Kaiten Human Torpedo

[Tim Reynaga]

I’ve always been fascinated by Japan’s "Special Attack" Kamikazes forces, especially the lesser known Kaiten human torpedoes.



A few years ago the Shochiku Corporation in Japan released the movie Deguchi no nai umi (Sea Without Exit), a drama built around the World War Two Kaiten program.







Images from the film look pretty cool, but I haven’t seen it so far as I've been unable to find it on DVD or in an English language subtitled version.





Anyway, Fine Molds released a 1/72 scale Kaiten Type 1 Human Torpedo model kit to go along with the movie, so I thought I'd give it a go!

[Tim Reynaga]

Deployed in desperation after the war had turned disastrously against Japan, the Kaiten 回天 (“Heaven Shaker”) weapons were essentially manned torpedoes developed from the Imperial Navy’s highly successful Type 93 “Long Lance” oxygen torpedo with a simple control compartment in the center and a massive 3,400 pound warhead in the nose.



They were carried into battle on the decks of Japanese fleet submarines and launched once near the enemy to attack independently. About 330 Type 1 Kaiten were produced, and of these some 90 were actually sent against the US Navy. Despite high hopes, they scored only three sinkings – the fleet oiler USS Mississinewa in November 1944, an LCI in January 1945, and the destroyer escort USS Underhill in July 1945. In all the Kaiten program resulted in the deaths of 187 American sailors.

In exchange for these results, the Japanese lost eight of the mother submarines with their crews as well as the Kaiten pilots and maintenance/support personnel aboard. These sinkings, in addition to losses of Kaiten pilots in training, resulted in a total of over 1,100 Japanese deaths.





The dedication of the crews and valor of the pilots notwithstanding, the Kaiten program was clearly a costly failure.

[ShaunW]

Interesting subject choice, Tim. I find it difficult to imagine the type of courage needed to pilot a manned torpedo into the hull of a ship, or to deliberately crash an aircraft onto the deck of one come to think of it.

[general rocket]

Should be very interesting

[mil 24]

hi

it look like a very interesting model to built

dave

[iggie]

A very interesting subject indeed, looking forward to seeing how the kit turns out

[Tim Reynaga]

The Fine Molds model comes with a nice little rail trolley for the Kaiten, but I thought it distracted from the clean lines of the torpedo and so opted for a more conventional display using Adlers Nest brass pedestals (ANN-0041).





Plastic blocks added inside the hull should give the pedestals a firm grip on the little craft. The walnut base was adapted from a desk nameplate holder.

[ShaunW]

Those brass pedestals and a polished wood base really finish off a model ship (or torpedo in this case!) very nicely.

[Tim Reynaga]

In his Kaiten Special Attack Group: A Story of Stolen Youth, former Imperial Navy Petty Officer Yutaka Yokota commented that when he and the other trainee pilots first saw the Kaiten,

“Just looking at the thing scared the shit out of us. Mechanics in greasy overalls swarmed over the beast and a tall young ensign with shaggy hair and sharp, inquisitive eyes worked busily on its internals. All the while some sort of machine was making menacing growling noises, as if this monster designed to take our lives was in fact alive itself...”



It is hard to fathom the fatalistic bravery of those young volunteers. Even now, the preserved Kaiten in the museum at the Yasukuni Shrine gives off a sinister vibe...

[Tim Reynaga]

The Kaiten preserved at Yasukuni is displayed next to a Type 93 oxygen torpedo. The Kaiten was nothing more than an enlarged Type 93 with a small cockpit added.





Parts of the rudder control lines for the Kaiten pilot were located on the outside of the aft torpedo body.



Fine Molds’ depiction of these linkages is credible, although the one-piece molded treatment makes them just a bit two-dimensional.

[ShaunW]

Interesting stuff, Tim. I agree, the moulded-on control lines look OK but they would look a lot better replaced with wire or similar.

[Tim Reynaga]

Thanks Shaun!



Having removed the molded rudder control lines, I set about replacing them with something better. The kit parts would actually have been ok as they came, but I had some etched brass parts left over from my IJN Hatsuzuki project and thought they’d be perfect for an easy upgrade. The support fittings were replaced with parts from a Gold Medal Models 1/200 scale IJN 2-Bar Railing set.



Things were looking pretty good until I test fitted the wire – which showed that even though the supports were in a much smaller scale, they were still too tall!

[iggie]

They don't look too far away Tim, perhaps sinking the mounts deeper into the plastic by a half millimeter or so would make the difference but the control line already look far better than the moulded parts...

[ShaunW]

Those replacements look much, much better than the OOB moulded on lines, Tim and there is a fair bit of daylight twixt the control lines and the body of the torpedo on those shots of the full-size.

[Tim Reynaga]

Thanks guys!



Fortunately, cutting the supports down to size was no problem.





Reattached to the torpedo body along with Detail Associates (2304) .021 inch brass wire, the new rudder controls provide a more three dimensional look.