The were Japanese

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

motorboats A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the intern ...

developed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They were part of the wider

Japanese Special Attack Units During World War II, , also called ''shimbu-tai'', were specialized units of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army normally used for suicide missions (specifically, suicide attacks). They included ''kamikaze'' aircraft, ''fukur ...

program.

History

Towards the end of 1943, in response to unfavorable progress in the war, the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

high command heard suggestions for various suicide craft. These suggestions were initially rejected as "defeatist" but later deemed necessary. For the naval department this meant ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

'' planes, ''

kaiten were crewed torpedoes and suicide attack, suicide craft, used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the final stages of World War II. Background In recognition of the unfavorable progress of the war, towards the end of 1943 the Japanese high co ...

'' submarines, ''

fukuryu (also known as suicide divers and kamikaze frogmen) were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units prepared to resist the invasion of Japan's Japanese archipelago, Home islands by Allies of World War II, Allied forces. Six thousand men were pla ...

'' suicide divers or human

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

s, and ''shinyo'' suicide boats.

Characteristics

These fast motorboats were driven by one man, to speeds of around . They were typically equipped with a bow-mounted charge of up to of

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...

s that could be detonated by either impact or from a manual switch in the driver's area. These attack boats also carried two anti-ship rockets mounted on launchers located on either side of the boat behind the driver. The similar ''Maru-Ni'', which were used by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

, were equipped with two

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

s, and were not actually suicide boats, as the idea was to drop the depth charges and then turn around before the explosion took place. Although the chances of the boat and crew surviving the wave from the explosion might seem slim, a small number of crewmen successfully escaped. The depth charges used were known as the ''Experimental Manufacture Use 120 kg Depth Charge'', and were armed by a delayed-action pull igniter. The program began in March 1944. The first vessels were tested on 27 May, after which it was decided that the original steel hull design would be replaced by a wooden hull due to the Japanese steel shortage. On 1 August, 150 students, on average 17 years old, elected to begin training for the ''Shinyo''. 6,197 ''Shinyo'' boats were produced for the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

and 3,000 ''Maru-ni'' for the

.Japanese Suicide Weapons
/ref> Around 400 boats were transported to

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

and

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

, and the rest were stored on the coast of Japan for the ultimate defense against the expected invasion of the Home islands. The main operative use took place during the Philippines Campaign of 1944–45.

Operational results

*January 10, 1945: Sinking of American ships USS ''LCI(G)-365'' (Landing Craft Infantry – Gunboat), USS ''LCI(M)-974'' (Landing Craft Infantry – Mortar) and crippling of USS ''War Hawk'' (an auxiliary transport) in

Lingayen Gulf Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central (Luzon), Cordillera Central. The Agno ...

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, Philippines. *January 31, 1945: Sinking of (

Submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a type of small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. They encompass designs that are now largely obsolete, but which played an important role in the wars of the first half of th ...

) off

Nasugbu Nasugbu, officially the Municipality of Nasugbu (), is a municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 136,524 people. Several bus services provide transportation to and from Na ...

in Luzon, Philippines. *February 16, 1945: Sinking of USS ''LCS(L)-7'' (

Landing Craft Support The Landing Craft, Support (Large) were two distinct classes of amphibious warfare vessels used by the United States Navy (USN) in the Pacific and the Royal Navy in World War II. The USN versions, which were later reclassified Landing Ship Supp ...

– Large), ''LCS(L)-26'', and ''LCS(L)-49'' off

Mariveles Mariveles, officially the Municipality of Mariveles (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 149,879 people making it ...

, Corregidor Channel, Luzon. *April 4, 1945: Sinking of USS ''LCI(G)-82'' (

Landing Craft Infantry The Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) were several classes of landing craft used by the Allies to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches during World War II. They were developed in response to a British request for seagoing amphibious as ...

– Gunboat) and (Landing Ship Medium) off Okinawa. *April 9, 1945: Damaging of . *April 27, 1945: Crippling of in

Buckner Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, all ...

, Okinawa. *May 4, 1945: Damaging of in the north end of

, Okinawa.

References

Bibliography

External links