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re: Of all the bizarre of warfare tactics: Kaiten “human torpedoes” may take the cake
Posted on 7/15/26 at 12:22 pm to Recognizable Poster
Posted on 7/15/26 at 12:22 pm to Recognizable Poster
quote:
That's interesting. In that case I wonder if their families were sad that they died or if they found honor in it.
Hiroo Onodas mother gave him a family heirloom knife to kill himself with rather than surrender.
He would go on to fight WWII for some 29 years after the war ended.
2
Posted on 7/15/26 at 12:33 pm to okietiger
quote:
Bat bombs were an experimental World War II weapon developed by the United States. The bomb consisted of a bomb-shaped casing with over a thousand compartments, each containing a hibernating Mexican free-tailed bat with a small, timed incendiary bomb attached. Dropped from a bomber at dawn, the casings would deploy a parachute in mid-flight and open to release the bats, which would then disperse and roost in eaves and attics in a 20–40-mile radius (32–64 km). The incendiaries, which were set on timers, would then ignite and start fires in inaccessible places in the largely wood and paper constructions of the Japanese cities that were the weapon's intended target. The United States Navy took control in August 1943, using the code name Project X-Ray.
Posted on 7/15/26 at 12:35 pm to Recognizable Poster
quote:
Can't understand the mindset of those who go on suicide missions like that...
“Honorable general-San, are you out of your fricking mind?!?” - Cheech and Chong
Posted on 7/15/26 at 12:36 pm to Recognizable Poster
quote:
I bet they regretted it when they knew they were about to die...
Nope. Love of country.
Posted on 7/15/26 at 12:38 pm to okietiger
They had a kamikaze torpedo and a kamikaze bomb/missile
Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka
LINK
Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka
LINK
quote:
The Japanese kamikaze bomb, known officially as the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka ("Cherry Blossom") and derisively nicknamed the "Baka Bomb" by Allied forces, was a rocket-powered, human-guided suicide weapon used during the final stages of World War II
Posted on 7/15/26 at 12:39 pm to okietiger
This is a different one used by the Japanese on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Japanese officers believed the 320 mm spigot mortar's most effective method of employment was to inflict psychological damage on the American troops instead of inflicting casualties.[7][9] The 300 kg (660 lb) shells left craters 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) deep and 4.5 m (15 ft) wide, but caused relatively few casualties due to minimal fragmentation
I can’t even fathom.
Japanese officers believed the 320 mm spigot mortar's most effective method of employment was to inflict psychological damage on the American troops instead of inflicting casualties.[7][9] The 300 kg (660 lb) shells left craters 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) deep and 4.5 m (15 ft) wide, but caused relatively few casualties due to minimal fragmentation
I can’t even fathom.
Posted on 7/15/26 at 1:45 pm to sledgehammer
My grandad used to talk about the massive craters left by Japanese mortar rounds.
Posted on 7/15/26 at 1:50 pm to okietiger
quote:
My grandad used to talk about the massive craters left by Japanese mortar rounds.
He was probably talking about the Type 98 “spigot” mortar…
American troops who saw them in action called them “flying trash cans”
Posted on 7/15/26 at 3:51 pm to Darth_Vader
Holy shite
Posted on 7/15/26 at 3:52 pm to Darth_Vader
Yes the 320mm spigot mortar. In With the Old Breed, Eugene Sledge talks about encountering one during the final push south on Okinawa
Posted on 7/15/26 at 4:02 pm to okietiger
They also deployed Okha as an unpowered (aside from solid-fuel rockets for its final dive which could exceed 600 mph) wooden and metal suicide missile. It lacked landing gear or an escape mechanism; once released, the pilot had one mission. The allies called it Baka, Japanese word for "fool".
This post was edited on 7/15/26 at 4:04 pm
Posted on 7/15/26 at 4:14 pm to Funky Tide 8
quote:
quote:
Can't understand the mindset of those who go on suicide missions like that...
When you are told that if your country loses the war then everyone you know and love will be raped, tortured, and killed by the victors then its easy to understand that mindset.
Ironically enough, that is exactly what the Japanese Imperial Army did to the Chinese that they conquered.
Posted on 7/15/26 at 4:20 pm to tigeraddict
quote:
They had a kamikaze torpedo and a kamikaze bomb/missile
Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka
LINK
quote:
The Japanese kamikaze bomb, known officially as the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka ("Cherry Blossom") and derisively nicknamed the "Baka Bomb" by Allied forces, was a rocket-powered, human-guided suicide weapon used during the final stages of World War II
Came here to add this one to the list. These were even more effective than the torpedo, only a handful were launched. In preparation for the US invasion of the Home Islands, they had a thousand or so of these in caves.
Posted on 7/15/26 at 4:34 pm to okietiger
quote:
The Kaiten became among the most feared of Japanese weapons, due to its exceptional range, its potential to deal enormous damage, and its terrifying accuracy.
Not buying this. Kamikaze attacks were much more effective
Posted on 7/15/26 at 5:34 pm to UncleFestersLegs
United States sources claim that the only sinkings achieved by Kaiten attacks were the fleet oiler USS Mississinewa anchored at Ulithi on 20 November 1944, with the loss of 63 men;[22] a small infantry landing craft (LCI-600), with the loss of three men;[23] and the destroyer escort USS Underhill while operating northeast of Cape Engaño on 24 July 1945, with the loss of 113 men.[24]
American losses attributed to Kaiten attacks came to a total of 187 officers and men. The losses of Kaiten crews and support staff were much higher. In total, 106 Kaiten pilots lost their lives (including 15 killed in training accidents and two suicides after the war). In addition to the pilots, 846 men died when eight Japanese submarines carrying Kaiten were sunk, and 156 maintenance and support personnel were also killed.[25] This contrasts markedly with the relative success by kill-ratio of the Kamikaze pilots
American losses attributed to Kaiten attacks came to a total of 187 officers and men. The losses of Kaiten crews and support staff were much higher. In total, 106 Kaiten pilots lost their lives (including 15 killed in training accidents and two suicides after the war). In addition to the pilots, 846 men died when eight Japanese submarines carrying Kaiten were sunk, and 156 maintenance and support personnel were also killed.[25] This contrasts markedly with the relative success by kill-ratio of the Kamikaze pilots
Posted on 7/15/26 at 5:35 pm to Recognizable Poster
quote:
In that case I wonder if their families were sad that they died or if they found honor in it.
I visited Tokyo and went to the world war 2 museum which is a great visit to understand the war from the belligerent aggressor perspective. We had the front desk of the hotel get us a cab and the bellman proudly gave us his uncle's name to find in the kamikaze honor room. So they were proud of them then and it still exists today.
Also the museum is a timeline which starts with the US blockading them from China. They conveniently left out the whole reason why....like enslavement and occupation
Posted on 7/15/26 at 5:48 pm to Stealth Matrix
quote:
Unfamiliar with Japanese tradition, are we? Noble suicide is one of their highest honors.
Posted on 7/15/26 at 6:15 pm to tigeraddict
quote:
nicknamed the "Baka Bomb" by Allied forces, was a rocket-powered, human-guided suicide weapon
Holy shite.
Posted on 7/15/26 at 6:23 pm to Recognizable Poster
quote:
Can't understand the mindset of those who go on suicide missions like that...
The CSS Hunley used in the Civil War wasn't much different. Those men must have known they were going to die in the process of sinking their target.
Posted on 7/15/26 at 6:30 pm to Sofaking2
quote:
Projections of deaths were 3 million total for the US to take all of Japan.
We made approx 500,000 purple heart medals in anticipation of the casualties we would take from that invasion.
Rather than discarding them, the Department of Defense kept these medals in storage to honor future generations. For decades, servicemen injured in the Korean War, Vietnam War, and even the Gulf War received actual World War II-era medals from that surplus.
I think the last WW2 surplus purple heart was awarded in 2020.
This post was edited on 7/15/26 at 6:34 pm
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