--- title: "This torpedo was WWII Japan’s other Kamikaze weapon" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/suicide-torpedo-wwii-japans-kamikaze-weapon/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # This torpedo was WWII Japan’s other Kamikaze weapon ![]() The torpedo the Japanese called *kaiten* was a human-driven suicide bomb, the *kamikaze* of the seas. Its name translates literally as "return to the sky," which is as descriptive of the driver as it is for its targets. --- ![]() By 1943, the Imperial Japanese Navy recognized the war was not going its way. This was six months after the decisive Battle of Midway, widely considered to be the turning point in the naval war of the Pacific Theater. The Japanese considered many types of suicide craft, the most well-known and successful are the kamikaze planes, used to great effect toward the end of the war. The Japanese developed many other kinds of suicide weapons, however. They deployed *shinyo* suicide boats, *fukuryu* suicide divers, and human mines. *Kaiten* suicide submersible torpedoes were more successful than any of these, second only to the kamikaze planes. ![]() *The sinking of Mississinewa came as a surprise to everyone, absolutely everyone.* [Many different types of *kaiten* were developed](), though only the type-1 was ever used in combat. Early designs allowed the pilot to attempt to escape from the torpedo, but since no pilot ever tried, this feature was left off later designs. The sub/torpedo also featured a self-destruct mechanism for the pilot to use if the fuse failed. 300 type-1 *kaiten* were built, and 100 of those were used in combat. The Kaiten Type-1 on display in a Japanese museum (wikimedia commons) The torpedo was a rudimentary submarine, based on the design of a Japanese Type 93 torpedo. It was launched from a submerged submarine and had basic pilot controls and air bottles, all positioned behind more than 1,000 pounds of explosives. The *kaiten* kill count numbered more than 187 American troops, the fleet oiler [USS *Mississinewa*]() in November 1944, a small infantry landing craft (LCI-600), and the destroyer escort [USS *Underhill*]() in July 1945. ![]() *The Underhill, before the Japanese threw an explosives-laden person at it.* ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()