The were Japanese suicide motorboats developed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They were part of the wider

Japanese Special Attack Units During World War II, , also called ''shimbu-tai'', were specialized units of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army normally used for suicide missions. They included ''kamikaze'' aircraft, '' fukuryu'' frogmen, and several types of ...

program.

History

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

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

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

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

'' planes, ''

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

'' submarines, ''

fukuryu were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units prepared to resist the invasion of the Home islands by Allied forces. The name literally means "crouching dragon," and has also been called " suicide divers" or "kamikaze frogmen" in English te ...

'' suicide divers or human mines, and ''shinyo'' suicide boats.

Characteristics

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

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

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

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

, were equipped with two

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

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

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

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

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

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

and

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...

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

Operational results

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

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

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

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

Submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

) off

Nasugbu Nasugbu, officially the Municipality of Nasugbu ( tgl, Bayan ng Nasugbu), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popul ...

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

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

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

Mariveles Mariveles, officially the Municipality of Mariveles ( tl, Bayan ng Mariveles), is a first class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 149,879 people. History Founded as a ''p ...

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

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

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

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

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

, Okinawa.

References

Bibliography

External links