The popularized and highly distorted image of the Japanese kamikaze, formed in the minds of Europeans, has little to do with who they really were. We imagine the kamikaze as a fanatical and desperate warrior, with a red bandage around his head, a man with an angry look at the controls of an old aircraft, rushing towards the target, shouting “banzai!”. But kamikaze were not only air suicide bombers, they also acted under water.

Preserved in a steel capsule - a guided torpedo-kaiten, kamikaze destroyed the enemies of the emperor, sacrificing themselves for Japan and at sea. They will be discussed in today's material.

Restored submarine Na-51 (Type C) on display in Guam

Schools of kamikaze

Before proceeding directly to the story of “live torpedoes”, it is worth briefly diving into the history of the formation of schools and the ideology of kamikaze.

The education system in Japan in the middle of the 20th century differed little from the dictatorial schemes for the formation of a new ideology. From an early age, children were taught that when they died for the emperor, they were doing the right thing and their death would be blessed. As a result of this academic practice, young Japanese grew up with the motto "jusshi reisho" ("sacrifice your life").

Plus, the state machine in every possible way concealed any information about the defeats (even the most insignificant ones) of the Japanese army. The propaganda created a false impression of Japan's capabilities and effectively convinced poorly educated children that their deaths were a step towards total Japanese victory in the war.

It is appropriate to recall the Bushido Code, which played an important role in shaping the ideals of kamikaze. Japanese warriors from the time of the samurai considered death literally as part of life. They got used to the fact of death and were not afraid of its approach.

Educated and experienced pilots flatly refused to go to the kamikaze squads, referring to the fact that they simply had to stay alive in order to train new fighters who were destined to become suicide bombers.

Thus, the more young people who sacrificed themselves, the younger were the recruits who took their places. Many were practically teenagers, not even 17 years old, who had a chance to prove their loyalty to the empire and prove themselves as “real men”.

Kamikaze recruited from poorly educated young guys, the second or third boys in families. This selection was due to the fact that the first (i.e. eldest) boy in the family usually became the heir to the fortune and therefore did not fall into the military sample.

Kamikaze pilots received a form to fill out and took five oath points:

The soldier is obliged to fulfill his obligations.
A soldier is obliged to observe the rules of decency in his life.
The soldier is obliged to highly revere the heroism of the military forces.
A soldier must be a highly moral person.
A soldier must live a simple life.

So simply and simply, all the "heroism" of the kamikaze was reduced to five rules.

Despite the pressure of ideology and the imperial cult, not every young Japanese was eager to accept with a pure heart the fate of a suicide bomber, ready to die for his country. The kamikaze schools did have queues of young kids, but that's only part of the story.

It's hard to believe, but even today there are still "live kamikazes". One of them, Kenichiro Onuki, in his notes said that young people could not help but enroll in kamikaze squads, because this could bring trouble to their families. He recalled that when he was "offered" to become a kamikaze, he laughed at the idea, but changed his mind overnight. If he dared to disobey the order, then the most harmless thing that could happen to him is the stigma of "a coward and a traitor", and in the worst case, death. Although for the Japanese, everything can be just the opposite. By chance, his plane did not start during a sortie, and he survived.

The story of the submarine kamikaze is not as fun as the story of Kenichiro. There were no survivors left in it.

Midway operation

The idea of ​​creating suicide torpedoes was born in the minds of the Japanese military command after a brutal defeat in the battle of Midway Atoll.

While the drama known to the world was unfolding in Europe, a completely different war was going on in the Pacific. In 1942, the Japanese Imperial Navy decided to attack Hawaii from the tiny Midway Atoll, the extreme western group of the Hawaiian archipelago. The atoll was home to a US airbase, which the Japanese army decided to launch its large-scale offensive from, destroying it.

But the Japanese miscalculated. The Battle of Midway was one of the major failures and the most dramatic episode in that part of the globe. During the attack, the imperial fleet lost four large aircraft carriers and many other ships, but accurate data on Japanese casualties have not been preserved. However, the Japanese never really considered their soldiers, but even without that, the loss greatly demoralized the military spirit of the fleet.

This defeat marked the beginning of a series of Japanese failures at sea, and the military command had to invent alternative ways of waging war. Real patriots should have appeared, brainwashed, with a gleam in their eyes and not afraid of death. So there was a special experimental unit of underwater kamikaze. These suicide bombers were not much different from aircraft pilots, their task was identical - sacrificing themselves to destroy the enemy.

Battleship main battery turret IUCU(Mutsu)

From sky to water

Underwater kamikazes used kaiten torpedoes to carry out their mission under water, which means “the will of heaven” in translation. In fact, the kaiten was a symbiosis of a torpedo and a small submarine. He worked on pure oxygen and was able to reach speeds of up to 40 knots, thanks to which he could hit almost any ship of that time.

A torpedo from the inside is an engine, a powerful charge and a very compact place for a suicide pilot. At the same time, it was so narrow that even by the standards of small Japanese, there was a catastrophic lack of space. On the other hand, what difference does it make when death is inevitable.

1 Japanese kaiten at Camp Dealy, 1945 3. Kaitens in drydock, Kure, October 19, 1945. 4, 5. A submarine sunk by American aircraft during the Okinawa campaign.

Directly in front of the face of the kamikaze is a periscope, next to it is the speed switch, which essentially regulates the oxygen supply to the engine. At the top of the torpedo there was another lever responsible for the direction of movement. The dashboard was crammed with all sorts of devices - fuel and oxygen consumption, pressure gauge, clock, depth gauge and so on. At the pilot's feet there is a valve for letting seawater into the ballast tank to stabilize the weight of the torpedo. It was not so easy to control a torpedo, besides, the training of pilots left much to be desired - schools appeared spontaneously, but just as spontaneously they were destroyed by American bombers.

Initially, kaiten were used to attack enemy ships moored in bays. A carrier submarine with kaitens fixed outside (from four to six pieces) detected enemy ships, built a trajectory (literally turned around relative to the location of the target), and the submarine captain gave the last order to the suicide bombers.

Through a narrow pipe, the suicide bombers penetrated into the cabin of the kaiten, battened down the hatches and received orders by radio from the captain of the submarine. The kamikaze pilots were completely blind, they did not see where they were going, because it was possible to use the periscope for no more than three seconds, since this led to the risk of detecting a torpedo by the enemy.

At first, kaitens terrified the American fleet, but then imperfect equipment began to malfunction. Many suicide bombers did not swim to the target and suffocated from lack of oxygen, after which the torpedo simply sank. A little later, the Japanese improved the torpedo by equipping it with a timer, leaving no chance for either the kamikaze or the enemy. But at the very beginning, kaiten claimed humanity. The torpedo was provided with an ejection system, but it did not work in the most efficient way, or rather, did not work at all. At high speed, no kamikaze could safely eject, so this was abandoned in later designs.

Very frequent raids by submarines with kaitens led to the fact that the devices rusted and failed, since the body of the torpedo was made of steel no more than six millimeters thick. And if the torpedo sank too deep to the bottom, then the pressure simply flattened the thin body, and the kamikaze died without due heroism.

The failure of the Kaiten project

The first evidence of a kaiten attack recorded by the United States dates from November 1944. The attack involved three submarines and 12 kite torpedoes against a moored American vessel off the coast of Ulithi Atoll (Caroline Islands). As a result of the attack, one submarine simply sank, of the eight remaining kaitens, two failed at launch, two sank, one disappeared (although it was later found washed ashore) and one exploded before reaching the target. The remaining kaiten crashed into the Mississineva tanker and sank it. The Japanese command regarded the operation as successful, which was immediately reported to the emperor.

It was possible to use kaitens more or less successfully only at the very beginning. So, following the results of naval battles, the official propaganda of Japan announced that 32 American ships were sunk, including aircraft carriers, battleships, cargo ships and destroyers. But these figures are considered too exaggerated. By the end of the war, the American Navy had significantly increased its combat power, and it was increasingly difficult for kaiten pilots to hit targets. Large combat units in the bays were reliably guarded, and it was very difficult to approach them imperceptibly even at a depth of six meters, the kaitens also had no opportunity to attack ships scattered in the open sea - they simply could not withstand long swims.

The defeat at Midway pushed the Japanese to desperate steps in blind revenge on the American fleet. Kaiten torpedoes were a crisis solution that the imperial army had high hopes for, but they did not materialize. Kaitens had to solve the most important task - to destroy enemy ships, and no matter what the cost, however, the farther, the less effective their use in hostilities was seen. A ridiculous attempt to irrationally use the human resource led to the complete failure of the project. War is over

In general, you can recall in more detail the history of Japanese midget boats. The Washington Naval Agreement of 1922 was a significant obstacle to the growing naval arms race that began during the First World War. According to this agreement, the Japanese fleet in terms of the number of aircraft carriers and "capital" ships (battleships, cruisers) was significantly inferior to the fleets of England and the United States. Some compensation for this could be the permission to build forward bases on the Pacific Islands. And since it was not possible to reach agreements on the number of submarines in Washington, the Japanese admirals began to plan the deployment of small coastal boats on remote island bases.

In 1932, Captain Kishimoto Kaneji stated: “If we launch large torpedoes with people on board, and if these torpedoes penetrate deep into enemy waters and, in turn, launch small torpedoes, it will be almost impossible to miss.” This statement determined that in the event of attacks by enemy bases and anchorages of the enemy, small boats would be delivered to the site of the operation on a specialized carrier ship or submarine. Kishimoto believed that if twelve midget submarines were installed on four ships, then victory in any naval battle would be ensured: “In the decisive battle between the American and Japanese fleets, we can fire almost a hundred torpedoes. By doing this, we will immediately cut the enemy’s forces by half.”

Kishimoto received permission to implement his idea from the head of the naval headquarters, Admiral of the Fleet, Prince Fushimi Hiroyashi. Kishimoto, together with a group of naval officers, consisting of four specialists, developed drawings and, in the strictest secrecy, two experimental midget submarines were built in 1934. Officially, they were classified as A-Huotek (“type A target boats”). To achieve high underwater speed, ultra-small boats were equipped with a powerful electric motor, and the hull was given a spindle shape.

Based on the test results, the necessary improvements were made to the project, after which the serial construction of boats under the designation Ko-Nuotek was launched. Changes in the design of the submarine turned out to be small - the displacement increased (47 tons instead of 45 tons), the caliber of torpedoes decreased to 450 mm (instead of 533 mm) and to 19 knots (from 25) the maximum underwater speed of the submarine decreased.

Japanese boat Type A of Second Lieutenant Sakamaki at low tide on a reef off the coast of Oahu, December 1941

Japanese dwarf boats Type C on the American-captured island of Kiska, Aleutian Islands, September 1943

At the same time, Chiyoda and Chitose air transports, as well as Hei-Gata (C) type submarines, were equipped as carrier ships. There is evidence that the Mizuiho and Nisshin hydroplanes were also upgraded for the same purpose, each of which could carry 12 midget submarines.

The deck with a slope to the stern and the rails made it possible to quickly, in just 17 minutes, launch all the boats. The base ships of ultra-small submarines were supposed to be used in naval combat along with battleships.

On April 15, 1941, 24 junior naval officers received a secret order to join a special formation. They met aboard the seaplane carrier Chiwod. The commander of the ship, Harada Kaku, announced to them that the Japanese fleet possesses a top-secret weapon that will revolutionize naval battles, and their task is to master it. All of the young officers had scuba diving experience, and Lieutenant Iwasa Naoji and Sub-Lieutenant Akieda Saburo had been testing the new weapon for over a year.

Submarine crews were trained at Base II, located on the small island of Ourazaki, 12 miles south of Kure. During the development of submarines, accidents and breakdowns sometimes occurred. Crews also died, and instead of targets, boats were hit that ensured their delivery ...

The first midget boats had a too short cruising range, which was determined by the capacity of the batteries, and their recharging was possible only on the carrier ship. For the same reason, it was impossible to use boats from unequipped parking lots on the islands. To eliminate this shortcoming, in the fall of 1942, the design of an improved version of Type B submarines began, which took into account the operating experience of Type A.

At the beginning of 1943, the last five Type A submarines (the total order for them was 51 units) were converted to Type B.

Japanese landing ship Type 101 (S.B. No. 101 Type) in the harbor of Kure after the surrender of Japan. 1945

Na-53 was the first of the improved submarines to be tested, and after they were completed, a series of specially designed modernized C-type submarines was built. The main difference from the A-type submarines was the installation of a diesel generator - with its help, the battery was fully recharged in 18 hours .

Landing ships of the T-1 type were used as carrier ships for type B and C boats.

In December 1943, on the basis of the C-type submarine, the design of a larger D-type boat (or Koryu) began. The main differences from Type C submarines were the installation of a more powerful diesel generator - with it, the battery charging process decreased to eight hours, seaworthiness increased and the living conditions of the crew, which increased to five people, improved. In addition, the hull has become noticeably stronger, which increased the immersion depth to 100 m.

In the spring of 1945, even before the end of the tests of the lead ship, the serial construction of submarines was launched. In accordance with the plans of the naval command, by September 1945, it was supposed to hand over 570 units to the fleet, with a subsequent construction rate of -180 units per month. To speed up the work, the sectional method was used (the boat was assembled from five sections), which reduced the construction period to 2 months. However, despite the involvement of a large number of shipyards in the Koryu construction program, the pace of delivery of these submarines to the fleet could not be maintained, and by August 1945 there were only 115 boats in service, and another 496 were at various stages of construction.

On the basis of the midget submarine (SMPL) Koryu in 1944, a project was developed for the underwater midget mine layer M-Kanamono (literal translation - “Metal Product Type M”), designed to lay mine cans in enemy bases. Instead of torpedo armament, he carried a mine tube containing four bottom mines. Only one such submarine was built.

At the end of the war, in addition to the family of dwarf submarines, leading their pedigree from type A submarines (types A, B, C and D), the Japanese fleet was also replenished with smaller Kairyu-type submarines (their characteristic feature was fixed side rudders (fins) in the middle part of the hull The design armament consisted of two torpedoes, but the shortage of them led to the appearance of a version of the boat with a 600-kg demolition charge instead of torpedo tubes, which effectively turned them into human torpedoes.

Serial construction of boats of the Kairyu type began in February 1945. To speed up the work, it was carried out by the sectional method (the submarine was divided into three sections). The plans of the naval leadership provided for the delivery of 760 midget boats of this type to the fleet by September 1945, but by August only 213 units were delivered, and another 207 were under construction.

Information about the fate of Japanese midget submarines is fragmentary and often contradictory. It is known that during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, 5 Type A midget boats were lost.

Young submarine officers persistently sought the inclusion of midget submarines in the operation against Pearl Harbor. And finally, in October, the command allowed them to be turned on, on the condition that the drivers return after the attack. Boiled work. I-22 was the first to arrive in Kure to make the necessary modifications to the design.

Three more arrived a few days later. A fourth submarine, I-24, had just been built at Sasebo and sea trials began immediately.

Commanders arrived on the submarines: Lieutenant Iwasa Naoji (I-22), Sub-Lieutenant Yokoyama Masaharu (I-16), Sub-Lieutenant Haruno Shigemi (I-18), Sub-Lieutenant Hiroo Akira (1-20) and Sub-Lieutenant Sakamaki Katsuo (I-16) 24). The second crew members were non-commissioned officers: Sasaki Naoharu (I-22), Ueda Teji (I-16), Yokoyama Harunari (I-18), Katayama Yoshio (I-20), Inagaki Kyoji (I-24). A characteristic detail: the crews were formed only from unmarried submariners, from large families and not older sons. Sakamaki Katsuo, for example, was the second of eight sons.

The connection of midget submarines was called "Tokubetsu Kogekitai", abbreviated as "Tokko". This phrase can be translated as "Special Attack Unit", or "Special Naval Strike Unit".

Early on November 18, the U-boats left Kure, stopping briefly at Ourazaki to pick up small boats. In the evening they headed for Pearl Harbor. The boats were moving 20 miles apart. The flagship - I-22 - was in the center. In the daytime, the boats went under water, fearing detection, and surfaced only at night. According to the plan, they were supposed to arrive at the assembly point, located 100 miles south of Pearl Harbor, at night, after sunset, two days before the start of the attack. Once again checking the boats under the cover of darkness, the carrier submarines were then to leave for Pearl Harbor, take up a position 5 to 10 miles from the entrance to the harbor and disperse in an arc. Three hours before dawn, the leftmost submarine I-16 is the first to launch its ultra-small boat. Then, sequentially, with an interval of 30 minutes, ultra-small boats start from carriers I-24, I-22, I-18. And finally, the dwarf boat from the last boat I-20 was supposed to pass through the harbor alignment half an hour before dawn. In the harbor, all boats were ordered to go to the bottom, then join the air attack and inflict maximum destruction on the enemy with their ten torpedoes.

At 3:00 a.m., the midget boats were launched, and the carrier boats began to dive. Unlucky "baby" Lieutenant Sakamaki. The gyrocompass is out of order, it was not possible to eliminate the malfunction. It was already 5:30, and she was not yet ready for the descent, two hours late from the scheduled time. Dawn was approaching when Sakamaki and Inagaki squeezed through the hatch of their boat.

The entrance to Pearl Harbor Bay was blocked by two rows of anti-submarine nets. American minesweepers conducted a control sweep of the waters surrounding the base every morning. It was not difficult to follow them into the bay. However, the plans of the Japanese were violated from the very beginning. At 03:42, the minesweeper Condor discovered the submarine's periscope in front of the entrance to the bay. The old destroyer Ward, built in 1918, was included in her search. At about 5:00 a.m., the Americans opened a passage in the nets to let minesweepers, as well as transport, a tugboat, and a barge through. Apparently, two midget submarines managed to stealthily enter the harbor, and the third was seen from the Ward and from the Catalina flying boat circling over the sea.

The cabin of the boat and part of the cigar-shaped body rose above the surface of the water. It seemed that she did not notice anyone, moving into the harbor at a speed of 8 knots. "Ward" opened gun fire with direct fire from a distance of 50 meters and from the second shot hit the base of the cabin. The boat shuddered, but continued to move with a ragged hole in the wheelhouse. The explosions of four depth charges tore the boat in half. Catalina also contributed, dropping a few bombs as well. Presumably, the boat of Lieutenant Iwas from the I-22 carrier boat was hit.

Second Lieutenant Sakamaki and Sergeant Inagaki frantically tried for more than an hour to straighten the trim of their submarine. With difficulty, they managed to do this, and they reached the entrance to the bay. The gyrocompass still remained faulty. Sakamaki was forced to raise the periscope, and the boat was spotted from the destroyer Helm. Having plunged and leaving it, the boat ran into a reef and leaned out of the water. The destroyer opened fire and rushed to the ram. However, he slipped past, while the boat managed to free itself from the reef and leave, but as a result of hitting the reef, one of the torpedo tubes jammed, water began to flow into the hull. Due to the chemical reaction of water with the sulfuric acid of the batteries, asphyxiating gas began to be released. Somewhere at 14:00, the submarine again ran into the reef. The second torpedo tube failed.

On the morning of December 8, a helpless unmanaged boat was near the shore. Sakamaki started the engine, but the boat hit the reef again! This time she was stuck firmly. Sakamaki decided to blow up the boat, and swim to land by himself. Inserting detonators into the demolition charges, he ignited the fuse. Sakamaki and Inagaki threw themselves into the sea. It was 6 o'clock. 40 minutes ... Inagaki, who jumped into the water after the commander, drowned. Exhausted Sakamaki on the shore was captured by five patrolmen of the 298th American Infantry Division ...

Another midget submarine, most likely, was sunk at 10:00 by the cruiser "St. Louis". Heading towards the exit from the bay, he was subjected to a torpedo attack. After dodging two torpedoes, the cruiser found the boat behind the outer side of the net fence and fired at it. As for the fifth boat, according to modern data, it managed to get into the harbor, where it participated in a torpedo attack on a battleship, and then sank along with the crew (perhaps it was sunk by them).

Of other midget submarine operations, it should be mentioned that three more boats of this type were lost on May 30, 1942 in the Diego Suarez area, and four in Sydney Harbor on May 31, 1942.

During the fighting off the Solomon Islands in 1942, eight Type A submarines were lost (including Na-8, Na-22 and Na-38). In the area of ​​the Aleutian Islands in 1942 - 1943, three more type A boats were lost. In 1944 - 1945, eight type C boats were lost during the defense of the Philippines and Okinawa.

sources

http://www.furfur.me/furfur/all/culture/166467-kayten

http://modelist-konstruktor.com/morskaya_kollekcziya/yaponskie-sverxmalye

http://www.simvolika.org/mars_128.htm

Read more about the war and Japan: , but look how interesting. I can also remind The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. (It is pleasant and honorable to die for the Motherland).

Horace.

I would like to be born seven times in order to give my whole life for Japan. Having decided to die, I am firm in spirit. I expect success and smile as I climb aboard.

Hirose Takeo, Senior Lieutenant of the Japanese Navy
1905

In the history of many peoples one can find many examples of selfless heroism. However, never in any army in the world, except for the army of Japan at the end of World War II, self-sacrifice was not a special or special tactic approved from above and planned in advance.

Hachimaki - headband with an inscription
"Kamikaze" - "Divine Wind".

Sekio Yukio - the first official commander
units of kamikaze pilots.

Japanese sailors and submariners, drivers of human torpedoes, infantrymen who cleared minefields with their bodies, Kamikaze pilots, undertaking suicidal attacks, realized that they were destined to die, but voluntarily chose the path of self-sacrifice and courageously met death. The category of such volunteer suicide bombers in the Japanese armed forces during the Second World War received the generalized name "teishin-tai" - "shock squads". Their formation, based on the medieval moral and religious code of bushido samurai (literally translated as "the way of the warrior"), obliging to despise death, was sanctioned by the Imperial General Staff (the first official detachment of kamikaze pilots was formed by October 20, 1944). Moreover, special weapons were developed and produced for suicides - torpedoes, boats, aircraft. The suicide bombers who died in battle were counted among the faces of the kami - the patron saints of Japan.

The sense of duty and responsibility for the fate of the nation, inherent in the vast majority of the Japanese, was elevated to the absolute among the samurai - representatives of the caste of Japanese chivalry, and their spiritual followers.

The Japanese looked at death quite differently from their opponents. If for the American death seemed a terrible departure into oblivion, then for the Japanese the main thing was not the death itself, but the circumstances under which it occurred.

Priest and warrior of the 18th century Yamamoto Tsunetomo in the famous book hagakure"("Hidden in the foliage") described the meaning of the life of the samurai: "The way of the samurai is death ... If you need to choose between life and death, immediately choose the latter. There is nothing difficult in this. Just gather your courage and act. Whoever chooses life without doing his duty should be considered a coward and a bad worker.”

A samurai with a sword in his belt is always ready to attack. Then his mind will be focused on death, readiness for which is the main quality of a warrior.

Yasukuni Jinja Temple is Japan's main military temple. It was considered the highest honor for a warrior to be enrolled in his lists.

All the thoughts of a warrior, according to bushido, should be directed to throwing themselves into the midst of enemies and dying with a smile. It should not, of course, be assumed that these cruel commandments, which strike the mind of a Western man, are limited to the content of the ideology of the samurai. The moral ideals and aspirations of the Japanese military class were highly respected in society. Samurai, in turn, were well aware of the significance of their position and the responsibility of their role as representatives of the highest caste. Courage, courage, self-control, nobility, the duty to do one's duty, mercy, compassion - all these virtues, according to the bushido code, were certainly required from the samurai.

Vice Admiral Onishi is the ideological inspirer and organizer of the kamikaze aviation units.

However, it was precisely such quotations and laws that became the ideological basis and sometimes the content for the propaganda, education and military training programs developed and implemented by the Japanese leadership in the first half of the twentieth century. The entire nation, young and old, was preparing for the decisive battle for Japanese dominance in Asia. In those days, for the land of the rising sun, one victory was followed by another, and it seemed that there was no limit to its capabilities and strengths. Military science was taught in Japanese schools already to twelve-year-old children, and in general, training in them differed little in the prescribed order and requirements from barracks service. In the stores then, the counters were bursting with toy sabers and rifles, models of Japanese ships and guns, and the most popular fun among the boys was, of course, playing war. And even here, some of them were already tying logs to their backs, simulating "human bombs" and suicide attacks. And at the beginning of each day of classes, the teacher would certainly ask the class what his most cherished desire was, to which the students had to answer in unison: “our most cherished desire is to die for the emperor.”

The fundamental ideological documents intended for universal study were the "Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors" and its civilian version, the "Imperial Rescript on Education", which obligated every Japanese to devote all his strength to the altar of defending the fatherland.

Hosokawa Hoshiro is one of the few kamikaze pilots left alive.

However, not only the poison of propaganda, created from the ancient traditions of death, honoring the emperor and duty, turned in the first half of the twentieth century an unusually kind, humble, polite and hardworking (there is no such word in Japanese, by the way, because it is assumed that otherwise than with with full dedication, it is simply impossible to work) the people into a merciless and full of hatred for themselves and the enemies of a warrior. The reason for the success of the aggressive plans of Japanese politicians and the military also lies in the indestructible communal spirit of ordinary Japanese. The nature of the Japanese islands, cruel and insidious, given to man as if out of spite, dooms a loner to death. Only large communities, through hard work, can do the enormous amount of work necessary for successful farming, for the maintenance and continuation of life itself. Under such conditions, individualism is not only dangerous, it is completely impossible. So, an old Japanese proverb says that a protruding nail should be hammered in immediately. The Japanese sees himself in the family, next to the neighbors, in the community as a whole. He cannot imagine his life without her. And until now, when naming himself, the Japanese pronounces the surname before the name, first determining his belonging to one or another genus, and only then only his participation in his life. By virtue of precisely this feature of Japanese culture, the propaganda of a general national upsurge in the fight against enemies, universal self-sacrifice found such broad support among the entire nation, which, by the way, the propaganda machine of fascist Germany could not achieve to the same extent. The fact is that out of all Japanese soldiers and sailors captured during the four years of the war, only about one percent surrendered ...

A traditional photo for memory before the last flight with the personal signatures of the pilots.

A6M fighter Sekio Yukio takes off with a suspended 250 kg bomb.

The Oka projectile is a popular exhibit in many military museums.

The Mitsubishi G4M2 bomber is the carrier of the Oka guided bomb.

Torpedo "Kaiten" type 2 as an exhibit in the United States.

The escort aircraft carrier USS Saint Lo is hit by a kamikaze aircraft.

(“... The Japanese plane ... received several hits and released a plume of fire and smoke, but continued its deadly flight ... The deck died out. Everyone, with the exception of the anti-aircraft gunners, instantly spread out on it. With a roar, the fireball passed over the superstructure and crashed, producing a terrible explosion ... "")

The first military suicide squads began to be created at the end of 1943, when Japan's conventional means of warfare had already dried up, and she was losing her position one by one. The main types of such strike detachments were Kamikaze (divine wind), which were field and naval aviation units intended to defeat enemy forces at the cost of their death, and Kaiten (Path to Paradise), detachments of human torpedoes. Such units did not take part in hostilities. Their personnel were intended to deliver a single blow to enemy ships or ground forces.

The Kamikaze plane was a huge projectile filled to capacity with explosives. After dropping conventional bombs and torpedoes, or without it, the Japanese pilot was required to ram the target, diving at it with the engine running. Most of the Kamikaze aircraft were outdated and could barely keep a straight course, but there were special ones designed only for suicidal attacks.

Among them, the most dangerous for the Americans were the rocket-powered Oka (Cherry Flower) projectiles. They were dropped from heavy bombers at a distance of 20-40 km from the target and, in fact, were a homing anti-ship missile, the "guidance system" of which was a suicide pilot.

For the first time, the forces of Kamikaze formations were used en masse by Japan during the battle for the Philippines in the autumn of 1944, and then the number of suicide attacks increased until the very end of the war. During the battle in Leyte Gulf and the battle for Okinawa, Kamikaze aircraft were the only more or less effective weapon of Japan, whose fleet and army could no longer offer worthy resistance.

Nevertheless, despite the enormous efforts made to increase the effectiveness of the use of suicide-guided aircraft and torpedoes, no breakthrough success was achieved in this area, and the losses of the Americans are negligible compared to the monstrous genocide that the Japanese leadership undertook in relation to their own to the people with the goal of stopping the enemy at all costs at a time when the war was already hopelessly lost without that.

One of the few successful battles for Japan that took place with the use of Kamikaze was the attack of a group of its aircraft on October 21, 1944, east of the Guroigaoi Strait, which disabled three escort aircraft carriers and several other ships of the US Navy. Ten days later, another group of Kamikazes struck at the discovered American carrier group, sinking the escort aircraft carrier St. Lo and damaging three others.

The psychological consequences of the Kamikaze attacks were simply overwhelming. The confusion and fear of American sailors grew as the suicide bombings increased. The idea that Japanese pilots were deliberately aiming their planes at ships was mind boggling. The bravado faded with the might of the American fleet.

“There was a kind of mesmerizing admiration in this philosophy alien to the West. We watched each diving Kamikaze in fascination, more like an audience at a play than a victim about to be killed. For a while we forgot about ourselves, gathered in groups and helplessly thinking about the person who is there, ”recalled Vice Admiral Brown.

Yokosuka D4Y3 "Judy" Yoshinori Yamaguchi "Special Attack Corps" Yoshino.

A Yamaguchi bomber crashes into the forward part of the flight deck of the aircraft carrier CV-9 Essex, November 25, 1944, 12:56.

The flight deck of the CV-17 was destroyed and the aircraft carrier had to be repaired.

The Americans had to urgently take countermeasures. Admiral Nimitz first of all ordered the establishment of a secrecy regime regarding information about the actions of Kamikaze and the results of their attacks. I had to bring the number of fighters in aircraft carrier groups to about 70%, compared with the usual 33%. Special patrols of fighters operating at low altitudes, on Kamikaze dangerous directions, were allocated. I had to place the destroyers of the radar patrol at very significant distances. As a result of this, it was the destroyers of the radar patrol that took on the first onslaught of Kamikaze attacks. To suppress the activities of Kamikaze, it was necessary to organize continuous raids on the airfields based on Japanese aviation (literally from dawn to dusk), which greatly reduced the impact of aviation on Japanese ground forces.

On April 6, during the battles for Okinawa, a large-scale operation began, called "Kikusui" ("Chrysanthemum"). It was attended by 1465 aircraft, including jet "Oka". It resulted in the death of almost all Japanese aircraft, the destruction of several dozen and damage to hundreds of American ships.

Most of the Kaitens and also the "Furukui" ("dragons of happiness", detachments of suicide swimmers armed with bombs that were supposed to be blown up by hitting the hull of an enemy ship) disappeared without a trace, however, facts of the death or damage of American ships are known, for which a reasonable explanation was not found within the framework of conventional ideas about armed struggle at sea.

In particular, the loss of the American heavy cruiser Indianapolis is sometimes associated with the attack of the Kaiten, which were in service with the Japanese submarine I-58, under the command of M. Hashimoto.

Japanese schoolgirls see off cherry blossom branches to kamikaze pilots leaving for their last flight in Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar fighters.

Without a doubt, the use of Kamikaze tactics could not turn the tide of hostilities. But it was the natural choice of a nation with an unbending spirit. The Japanese were not going to repeat the fate of the German Hochseeflotte when the German fleet was captured by the British in 1918, and preferred death to disgrace. The Japanese were able to slam the door during the last major battle of the Second World War so that now the whole world uses the term "Kamikaze" to refer to a volunteer suicide bomber.

On Okinawa, the American command used 18 battleships (three times more than in Normandy), 40 aircraft carriers, 32 cruisers and 200 destroyers. The total number of US ships reached 1300 units. The losses inflicted by Kamikaze on the ships of the US 3rd and 5th fleets in the battles off Okinawa turned out to be greater than those suffered by the Pacific Fleet in December 1941 from the Japanese air raid on the naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. The loss of the American Navy, which was near Okinawa, amounted to 36 ships sunk and 368 damaged. Among the damaged - 10 battleships, 13 aircraft carriers, 5 cruisers, 67 destroyers and 283 smaller units. A significant part of the badly damaged ships could not be restored. The Japanese also shot down 763 American aircraft. Suicide pilots seriously damaged four large aircraft carriers: Enterprise, Hancock, Intrepid and San Jacinto. Patrol and radar ships also suffered significant losses. Subsequently, the Americans were forced to move the radar stations to land and place them in dominant positions on Okinawa and the adjacent islands. American losses amounted to about 12 thousand people killed and about 36 thousand wounded. The losses of the Japanese amounted to 16 warships (who else could move), 7830 aircraft, 107 thousand soldiers killed and 7400 prisoners.

According to Naito Hatsaho in suicide attacks in 1944-45. 2525 naval and 1388 army pilots were killed, and out of 2550 Kamikaze sorties, 475 were successful.

Kamikazes were also used against ground and air enemies. Since the air defense forces of Japan were clearly insufficient to deal with the American B-17, B-24 and B-29 heavy bombers, the pilots resorted to ramming. And some of them managed to survive. Data on the total number of B-29 bombers shot down as a result of ramming are not available. It is only known that out of approximately 400 lost vehicles, 147 were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery and aviation.

Who became a suicide bomber, or, as it is now customary to call everyone going on suicidal attacks, Kamikaze? Mostly they were young people 17-24 years old. It would be wrong to consider them all some kind of robots or frenzied fanatics. Among the Kamikaze were people of all social strata, different views and temperaments.

Tome Torihama surrounded by kamikaze pilots. She kept a cafe on the outskirts of Chiran and supported the pilots as much as she could. Tome became their adoptive mother. After the war, she made great efforts to create a museum of suicide pilots, for which she received the nickname "Mother Kamikaze" in Japan.

The road to the Kamikaze Museum in Chiran lined with cherry trees.

Monument to kamikaze pilots in the museum in Chiran. The Japanese people cherish the memory of their fearless sons.

The constant expectation of death was an ordeal for them. It shattered the nerves. Young pilots, namely aviation, became the main branch of the suicide bombers, swimmers and submariners, a feeling of horror and despair did not leave.

The preparatory course for kamikaze pilots, and other suicide bombers, was not great. Within a week or two, they were supposed to make several flights to practice diving techniques. The rest of the time we trained on the simplest, primitive simulators, engaged in physical training - fencing with swords, wrestling, etc.

Both in the naval and army aviation, special farewell rituals were developed for the pilots leaving for their last flight. So, each of them left in a special unpainted casket trimming their nails and a strand of hair, often remaining the only memory of the departed warrior, composed his last letter, which were then sent to relatives. Immediately before the start, right on the runway, they set the table with a white tablecloth, and the white color was not accidental, since according to Japanese beliefs, it is a symbol of death. At this table, Kamikaze accepted a cup of sake, or plain water, from the hands of his commander. On the flight, many pilots took with them a white Japanese flag with hieroglyphic inscriptions about fortitude, contempt for death, and various amulets that were supposed to bring good luck to their owner in his last battle. One of the most common was the motto "Seven Lives for the Emperor". Each suicide bomber was solemnly presented with a nominal samurai sword in a brocade sheath, which ranked its owner among the samurai, and, in addition, facilitated, according to the religious concepts of Shintoism, the transition of the samurai to the world of the holy Kami, for which at the time of death it was required to hold it in hand.

Despite various rites and privileges, the morale of the doomed warriors was constantly falling as the defeat of Japan approached. Self-sacrifice only exacerbated the crisis of the Japanese military machine. Many indulged in drunkenness and debauchery, leaving their bases without any permission. They knew that the war was lost and did not want to die in vain. A case is known when a Kamikaze, who was forced to fly out on a suicidal attack, rammed his own command post in despair and anger.

Is it possible to condemn young Japanese who are ready to do anything for the sake of their homeland? Her ardent and ardent defenders, until the last days of the war, they considered it the only sure thing for themselves to die in battle, destroying her enemies. Their large number and the mass nature of the impulse evoke only respect and, undoubtedly, do honor to Japan, which knows how to educate patriots. However, the tragedy of a whole generation of Japanese youths was that they became hostages of military adventurers who did not want to fully admit defeat, ready to win at all costs, even at the cost of the lives of their own people.

Kamikaze is a term that became widely known during the Second World War. This word denoted Japanese suicide pilots who attacked enemy aircraft and ships and destroyed them by ramming.

The meaning of the word "kamikaze"

The appearance of the word is associated with Kublai Khan, who, after the conquest of China, twice assembled a huge fleet in order to reach the shores of Japan and conquer it. The Japanese were preparing for war with an army many times superior to their own forces. In 1281, the Mongols gathered almost 4.5 thousand ships and a hundred and forty thousandth army.

But both times it did not reach a major battle. Historical sources claim that off the coast of Japan, the ships of the Mongolian fleet were almost completely destroyed by sudden storms. These typhoons, which saved Japan from conquest, were called the "divine wind", or "kamikaze".

And when, during the Second World War, it became obvious that the Japanese were losing to the United States and the allies, detachments of suicide pilots appeared. They were supposed to, if not turn the tide of hostilities, then at least inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy. These pilots became known as kamikaze.

First kamikaze flight

From the very beginning of the war, there were single rams performed by pilots of aircraft on fire. But these were forced sacrifices. In 1944, an official suicide pilot squad was formed for the first time. Five pilots on Mitsubishi Zero fighters, led by Captain Yukio Seki, took off on October 25 from the Philippine airfield Mabarakat.

The first victim of the kamikaze was the American aircraft carrier Saint Lo. It was hit by Seki's plane and another fighter. The ship caught fire and soon sank. So the whole world knew who the kamikaze were.

"Living weapon" of the Japanese army

After the success of Yukio Seki and his comrades, mass hysteria about heroic suicides began in Japan. Thousands of young people dreamed of doing the same feat - to die, destroying the enemy at the cost of their lives.

"Special shock detachments" were hastily formed, and not only among the pilots. Teams of suicide bombers were also among the paratroopers, who were dropped on airfields or other technical structures of the enemy. The suicidal sailors operated either boats filled with explosives or torpedoes of enormous power.

At the same time, an active processing of the consciousness of young people was carried out, they were inspired that kamikaze are heroes who sacrifice themselves for the sake of saving the Motherland. They completely obey the one who called for constant readiness for death. to which one should aspire.

The last sortie of suicide bombers was arranged as a solemn ritual. White bandages on the forehead, bows, the last cup of sake were an integral part of it. And almost always - flowers from girls. And even the kamikaze themselves were often compared to cherry blossoms, hinting at the speed with which they bloom and fall. All this surrounded death with an aura of romance.

Relatives of the dead kamikaze were awaited by the honor and respect of the entire Japanese society.

The results of the actions of the shock troops

Kamikaze are those who made almost four thousand sorties, each of which was the last. Most of the flights led, if not to the destruction, then to damage to ships and other military equipment of the enemy. They managed to inspire horror in American sailors for a long time. And only towards the end of the war with suicide bombers did they learn to fight. In total, the list of dead kamikazes consists of 6418 people.

US official figures speak of about 50 ships sunk. But this figure hardly accurately reflects the damage caused by the kamikaze. After all, ships did not always sink immediately after a successful attack by the Japanese, they managed to stay afloat, sometimes for several days. Some vessels were able to be towed to shore where repairs were made without which they would have been doomed.

If we consider the damage to manpower and equipment, then the results immediately become impressive. After all, even giant aircraft carriers with enormous buoyancy are not immune from fires and explosions as a result of a fiery ram. Many ships burned out almost completely, although they did not go to the bottom. About 300 ships were damaged, and about 5,000 US and allied sailors were killed.

Kamikaze - who are they? Change of world view

After 70 years since the appearance of the first suicide squads, the Japanese people are trying to determine for themselves how to treat them. Who are kamikaze? Heroes who deliberately chose death in the name of bushido ideals? Or victims drugged by state propaganda?

During the war, there was no doubt. But archival materials lead to reflections. Even the first kamikaze, the famous Yukio Seki, believed that Japan was killing its best pilots in vain. They would do more good by continuing to fly and attack the enemy.

Be that as it may, kamikaze is part of the history of Japan. The part that causes pride in ordinary Japanese for their heroism, and self-denial, and pity for people who died in the prime of life. But she does not leave anyone indifferent.

The creator of the kamikaze detachments, the commander of the first air fleet, Vice Admiral Onishi Takijiro, stated: “If a pilot, seeing an enemy aircraft or ship, strains all his will and strength, turns the aircraft into a part of himself, this is the most perfect weapon. And can there be a greater glory for a warrior than to give his life for the emperor and for the country?

However, the Japanese command did not come to such a decision from a good life. By October 1944, Japan's losses in aircraft, and most importantly, in experienced pilots, were catastrophic. The creation of kamikaze detachments cannot be called otherwise than as a gesture of desperation and faith in a miracle that can, if not reverse, at least level the balance of power in the Pacific Ocean. The father of the kamikaze and the corps commander, Vice Admiral Onishi and the commander of the combined fleet, Admiral Toyoda, understood perfectly well that the war had already been lost. By creating a corps of suicide pilots, they hoped that the damage from kamikaze attacks inflicted on the American fleet would allow Japan to avoid unconditional surrender and make peace on relatively acceptable terms.

The Japanese command had no problems only with the recruitment of pilots to perform suicidal tasks. German Vice Admiral Helmut Geye once wrote: “It is possible that among our people there are a certain number of people who will not only declare their readiness to voluntarily go to death, but also find enough spiritual strength in themselves to really do it. But I have always believed and still believe that such feats cannot be performed by representatives of the white race. It happens, of course, that thousands of brave people in the heat of battle act without sparing their lives; this, no doubt, has often happened in the armies of all countries of the world. But for this or that person to voluntarily doom himself to certain death in advance, such a form of combat use of people is unlikely to become generally accepted among our peoples. The European simply does not have that religious fanaticism that would justify such exploits, the European is deprived of contempt for death and, consequently, for his own life ... ".

For Japanese warriors, brought up in the spirit of bushido, the main priority was to fulfill the order, even at the cost of their own lives. The only thing that distinguished kamikaze from ordinary Japanese soldiers was the almost complete lack of chances of surviving the mission.

The Japanese expression "kamikaze" translates as "divine wind" - the Shinto term for a storm that brings benefits or is an auspicious omen. This word was called a hurricane, which twice - in 1274 and 1281, defeated the fleet of the Mongol conquerors off the coast of Japan. According to Japanese beliefs, the hurricane was sent by the thunder god Raijin and the wind god Fujin. Actually, thanks to Shintoism, a single Japanese nation was formed, this religion is the basis of Japanese national psychology. In accordance with it, the mikado (emperor) is the descendant of the spirits of the sky, and every Japanese is the descendant of less significant spirits. Therefore, for the Japanese, the emperor, due to his divine origin, is related to the whole people, acts as the head of the nation-family and as the main priest of Shinto. And it was considered important for every Japanese to be devoted above all to the emperor.

Onishi Takijiro.

Zen Buddhism also had an undoubted influence on the character of the Japanese. Zen became the main religion of the samurai, who found in the meditation he used a way to fully reveal their inner capabilities.

Confucianism also became widespread in Japan, the principles of obedience and unconditional submission to authority, filial piety found fertile ground in Japanese society.

Shintoism, Buddhism and Confucianism were the basis on which the whole complex of moral and ethical norms that made up the samurai bushido code was formed. Confucianism provided the moral and ethical justification for Bushido, Buddhism brought indifference to death, Shintoism shaped the Japanese as a nation.

A samurai's death wish must be complete. He had no right to be afraid of her, to dream that he would live forever. All the thoughts of a warrior, according to bushido, should be directed to throwing themselves into the midst of enemies and dying with a smile.

In accordance with the traditions, the kamikaze has developed its own special farewell ritual and special paraphernalia. Kamikaze wore the same uniform as regular pilots. However, three cherry blossom petals were stamped on each of her seven buttons. At the suggestion of Onishi, white forehead bands - hachimaki - became a distinctive part of the kamikaze equipment. They often depicted a red solar disk of the hinomaru, and also displayed black hieroglyphs with patriotic and sometimes mystical sayings. The most common inscription was "Seven Lives for the Emperor".

Another tradition has become a cup of sake just before the start. Right on the airfield, they set the table with a white tablecloth - according to Japanese beliefs, this is a symbol of death. They filled cups with drink and offered them to each of the pilots lined up in line, setting off for the flight. Kamikaze accepted the cup with both hands, bowed low and took a sip.

A tradition was established according to which pilots flying on their last flight were given a bento - a box of food. It contained eight small balls of rice called makizushi. Such boxes were originally issued to pilots who went on a long flight. But already in the Philippines they began to supply kamikazes. Firstly, because their last flight could become long and it was necessary to maintain forces. Secondly, for the pilot, who knew that he would not return from the flight, the box of food served as psychological support.

All the suicide bombers left in special small unpainted wooden caskets their nails and strands of their hair to send to their relatives, as each of the Japanese soldiers did.

Kamikaze pilots drink sake before taking off.

On October 25, 1944, the first massive kamikaze attack against enemy aircraft carriers was carried out in Leyte Gulf. Having lost 17 aircraft, the Japanese managed to destroy one and damage six enemy aircraft carriers. It was an undeniable success for Onishi Takijiro's innovative tactics, especially considering that the day before Admiral Fukudome Shigeru's Second Air Fleet had lost 150 aircraft without achieving any success at all.

Almost simultaneously with naval aviation, the first detachment of army kamikaze pilots was created. Six army special attack units were formed at once. Since there was no shortage of volunteers, and in the opinion of the authorities, there could not be refuseniks, pilots were transferred to army kamikaze without their consent. November 5 is considered the day of official participation in the hostilities of army groups of suicide pilots, all in the same Leyte Gulf.

However, not all Japanese pilots shared this tactic, and there were exceptions. On November 11, one of the American destroyers rescued a Japanese kamikaze pilot. The pilot was part of the Second Air Fleet of Admiral Fukudome, deployed from Formosa on October 22 to participate in Operation Se-Go. He explained that upon arrival in the Philippines, there was no talk of suicide attacks. But on October 25, kamikaze groups began to hastily be created in the Second Air Fleet. Already on October 27, the commander of the squadron in which the pilot served announced to his subordinates that their unit was intended to carry out suicide attacks. The pilot himself thought the very idea of ​​such strikes was stupid. He had no intention of dying, and the pilot confessed in all sincerity that he had never felt the urge to commit suicide.

How were air kamikaze attacks carried out? In the face of growing losses of bomber aircraft, the idea was born to attack American ships with fighters alone. The light Zero was not capable of lifting a heavy powerful bomb or torpedo, but could carry a 250-kilogram bomb. Of course, you cannot sink an aircraft carrier with one such bomb, but it was quite realistic to put it out of action for a long period. Enough to damage the flight deck.

Admiral Onishi came to the conclusion that three kamikaze aircraft and two escort fighters were a small, and therefore quite mobile and optimal group. Escort fighters played an extremely important role. They had to repel the attacks of enemy interceptors until the kamikaze planes rushed to the target.

Due to the danger of being detected by radar or fighter aircraft from aircraft carriers, kamikaze pilots used two methods of reaching the target - flying at an extremely low altitude of 10-15 meters and at an extremely high altitude of 6-7 kilometers. Both methods required the proper qualification of pilots and reliable equipment.

However, in the future it was necessary to use any aircraft, including obsolete and training ones, and young and inexperienced replenishment went into the kamikaze pilots, who simply did not have time to train enough.

Yokosuka MXY7 Oka aircraft.

On March 21, 1945, an unsuccessful attempt was made to use the Yokosuka MXY7 Oka manned projectile by the Thunder Gods detachment for the first time. This aircraft was a rocket-powered craft designed specifically for kamikaze attacks and was equipped with a 1,200-kilogram bomb. During the attack, the Oka projectile was lifted into the air by a Mitsubishi G4M aircraft until it was within the radius of destruction. After undocking, the pilot in hover mode had to bring the plane as close as possible to the target, turn on the rocket engines and then ram the intended ship at great speed. Allied troops quickly learned to attack the Oka carrier before it could launch a projectile. The first successful use of the Oka aircraft occurred on April 12, when a projectile, piloted by 22-year-old Lieutenant Dohi Saburo, sank the destroyer of the Mannert L. Abele radar patrol.

In total, 850 projectiles were produced in 1944-1945.

In the waters of Okinawa, suicide pilots inflicted very serious damage on the American fleet. Of the 28 ships sunk by aircraft, kamikazes were sent to the bottom of 26. Of the 225 damaged ships, kamikazes damaged 164, including 27 aircraft carriers and several battleships and cruisers. Four British aircraft carriers received five hits from kamikaze aircraft. About 90 percent of the kamikazes missed their target or were shot down. The Thunder Gods Corps suffered heavy losses. Of the 185 Oka planes used for the attacks, 118 were destroyed by the enemy, 438 pilots were killed, including 56 "gods of thunder" and 372 crew members of carrier aircraft.

The last ship lost by the United States in the Pacific War was the destroyer Callaghan. In the Okinawa area on July 29, 1945, using the darkness of the night, the old low-speed Aichi D2A training biplane with a 60-kilogram bomb at 0-41 managed to break through to the Callaghan and ram it. The blow fell on the captain's bridge. A fire broke out, which led to the explosion of ammunition in the cellar. The crew left the sinking ship. 47 sailors were killed, 73 people were injured.

On August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender of Japan in his radio address. On the evening of the same day, many of the commanders and staff officers of the kamikaze corps went on their last flight. Vice Admiral Onishi Takijiro committed hara-kiri the same day.

And the last kamikaze attacks were carried out on Soviet ships. On August 18, a Japanese army twin-engine bomber tried to ram the Taganrog tanker in the Amur Bay near the Vladivostok oil base, but was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. As follows from the surviving documents, the plane was piloted by Lieutenant Yoshiro Chiohara.

On the same day, the kamikaze achieved their only victory by sinking the minesweeper KT-152 in the Shumshu area (Kuril Islands). The former seiner, the Neptune fish scout, was built in 1936 and had a displacement of 62 tons and a crew of 17 sailors. From the impact of a Japanese aircraft, the minesweeper immediately went to the bottom.

Hatsaro Naito in his book Gods of Thunder. Kamikaze pilots tell their stories ”(Thundergods. The Kamikaze Pilots Tell Their Story. - N.Y., 1989, p. 25.) gives the number of losses of naval and army kamikazes to the nearest person. According to him, 2,525 naval and 1,388 army pilots died in suicide attacks in 1944-1945. Thus, a total of 3913 kamikaze pilots died, and this number did not include lone kamikaze - those who independently decided to go on a suicidal attack.

According to Japanese statements, 81 ships were sunk and 195 damaged as a result of kamikaze attacks. According to American data, the losses amounted to 34 sunk and 288 damaged ships.

But in addition to material losses from the mass attacks of suicide pilots, the allies received a psychological shock. He was so serious that the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz, suggested that information about kamikaze attacks be kept secret. American military censorship placed severe restrictions on the dissemination of reports of suicide pilot attacks. The British allies also did not spread the word about the kamikaze until the end of the war.

Sailors put out a fire on the USS Hancock after a kamikaze attack.

Nevertheless, the kamikaze attacks led to the admiration of many. Americans have always been struck by the fighting spirit demonstrated by suicide pilots. The spirit of kamikaze, originating in the depths of Japanese history, illustrated in practice the concept of the power of spirit over matter. “There was a kind of mesmerizing delight in this alien to the West philosophy,” recalled Vice Admiral Brown. “We were fascinated by each diving kamikaze - more like an audience at a performance, and not potential victims who are going to be killed. For a while, we forgot about ourselves and thought only about the person who is on the plane.

However, it is worth noting that the first case of ramming an enemy ship by an aircraft occurred on August 19, 1937, during the so-called Shanghai Incident. And it was produced by the Chinese pilot Shen Changhai. Subsequently, 15 more Chinese pilots sacrificed their lives by bringing planes down on Japanese ships off the Chinese coast. They sank seven small enemy ships.

Apparently, the Japanese appreciated the heroism of the enemy.

It should be noted that in hopeless situations, in the heat of battle, fire rams were made by pilots from many countries. But no one, except the Japanese, did not rely on suicidal attacks.

The former Prime Minister of Japan, Admiral Sudzkuki Kantarosam, who more than once looked death in the eye, assessed the kamikaze and their tactics as follows: “The spirit and exploits of the kamikaze pilots, of course, cause deep admiration. But this tactic, viewed from the point of view of strategy, is defeatist. A responsible commander would never resort to such emergency measures. Kamikaze attacks are clear evidence of our fear of inevitable defeat when there were no other options to change the course of the war. The air operations that we began to conduct in the Philippines did not leave any opportunity to survive. After the death of experienced pilots, less experienced and, in the end, those who had no training at all, had to be thrown into suicidal attacks.

Suicide bombers or kamikazes, despite the fact that they turned out to be ineffective in the war that Japan lost, nevertheless, became one of the greatest striking symbols of the Second World War. What they felt, how they were going to their death, is the most incomprehensible thing for us today. Soviet propaganda also could not explain the massive Japanese Matrosovs.

On December 7, 1941, Japan suddenly, without declaring war, dealt a crushing blow to the US Navy base in the Hawaiian Islands - Pearl Harbor. The aircraft carrier formation of the ships of the imperial fleet, having complete radio silence, approached the island of Oahu from the north and attacked the base and airfields of the island with two waves of aircraft.
The daring and unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor set the task of destroying the enemy's naval forces in the shortest possible time and ensuring freedom of action in the zone of the southern seas. In addition, with a sudden throw, the Japanese hoped to break the will of the Americans to fight. The operation was conceived, proposed, in general terms developed and approved by the commander-in-chief of the Japanese fleet. Yamamoto Isoroku.

The plans of the Japanese military built grandiose. At the heart of the war was the principle of lightning speed. The war, as the Japanese leadership believed, could only be won as a result of fleeting hostilities. Any delay is fraught with disaster. America's economic power would take its toll, and the Japanese knew it. The main goal of the first stage of the war - the destruction of the US Pacific Fleet - was accomplished.

In addition to aircraft, tiny submarines participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although it was theoretically planned to return these boats to the base, it was clear that the crews were going to certain death. Indeed, eight of the nine officers died during the attack and added to the picture of the gods in the Yasukuni Shrine. The ninth got a bummer. Lieutenant Sakamaki's boat got stuck on the coastal rocks, and he became the first captured officer in this war. Sakamaki couldn't make himself hara-kiri, because. was badly wounded. But that was no excuse for him. A stain of shame lay on the fleet. I, the poor lieutenant, not only flew by with enrollment in the god-kami of Yasukuni Shrine, but was also called a person with a "small heart" and "small belly." Japanese propaganda went so far as to call him "a man without a stomach at all."

The suicide bombers of the Japanese fleet were divided into several categories. These included the so-called "suijo tokkotai" (kamikaze surface forces) and "suite tokkotai" (kamikaze submarine forces). The surface forces were equipped with high-speed boats filled with explosives. The symbolic designation of one of the types of such boats is "Xingye" (ocean shaking). Hence the name of the groups of katerniks - suicides - "xingye tokkotai". "Xingye" were made of wood, equipped with a six-cylinder engine of 67 hp, which allowed speeds up to 18 knots. The range of such boats was about 250 km. They were equipped with either a 120 kg bomb, or a 300 kg depth charge, or a rocket. Kamikaze boat attacks were in most cases effective and the Americans were very afraid of them.

Underwater means of warfare against ships are the infamous "human torpedoes" - ("mingen-gerai"), baby submarines, and human mines ("fukuryu") and suicide paratrooper teams ("giretsu kutebutai"). The fleet had its own paratrooper units. Even the parachutes for them were developed separately and were very different from the army ones, although they were intended for the same purpose - landing on land.

Torpedoes driven by suicide bombers were called "Kaiten". Their other name is "Kongotai" (Kongo groups, in honor of Mount Kongo, where the hero of the Japanese Middle Ages Masashi Kusonoke lived). Human torpedoes, in addition, were also called "kukusuytai", from "kukusui" - a chrysanthemum on the water. "Two main modifications of human-controlled torpedoes were developed. One soldier was placed in the torpedo. A large amount of explosive was concentrated in the bow. Movement "Kaiten" at a speed of 28.5 miles per hour and aiming them at the target by a person made it extremely difficult to fight these weapons.Massive attacks "Kaiten", as well as other suicide bombers, caused a strong nervous tension of the American personnel.

The Japanese called the tiny submarines "Kuryu" - a dragon and "Kairyu" - a sea dragon. Small magnetic submarines were designated by the term "Shinkai". The range of their action did not usually exceed 1000 miles. They had a speed of 16 knots and were usually controlled by two suicide bombers. Midget submarines were intended for torpedo attacks inside the harbor of the enemy or for ramming.

A great danger to the American fleet was also represented by the "fukuryu" units - the dragons of the underwater grotto (another translation of the hieroglyph - dragons of happiness) "human mines" that is, divers with mines. Secretly, under water, they made their way to the bottoms of enemy ships and blew them up with a portable mine.

Their activities are known mainly from the book by V. Bru "Underwater saboteurs" (foreign literature publishing house, Moscow, 1957). Along with valuable data on the actions of Japanese saboteurs, this book also contains quite significant "blunders". For example, he describes an oxygen apparatus designed for Fukuryū teams that allowed an underwater saboteur to dive to a depth of 60 meters and move there at a speed of 2 km / h. No matter how well a diver is trained, if his apparatus runs on oxygen, then at a depth of more than 10 meters, oxygen poisoning awaits him. Apparatuses with a closed breathing circuit, operating on mixtures of oxygen and nitrogen, allowing diving to such a depth, appeared much later.

It was widely believed in the American Navy that Japanese listening posts were located at the entrances to the harbor at a depth of 60 meters, making sure that enemy submarines and guided torpedoes could not penetrate into the harbor. Firstly, technically, this was not feasible at that time, because it was necessary to keep the crews in them in a saturated dive mode, supplying air to them from the shore, and ensure regeneration as in a submarine. What for? From the point of view of military affairs, shelter at such a depth is a meaningless thing. The submarine also has sonars and microphones. Than to fence this whole garden with underwater shelters, it is easier to keep a submarine on duty there. But shelters in merchant ships flooded at a shallow depth, or even sticking up with a keel, are a very real thing. For the concentration of fukuryu fighters, this is quite acceptable, given that they do not care to die. From their mine, from a Japanese shell that fell into the water next to the ship they were attacking, or from an American grenade thrown into the water by a vigilant soldier who noticed something suspicious in the water.

The Japanese Navy has long had well-trained and equipped divers. Their equipment was advanced for those times, even before the war they used flippers. Suffice it to recall the Japanese raid mask, which was used back in the twenties to search for the "Black Prince". It seemed to our divers the height of technical perfection. True, for sabotage cases, it is completely unsuitable. Mention of it as a technical novelty, indicative of the development of diving in Japan, which went its own way, different from Europe. In February 1942, light divers of the Japanese fleet cleared minefields near Hong Kong and Singapore, opening the way for their amphibious assault forces. But they were few. And Japan could not equip the huge masses of newly recruited divers with good equipment and weapons. The bet was again made on mass heroism. Here is how one of the participants in the Japanese war of 1945 describes a suicide attack on our destroyer:
“Our destroyer was standing on the roadstead of one of the Korean ports, covering the landing of the marines. The Japanese were almost driven out of the city, we saw through binoculars how the Korean population met our flowers. But in some places there were still battles. The observer on duty noticed that some strange object was moving in our direction from the shore. Soon, through binoculars, one could see that it was the head of a swimmer, next to which a bubble inflated with air dangled, now appearing on the surface, now hiding in the waves. One of the sailors pointed a rifle at him and looked at the commander, waiting for further orders. Do not shoot! - the political officer intervened, - maybe this is a Korean with some kind of report or just to establish contact. The sailor lowered his rifle. Nobody wanted to kill a brother in the class who was sailing to extend a hand of friendship. Soon the swimmer was already almost next to the board, we saw that he was young, almost a boy, completely naked, despite the cold water, on his head he had a white bandage with some kind of hieroglyphs. Through the clear water one could see that a small box and a long bamboo pole were tied to the inflated bladder.

The swimmer looked at us, we looked at him. And suddenly he stuck a knife out of nowhere in the bubble and, shouting "Banzai!", disappeared under the water. If not for this stupid cry, it is not known how it would all have ended. Sergeant Major Voronov, who was standing next to me, pulled out a pin from a lemon, which he had prepared in advance and threw a grenade into the water. There was an explosion and the saboteur floated to the surface like a stunned fish. Since then, we have increased our vigilance. Later, talking to tankers who were also attacked by suicide bombers, I learned that the Japanese jumped out of the trenches with mines on bamboo poles and fell under machine-gun bursts, having managed to shout "Banzai!" If they tried to put their mine unnoticed, the losses from them could be much greater. But the impression was that it was more important for them to die beautifully than to destroy the tank.

There was no shortage of volunteers for the suicide squads. In letters to relatives and friends, young people who faced imminent death enthusiastically announced their intention to give their lives for Japan, for the Emperor.

So the twenty-year-old midshipman Teruo Yamaguchi wrote to his parents: "Do not cry for me. Although my body will turn to dust, my spirit will return to my native land, and I will always stay with you, my friends and neighbors. I pray for your happiness." Another driver of the Kaiten, twenty-two-year-old midshipman Ichiro Hayashi, consoled his mother in a letter: “Dear mother, please do not miss me. What a blessing to die in battle! I was lucky to get the opportunity to die for Japan ... Goodbye dear. Ask Heaven to take me in. I will be very sad if Heaven turns away from me. Pray for me, mother!"

The atomic bomb is, of course, a crime. But when landing on the islands of the mother country, the Japanese command was preparing to meet the American landings with an army of suicide bombers. More than 250 ultra-small submarines, more than 500 Kaiten torpedoes, 1,000 Sinye exploding boats, 6,000 Fukuryu divers and 10,000 kamikaze pilots. The American command decided to kill several tens or hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians rather than lose the lives of their soldiers. And, in the end, the Japanese were the first to start. Who is right and who is wrong is for God to decide. But it is already possible to pay tribute to the courage of people who, by the will of fate, were our opponents in this war.

Part 2

The greatest interest for historians of military affairs is now caused not by the great battles of large armies, but by single actions, where a person discovers his superiority over the machine and destroys it with his fearlessness, self-control, and strength of mind.

The fulfillment of special missions for mining ships and committing other sabotage is obviously associated with a mortal risk. A combat swimmer who has undergone thorough training and training, inspired by a sense of patriotism, possessing unbending willpower and fearlessness, consciously takes risks to complete the task. This is typical for the special forces of any army in the world. But even against the background of these iron people, the Japanese stand out especially. After all, a saboteur of any army takes a mortal risk, and a Japanese goes to his death.
This phenomenon is rooted in the ancient history of Japan and underlies the religion of Shinto, which in the "Land of the Rising Sun" strangely coexists with Buddhism.
The first mention of the use of suicide bombers dates back to the 13th century. In 1260, the grandson of Genghis Khan Kublai Khan ascended the Mongolian throne. After the victory over China, a new Mongol dynasty of emperors of China, the Yuan, was founded. The Mongols landed troops on Sumatra and Java, attacked Vietnam and Burma. By that time, the whole of Central Asia, the Far East, part of Western Asia, the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, including Russia, were already under the heel of the Mongols. However, there was a country that refused to submit to the mighty Empire, which enslaved dozens of states. It was Japan. In 1266, an ambassador was sent to Japan with a demand to submit to the Great Khan.

The Shikken (ruler) of Japan, Hojo Tokemuni, unconditionally rejected the demands of the Mongols. War became inevitable. The terrible danger of the Mongol invasion loomed over Japan, which received the name "Genko" in Japanese history. In November 1274, an armada of the Mongol fleet, consisting of 900 ships, with 40,000 Mongol, Korean and Chinese soldiers, left the Korean port of HAPPO towards the Japanese islands. This army quickly killed the small squads of samurai on the islands of Tsushima and Iki. The Mongols fought, using masses of cavalry and tactics that allowed them to conquer the vast expanses of Europe and Asia.

The Japanese did not use large formations in battles. A samurai is primarily a loner warrior. The Japanese attached great importance to external forms of warfare. The main thing is that everything should be beautiful and according to the rules. First, they fired a whistling arrow "Kaburai" towards the enemy, challenging them to a duel. The best warriors stepped forward and demanded single combat. Then a hundred knights rode out and fought with the same number of the enemy. And only after that the army went into battle. In this case, this tactic failed. Military honor for the Mongols and their satellites did not exist. In a group, they surrounded singles and killed in the back, used poisoned arrows, which was not acceptable for samurai (for samurai, not ninja). The Japanese were losing the war without even causing much damage to the enemy. Next up is Kyushu. The Japanese clearly did not have enough strength to repel aggression. At the town of Hakata, the Mongols entered into a fierce battle with a small, but brave and well-trained detachment of samurai. Stubborn resistance, sun setting; the decision of the commander forced the Mongols to retreat to the ships to regroup forces.

In the evening, a storm began, turning into a typhoon. The Mongolian fleet was swept across the water surface, destroying more than 200 ships. The remnants of the armada, in complete disarray, were forced to return to Korea. Thus ended the first invasion.

The Japanese were already distinguished by their ability to learn and not to make old mistakes. Realizing that Khubilai would not calm down, they prepared more carefully for the next invasion. Defensive structures were built on Kyushu and Honshu, and samurai squads were concentrated in the places of the proposed landing. The tactics of the Mongols were studied and adopted, their own miscalculations and shortcomings were taken into account and analyzed.

In the spring of 1281, 4,500 ships with 150,000 soldiers on board under the command of the Mongol commander Alakhan left the Korean port of Happo. Never before and subsequently in the history of all peoples was a fleet larger than the Mongol 1281, either in the number of ships or in the number of troops. Huge ships armed with catapults carried a huge number of people and horses in their holds.

The Japanese built a huge number of small rowing boats with good speed and maneuverability. These ships were waiting in the wings in Hakata Bay. The morale of the Japanese was very high. Even the Japanese pirates left their craft and joined the imperial fleet.

The aggressor fleet was approaching Hakata Bay, destroying everything in its path. Finally, the Mongol armada entered Hakata Bay. And a battle broke out on land and at sea, where the Mongols were attacked by rowboats. The advantage here was on the side of the Japanese. The boats, despite the hail of cannonballs and arrows, approached the clumsy masses of the Chinese ships, the samurai climbed on board the ships with lightning speed and destroyed the crews. The Japanese fought, despising death, and this helped in the struggle. The Mongols turned out to be morally unprepared for the self-sacrifice that the Japanese soldiers made. Samurai won in battle in a limited space, their individual swordsmanship was better placed than that of the Mongols, who were accustomed to fighting in masses, if possible at a distance, shooting the enemy with poisoned arrows.

History has brought us many episodes of this battle. Kusano Jiro stands out among the heroes of the sea battle. A hail of arrows and cannonballs hit the boat he commanded, one of which tore off his arm. Having stopped the blood with a tourniquet, he continued to direct the battle. According to the sources, the wounded samurai, overcoming pain, led the boarding team, personally killed 21 people in battle and set the enemy ship on fire.

Another Japanese commander, Miti Iri, wrote a prayer before the battle asking the kami gods to punish the enemy. Then he burned the paper with the text, and swallowed the ashes. Miti Ari equipped two row boats with the best warriors who swore to die in this battle. Hiding their swords under the folds of their clothes, the Japanese approached the flagship of the Mongols. They thought that the unarmed Japanese were approaching in order to negotiate or surrender. This allowed me to get closer. The samurai flew up to his deck. In a bloody battle, most died, but the rest managed to kill the commander of the Mongol fleet and set fire to the hulk of the ship.

Faced with such resistance on land and at sea (much is known about the land battle, but it is beyond the scope of the article), the Mongol fleet left Hakata Bay to regroup and meet with the second part of the armada approaching Japan. It was decided to go around the island of Kyushu and land on the other side.

After the meeting of the fleets, a huge force of the Mongols and their allies attacked the island of Takashima, preparing a new invasion of Kyushu. A deadly threat loomed over Japan again.
In all Shinto shrines, prayers were conducted without ceasing.

On August 6, 1281, a dark streak appeared in a clear, cloudless sky, which eclipsed the sun in a matter of minutes. And a deadly typhoon broke out. When the wind died down three days later, hardly a quarter of the original composition remained of the Mongol fleet - about 4 thousand warships and more than 100 thousand people died in the abyss.

The demoralized remnants of the crippled ships returned to Kolre. So ingloriously ended for the soldiers of Khubilai's campaign against Japan. Since that time, the idea has taken root in the minds of the Japanese that their country is under the special protection of national gods and no one can defeat it.

The idea of ​​the divine origin of the country, belief in a miracle, the help of the Shinto gods, primarily Amaterasu and Hachiman, significantly influenced the formation of the national ideology. The heroes of the battles with the Mongols, who became gods in the minds of the Japanese, became examples for young people. And a beautiful death in battle has been sung for thousands of years in this country. Michi Ahri and his samurai became the gods of the Japanese suicide bombers and torpedo drivers.

Lightning speed is the basis of Japanese military doctrine. The Pacific War knows many examples when the Japanese first acted and then thought. Or they did not think at all, but only acted. The main thing is to be lightning fast and beautiful.

The desire for self-sacrifice, which made the Japanese fierce and fanatical warriors, at the same time led to irreparable losses in trained and well-trained pilots, submariners, which the Empire so needed. Enough has been said about Japanese views on the conduct of war. These views may have been good for the samurai of the Middle Ages and the legendary 47 ronin, who, according to ancient legend, made themselves hara-kiri after the death of their master, but they are completely unsuitable for 1941. American Admiral S.E. Morison, in his book The Rising Sun in the Pacific, assesses the Japanese decision to attack Pearl Harbor as strategically stupid. He gives a very revealing example of the interrogation of a captured Japanese admiral, one of those who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Former Japanese admiral: "Why do you think our attack on Pearl Harbor was strategic stupidity?"
Investigator: "Had it not been for this attack, the United States might not have declared war on Japan, and even if war had been declared, efforts to contain the Japanese offensive to the south due to our employment in Europe in the war with Hitler would not have been so decisive. A sure way to call America to war was an attack on American soil.
Former Japanese admiral: "However, we considered it necessary to put your fleet out of action so that, in order to exclude the possibility of offensive actions by the Americans, we could launch an offensive to the south.
Investigator: For how long, according to your calculations, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the American fleet would not be able to take offensive actions?
Former Japanese admiral: According to our assumptions within 18 months.
Investigator: In fact, when did the first operations of the American fleet begin?
Former Japanese admiral: Fast carriers began air strikes against the Gilbert Islands and the Marshall Islands in late January and early February 1942, less than 60 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Investigator: Tell me, did you know the location of the fuel tanks in Pearl Harbor?
Former Japanese admiral: Of course. The location of the tanks was well known to us.
Investigator: And how many bombs were dropped on these tanks?
Former Japanese admiral: None, the main targets of attack were your capital warships.
Investigator: Did it ever occur to your operations officers who planned the attack that the destruction of the fuel depots on Oahu would mean putting out of action the entire fleet that was in the Hawaiian Islands until the fuel was delivered from the continent ? Then your boats would be able to prevent the delivery of fuel, thereby preventing the possibility of an American offensive for many months?
The Japanese admiral was shocked. The idea of ​​destroying fuel supplies was new to him. The most expedient ways and means of neutralizing the American fleet did not occur to the Japanese even in hindsight. So they fought, making up for the lack of strategic thinking with the heroism of the personnel. Japanese boats were huge and difficult to manage. They had poor noise masking and an unreliable control system. Lack of living quarters, unsanitary conditions, strong vibration of the hull. It's amazing how Japanese submarines could swim at all. And not only to swim, but also to sink large warships.

Almost all the successes of the Japanese were associated with the cult of self-sacrifice in the war, brought to the point of absurdity. According to the Bushido samurai code, dying in battle is the highest happiness. But the decision to die or not is made by the warrior himself. In the early 1930s, during the war in China, the first suicide bombers appeared, in the 20th century who knowingly went to their deaths.
During the Shanghai operation, three soldiers - sappers, having tied a hatimaki bandage around their heads, drinking a cup of sake and swearing to die (like the ancient samurai during the Mongol invasion) blew up the Chinese fortification with one large mine. The dead soldiers were proclaimed divine and declared a model of "yamatodamasiya" "Japanese spirit". In Japan, they became known as "Bakudansanyushi" (three brave warriors with a bomb). It is much easier to send soldiers to certain death than to call in artillery. In addition, you can raise a fuss about this issue and intimidate America and the Soviet Union, which support China. In 1934, an announcement was published in Japanese newspapers about the recruitment of volunteer suicide bombers, drivers of guided torpedoes.

Actions like these were needed to keep the US from sending a fleet to help Beijing. More than 5,000 applications were received for 400 places. But then it didn’t come to use, and there were no torpedoes. The Japanese returned to the idea of ​​suicide - torpedo drivers in 1942, losing the battle of Midway, although the idea of ​​​​attacking a torpedo fired by a submarine, but controlled by a person (a volunteer) in it, took shape by the time of the first attack on Pearl Harbor. Mochitsura Hashimoto, the commander of the submarine (I 58) - the carrier of guided torpedoes, describes in detail the history of the creation of the Kaiten torpedoes in his memoirs.

“Several such torpedoes were made for the first series of tests,” Hashimoto writes, “they were tested near the Kure naval base on the island, which was known under the code name“ Base - 2 ”. stage when it seemed they could be put into production and then used in a combat situation.However, the design of torpedoes excluded the possibility of saving the person who controlled it, that is, he was doomed to certain death, which was objected to by the naval command. a device that allows, by simply pressing a button, to throw the driver into the sea at a distance of about 45 meters from the target.

Around February 1944, a prototype human torpedo was delivered to the headquarters of the Navy, and soon the torpedoes were put into production. With a passionate hope for success, they began to manufacture them in the experimental torpedo shop of the shipyard in Kura. There were high hopes for this weapon. Now, it seemed, it was possible to take revenge on the enemy for the heavy losses suffered by Japan. By this time the island of Saipan had passed into the hands of the Americans, and we had suffered heavy losses.

The new weapon was named "Nytens", which meant "The Way to Paradise". In the book of Taras, the name of this torpedo is translated as "Shaking Heaven", in other sources there are translations "Turn to the sky" and "Restoration of forces after their decline." Apparently this hieroglyph has many interpretations.

While the manufacture of torpedoes was underway, a base was organized in Tokuyama Bay, where personnel were trained.
Alas! On the very first day of testing in Tokuyama Bay, one of the volunteers and champions of this weapon drowned. The torpedo he was in was buried in the mud and could not be raised. This boded ill for the future."

The omen did not deceive. Only in the process of training, as a result of the imperfection of technology, 15 people died. From the idea of ​​a catapult, which gave a chance for salvation, had to be abandoned. The Japanese command was not up to saving the lives of torpedo drivers. Japan lost one battle after another. It was urgent to launch a miracle weapon. The first Kaiten samples were launched on the surface. The boat surfaced, launched torpedoes and went deep. Drivers landed in the area of ​​operations of the American fleet, they themselves were looking for a target. Since it was dangerous to risk a boat in an area where aircraft and ships could detect it, drivers were landed at night near the harbors where the Americans were based and often torpedoes simply disappeared without finding a target, went to the bottom due to technical problems, stuck in anti-submarine networks. The driver's exit to cut the network was not provided.

Later they began to convert boats to launch torpedoes from a submerged position. The drivers got into the torpedoes in advance and waited for the boat to find the target. Air was supplied through a hose, communication was carried out by telephone. Finally, at the very end of the war, boats appeared from which it was possible to go into a torpedo directly from the compartment through the lower hatch of the torpedo. The effectiveness of the torpedo immediately increased. Hashimoto describes a case where his boat lay on the ground, and an American destroyer bombarded her with depth charges. He decided to attack the destroyer with human torpedoes. The suicide bomber said goodbye to everyone and got into the Kaiten. The sailor battened down the rear hatch behind him, after a few minutes the sound of a torpedo engine was heard, the exclamation "Banzai!" Then the connection was cut off. Then there was an explosion. When the boat surfaced, only debris floated on the surface.

The descriptions of the behavior of torpedo drivers before going on a mission are interesting. “During the long periods of being under water, there was nothing to do in the boat. Both officers from the torpedo drivers, apart from preparing their torpedoes and training observation in the periscope, had no other duties, so they played chess. One of them was present during the attack of human torpedoes in near the Ulithi Islands, but he himself failed to attack due to a malfunction of the torpedo.He was a very good chess player...

The enemy seemed to have surrounded us. I ordered the drivers of torpedoes No. 2 and No. 3 to immediately take their places. It was cloudy, but there were some bright stars in the sky. In the dark, we did not see the faces of the drivers when they both came to the bridge to report. They were silent for a while, then one of them asked: Commander, where is the constellation "Southern Cross?" His question took me by surprise. I scanned the sky, but did not notice this constellation. A nearby navigator noticed that the constellations were not yet visible, but that it would soon appear in the southeast. The drivers, saying simply that they were going to take their places, resolutely shook hands with us and left the bridge.

I still remember the self-control of these two young people. The sailor, whose job was to close the bottom cover of the torpedo, did his job and raised his hands, showing that everything was ready. At 2 hours 30 minutes, the order followed: "prepare for the release of human torpedoes!" The rudders of the torpedoes were set in accordance with the position of the rudders of the submarine. Prior to the release of human torpedoes, communication with them was maintained by telephone, at the time of separation of the torpedoes from the submarine, the telephone wires leading to them could be tied up.
Ten minutes later, everything was ready for the launch of the torpedoes, scheduled for 3.00 according to the plan, on the basis that at 4 hours 30 minutes it would begin to get light.

The driver of torpedo No. 1 reported: "Ready!" The last clamp was released, the torpedo engine started up and the driver rushed to his goal. The last connection with him was cut off at the moment when the torpedo separated from the boat and rushed towards the enemy ships that were in the harbor of the island of Guam! At the very last moment before the release, the driver exclaimed: "Long live the Emperor!"
The release of torpedo No. 2 was carried out in exactly the same way. Despite his youth, her driver remained calm to the end and left the boat without saying a word.
Too much water got into the engine of torpedo No. 3, and its release was postponed to the last stage. When torpedo No. 4 was fired, it also sounded: "Long live the Emperor!" Finally, torpedo number 3 was fired. Due to a phone malfunction, we weren't able to hear her driver's last words.
At that moment, there was a huge explosion. We surfaced and, fearing persecution, began to retreat to the open sea ...
... We tried to see what was happening in Apra Bay, but at that moment a plane appeared and we had to leave."

Meanwhile, the war was getting more and more fierce. In addition to human torpedoes, baby boats and human minions from fukuryu teams, the Japanese naval command began to use units of "giretsu kutebutai" - teams of suicide paratroopers. In February 1945, the Japanese dropped a paratrooper, consisting of the military personnel of this team, on one of the army airfields. The paratroopers, tied with packages of explosives, destroyed seven "flying fortresses" along with themselves and burned 60,000 gallons (1 gallon - 4.5 liters) of gasoline. 112 suicide soldiers died in this battle. Information about the effectiveness of suicide attacks is very contradictory. Japanese propaganda agreed to the fact that each kamikaze, as a rule, destroyed a large warship. When suicide bombers ceased to be a military secret, they began to write a lot about them, extolling the results of their actions to the skies, calling new crowds of young people into the ranks of suicides. The Americans, on the contrary, did not acknowledge their losses and reported understated figures, misleading the Japanese command about the degree of effectiveness of their sabotage forces and means. According to Japanese propaganda, kamikaze, fikuryu, kaiten and other suicide squads destroyed many times more ships than the Americans had in the Pacific Fleet. According to American data, the Japanese lost a whole lot of carrier boats and achieved practically no results. By the way, I read a book by an Englishman about Japanese aces pilots (not kamikaze). He treats with irony their reports of victories over Soviet and American aircraft. For example, in the battles at Halkin Gol, one Japanese ace, according to his reports, destroyed such a number of aircraft that the Russians did not have in that area at all. A Japanese newspaper wrote that he killed one Soviet pilot with a samurai sword, sitting next to a wrecked Soviet plane. Samurai is taken at his word (as a gentleman). So, if no one reproaches the Japanese for lack of courage, then they have a hard time with truthfulness. Therefore, the degree of effectiveness of the use of suicide bombers is still not known (and probably will not be known) (I do not touch on aviation).

By the end of the war, the rights and benefits of suicide bombers and their families were regulated. Goodbye to the gods, the future god of soldiers will get the opportunity to live to their heart's content. Every restaurant owner considered it an honor to host a suicide bomber without taking any money from him. Universal honor and admiration, love of the people, family benefits. All close relatives of the future kami (god) were surrounded by honor.

The exit to the mission was furnished according to the rules invented for kamikaze. The headband "hachimaki" with sayings, inscriptions or the image of the sun - the coat of arms of the Empire, like the medieval samurai, symbolized a state in which a person was ready to move from everyday life to sacredness and tying it was, as it were, a prerequisite for inspiring a warrior and gaining courage. Before boarding a plane or a torpedo, the suicide bombers said to each other a ritual farewell phrase: "See you at the Yasukuni Temple."
It was necessary to go to the target with open eyes, not closing them until the very last moment. Death was supposed to be perceived without any emotions, calmly and quietly, with a smile, according to the medieval traditions of the feudal host. Such an attitude towards one's own death was considered the ideal of a warrior.

The use of suicide bombers, according to Japanese propaganda, was supposed to show the superiority of the spirit of the Japanese over the Americans. General Kawabe Torashiro noted that the Japanese until the end of the war believed in the possibility of fighting the Americans on an equal footing - "Spirit against machines."

What is the difference between the European and Japanese understanding of death. As one Japanese officer, an unconscious prisoner, explained to the Americans: while Europeans and Americans think that life is beautiful, the Japanese think how good it is to die. Americans, British or Germans, having been captured, will not regard this as a catastrophe, they will try to escape from it in order to continue the fight. The Japanese will consider captivity a cowardly act, because. for a warrior - a samurai, true courage - to know the time of his death. Death is victory.

As a rule, everyone going on a mission left dying poems praising death for the Emperor and the Motherland. Some former suicide bombers who did not have time to die in battle still regret it.

It was not possible to replace the typhoon that saved Japan in the 13th century with people. Hundreds of midget submarines and thousands of guided torpedoes remained in the hangars without waiting for the crews. And thank God (both ours and Japan's). Japan lost the war. Someone will call suicide bombers fanatics and scumbags. Someone will admire the courage of people going to their deaths for their homeland in a desperate attempt to save the situation, fighting with the spirit against the machines. Let everyone make a conclusion for himself.

(c) V. Afonchenko

I will add on my own that there are a huge variety of opinions on the fact described above, both in Japan itself and around the world. I will not undertake to judge the correctness or agree on the correctness of any of them. I just think that people died, it's scary. Although someone will say this, what do you care about those people who died in some kind of war, in any war, not only in this one? After all, every day so many of them die and die from causes completely unrelated to the war.

But in my opinion, it is worth thinking about the fact that forgetting about something that happened, we deliberately provoke a repetition of this in the future.