airwar in the Pacific. — This is an original publication not a reprint. BY YUTAKA YOKQTA, FO^MEK PETTY OFFfSE^ Iff THf IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY WITH JOSEPH D. HARRINGTON BAllANTINE BOOKS WSW YORK © Copjnight 1962 byYutakaYokota and Joseph D. Harrington PRINTID IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMEKICA BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC. 101 Fifth Avenue, New York 3, N. Y. H FOREWORD 03 I had already written a book, in Japanese, about my ex- periences, several years before I was introduced to Mr. Har- rington, who was seeking out ex-Navy men. Impressed with his profound knowledge of Japanese naval activities in the war, I agreedto furnishhimmaterial from the fournotebook diaries I had filled while on active service. I am happy that our collaboration has resulted in this manuscript, which will acquaint Americans with a Japanese military secret so well- guarded that many of my countrjmien still have no knowl- edge of it. Perhaps our story will also help Americans imderstand what sort of men their naval sons and brothers fought yUTAKA YOKOTA Ckofu, Tokyo-to, Japan December, 1961 Ingathering material forthisworkIwashelped tremendous- ly by Mr. Masaru Fujimoto, managing editor of Mainichi Daily News, a leading English-language newspaper in Yo- kota's country. Japanese does not translate easily into Eng- lish. Much has to be interpreted and explained, together with the background behind a particular phrase or thought. This is singularly important when trying to relate the tale of men so staunch that they could volunteer for deliberate death in their country's behalf, then maintain a peak level of determination for manymonths before getting intoaction. Such an action is not easily explained. Masaru Fujimoto was bom in America, and educated at the University of California (Berkeley campus). He was a staff member of the American Embassy in Tokyo on De- cember 7, 1941, and for nearly twenty years has been a working newspaperman inJapan, the U.S. and Eiurope. Hav- ing moved back and forth between the Oriental and Occi- dentalworlds, heisparticularlywell-equippedfor the ticklish task of explaining either to the other. Thisbookcouldnothavebeenwrittenwithouttheinterest, aid and encouragement of a person like Masaru Fujimoto. Because of him I have grown to understand the Japanese people a little, respect them a lot, and perhaps have given a few of them some small idea of my country and people. I have also made a friend for whom I have much affection. If the great gap between America and Asia is ever truly closed, the credit will belong to men like him. Joseph D. Harrington East St. Louis, Illinois December, 1961 O CONTENTS B Foreword 5 I Volunteer for a "No-Return" Mission .... 9 I Learn About My New Weapon 21 The First Kaiten Mission 37 My First Kaiten Ride 54 Undeserved Punishment, and Sweet Revenge. 69 . I Am Selected for a Mission 83 My Last Leave. Yazaki's Death 100 AnotherTragedy,andMission Reorganization.113 Our Tatara Group Goes Out on a Mission 126 Disappointment, and Return 140 Another Change in Tactics, Out with the Tembu Group 154 1-36 Draws First Blood 167 "Kaiten, AwayI" 181 The Todoroki Group Is Formed 193 Attack and Counterattack 208 Heroism and Survival 221 The Struggle's End, and My Dilemma 236 Epilogue 256 , Photos follow page 128 H DEDICATION Q For Gini, who brought me coffee in quantity, andfor Sheila and Polly, who made sure their play- mates avoided "that corner^* of our basement where the working papers jar this book lay in crazy dis- array.
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