Weapons · Japan · 1944-1945
Kaiten
manned suicide torpedo
A manned, one-way torpedo built around the same oxygen-fueled engine as the Long Lance, the Kaiten (Turning of the Heavens) let a single pilot steer a huge explosive charge into an enemy ship, launched from a mother submarine and unable to be recovered. Around 420 were built; 106 Kaiten crewmen died, fifteen of them in training accidents, and the weapon sank three Allied ships.
| crew | 1 |
|---|---|
| warhead | 1,550 kg |
| speed | 30 knots |
| produced | ~420 |
