Chapter 21 Chapter 16 Manned Torpedo

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor for the first time, someone had already thought of using a submarine to launch a torpedo manned by humans (volunteers) to attack the enemy.For initial trials, several such torpedoes were built.The test was conducted on an island near the Kure Naval Base, code-named Base 2. By January 1943, manned torpedo testing had entered a new phase, and it appeared to be ready for production and use in warfare.However, the construction of the torpedo did not allow the operator to survive and was not approved by the naval authorities.Later, a device was added to the torpedo; with this device, when the torpedo is forty-five meters away from the target, the operator only needs to press a button, and it will be thrown into the sea. Around February 1944, samples of manned torpedoes were sent to the military command, and mass production was soon approved.In the torpedo test workshop of Wugang Shipyard, people began to manufacture this weapon with a desire for victory, and placed great hopes on it.It seems that with it it will be possible to retaliate against the enemy for the severe losses suffered by Japan.At this time, Saipan had fallen into the hands of the enemy, and our side suffered heavy losses.

The new weapon is named Huitian, which means returning to heaven. While the torpedoes were being built, a base for training personnel was established at Tokuyama Bay. Unfortunately, on the first day of the experiment in Tokuyama Bay, a volunteer manipulator drowned.The torpedo he steered sank into the mud and was not salvaged.That's a really bad omen. Even so, in the next two months, the training of personnel was still carried out intensely. On November 8, 1944, the Kikusui Unit was established and dispatched to the area of ​​combat operations.The personnel of the team installed torpedoes on three boats, I|36, I|47, and I|37.I｜36 and I｜47 headed for the Ulithi Islands, and I｜37 headed for the Sokol Waterway in the Palauan Islands. On November 9th, Yi｜36 and Yi｜47 approached the Ulithi Islands as planned.The reconnaissance proved that there is a huge American fleet moored there, including aircraft carriers, battleships and other ships, the total number of which is more than 100. At 16:30 on November 20, Yi|36 launched a manned torpedo, and Yi|47 launched four torpedoes.The leader of the Huitian pilot (whose torpedo was launched by I｜47) was an ardent supporter of the use of this weapon, and left a letter before leaving the boat, which read:

Observations during the day revealed that more than a hundred ships had broken down near the Ulithi Islands.Although this is a good opportunity given by God to use back to heaven, there are a total of eight manned torpedoes on our two boats, which is obviously too few, what a pity!He expressed his gratitude to the captain of I|47, because the captain found out the enemy's force formation for him and drove the submarine to the most favorable launching position.He wished Yi｜47 a safe journey, he said: Thank you for your help, and please greet my followers!Then board the torpedo.Neither the results of his attack nor his whereabouts are known.

On December 1, Yi｜36 and Yi｜47 arrived at Kure Harbor safely; while Yi｜37, which was bound for the Palau Islands, did not return. Although the results of the Kikusui team are unknown, there is still great hope for manned torpedoes, and another King Kong team including six of the latest large submarines was established. According to the order issued, the submarines of the King Kong team should act in the following manner: I｜36 sails to the waters of the Ulisi Islands, I｜47 sails to the waters of Hollandia, and I｜56 sails to Admiralty Islands, Yi｜53 sailed to the waters of the Palau Islands, and I｜58 under my command sailed to Guam, and the attack should be carried out on January 11, 1945.The attack on Yi|48 should have been carried out a little later, on January 20.

There were 15 people who graduated at the same time as me in the submarine class of the Naval Academy. Most of them died in the battle, and only five people survived. Coincidentally, these five people were the captains of the submarines participating in the King Kong team. Manned torpedoes were made in great secrecy, but we know that the first attacks with them were made off the Ulithi Islands.One of the officers directing the attack wrote that manned torpedoes would be used with great difficulty in the future.The more we use it in an attack, the more attention must be paid to the tactics of using this weapon.

In other words, it should be assumed that the Americans already knew about the manned torpedo, and that they would be vigilant after a second attack.Therefore, when the submarine approaches the manned torpedo launch site, and when the manned torpedo attacks the target, it will take great risks.Later facts also confirmed this point. The I｜58 under my command sailed to Kure Harbor to load fuel, food and torpedoes after completing the preparations for the voyage in Sasebo; on December 29th, it sailed to the manned torpedo base.The commander-in-chief of the submarine fleet gave instructions to all officers and soldiers here, and everyone took photos as a souvenir.After the grand farewell ceremony, Yi|58, Yi|36 and Yi|53 left the waves.There was a large group of motorboats that saw them off, and they were full of people.These people sang songs in praise of the crew.The pilot of Huitian sat in the torpedo with a white cloth wrapped around his head and brandished a saber in his hand.

The words Yi｜58 written on the command room have been erased, and the King Kong team's mark appeared in the place where the boat number used to be.Next to the navy flag on the mainmast, there is a flag with the words "Unbreakable and Back to Heaven" on it. After passing through the Bungo Channel, the submarine headed south on the water.In the twilight, we turned our heads to bid farewell to the motherland.Soon, the fringe islands of the motherland also disappeared on the horizon. In our route, there are many enemy submarines, so we must be on guard at all times.We zigzag and sail at high speeds at night.Our first use of air-to-air radar.But it soon became apparent that it wasn't working very well, and a radarman had to be sent on deck to make the necessary repairs.I pay great attention to the concealment of my actions to avoid being discovered by the enemy.The next day was New Year's Day 1945, and the submarine sailed with a northwesterly wind.The sunrise this morning was absolutely stunning.Alcohol is usually forbidden at sea; but today is New Year's Day, making an exception to allow rice wine.After the submarine dived, everyone first toasted the emperor, and then toasted each other.During the voyage, the two officers in the pilot of Huitian always had meals with the officers on the boat.But the sergeant in the driver dined with our sailors and sergeants, whom we rarely saw.Today we specially invite them to have dinner with us in the officer cabin.

Since January 2, we have been within the radius of action of enemy air forces stationed on Guam and Saipan, so we dive underwater when enemy aircraft may appear.On this day, we turned on the radar and found nothing, but we saw an enemy plane in the binoculars.This tells us that the radar on the boat is unreliable.I ordered the watchmen to pay close attention to the appearance of invincible aircraft. Since Guam was recovered by the Americans, it has become one of the most important bases of the US military in the Central Pacific.Although the enemy does not know our plan, it should be estimated that the enemy must have taken various measures, because the enemy must have known about our use of manned torpedoes near the Ulithi Islands.The best way to accomplish the mission is to bypass the island and approach from the enemy's less defended side.So we continued south, approaching the line of communication between the Ulithi Islands and Guam.In other words, we were approaching Guam from the enemy's rear.The closer you get to Guam, the longer you spend underwater. On January 4, after we passed the line of communication between the Ulithi Islands and Guam, we stayed in the water for a long time while observing carefully.

Before the King Kong boats released manned torpedoes, their main task was to remain concealed, and there was no way to talk about attacking the enemy. When the submarine stays underwater for a long time, no work is done on board.The two officers in the Huitian pilot had no other work to do except prepare their own torpedoes and practice periscope observation, so they often played chess for entertainment.One of them participated in the manned torpedo attack off the Ulithi Islands, but his torpedo malfunctioned and was unsuccessful.He plays chess very well.The other was a friend of our gunnery chief, a fat, quiet man, who had been on board my boat when he was studying at the Naval Academy, and that was in 1943.Two years later, he was an ensign, but not yet twenty-two.It makes me sad to think of the sacrifices he had to make to turn the tide of the war.Now, the number of victims, especially among special forces, is increasing.Death has no mercy on the young nor on the old.In such circumstances, death is inevitable for them, sooner or later.

On January 6th we approached the line of communication between Guam and Wright Island. At 2:00, the radar detected an enemy plane.The submarine immediately dived underwater and continued sailing.Since we set sail, we have not been spotted by enemy planes.Now we are very close to the destination, and the enemy air force may suddenly spot us.Of course we would like to be able to work smoothly; but the radar is too unreliable to warn us of danger in time.Therefore, we had to navigate under water, and the submarine surfaced at about 1400 hours, because we estimated that this was the time when the enemy patrol aircraft stopped their activities.

The weather was fine, the sea was calm and the wind was light.The spirits of the crew were high.Although it is January, we are wearing summer clothes.Empty cylinders with many boxes on the sea rise and fall with the waves.No hostile situation was found.We surfaced for an hour and a half to recharge and ventilate before diving.From now on we must sail underwater even at night.We decided to surface at 17:00 every day, because we estimated that the enemy's patrol aircraft would turn back from the end of the route around noon.Our estimates were correct, and we did not encounter an enemy plane once during the next few days.Loopholes like this can always be found, but it would be unwise to take advantage of such loopholes too much when you are about to reach your destination. At 22:00 on the night of January 6, we surfaced.According to our estimates, the enemy patrol aircraft has returned to the base.At about 22:30, the echoes of several aircraft appeared on the radar screen; the lookout personnel also found some dark shadows in the upwind direction, at a distance of about 14,000 meters, which may be ships.We didn't wait for the situation to be fully understood, we dived immediately, and although the noise direction finder did not detect any ships nearby, we remained underwater until 4 o'clock the next morning.It is already January 9th.The day of action draws nearer. We later learned that on this day the enemy began to land in Lingaen Bay, Luzon, the main island of the Philippine archipelago. We have been informed of the results of our aviation reconnaissance of Guam.But the lack of any mention of the ship in the briefing disturbs us.Because according to previously obtained information, there is an aircraft carrier and 60 or 70 other ships parked near Guam.We hope to find a large warship or two there. On January 10, we received an order from the commander of the submarine fleet to proceed with the attack as originally planned.I informed the pilot of the manned torpedo of this order. At 02:00 on January 11, we spotted exhaust from a plane flying nearby and immediately dived underwater.Usually, by radio interception, we can determine the time of arrival and departure of enemy aircraft.We did not expect a plane to appear at this time, which may be a liaison plane from the Ulithi Islands.According to our judgment, there will be no enemy aircraft on this route anyway. Since January 6, we have spotted many enemy ships and planes, but the enemy has not spotted us.If they do a real search, there's no way we'll go undetected.At the same time, some facts make us realize that the air-to-air radar on board cannot be overly trusted. At about 9:00 on January 11, we heard the noise of a ship.It was evident that it was an unguarded merchant vessel with a piston engine.This proves that the enemy did not find us.Two hours later, we reached the position where we should see Guam, and cautiously raised the periscope.At first I thought the black shadow in the distance was a dark cloud, but after a closer look, it was Guam.But there was still twenty-six nautical miles to reach the island from here. I asked the pilots to look at the target, then dived into the water and headed for the launch position of the manned torpedo.From time to time we heard the sound of the propellers of merchant ships passing by, and found that they were not escorted by security forces.At dusk, the periscope was raised again, but the wind was blowing at sea and nothing could be seen. At 21:00, a general large merchant ship was found passing by, but we did not attack it because it is forbidden to do so.Over dinner, we toasted the health of the Huitian pilots and their future victories. At 21:43, it surfaced.We are now eleven nautical miles west of Apra Bay, Guam.The submarine sailed to the launch position of the manned torpedo at a speed of seven knots on the surface, and made a final inspection of the torpedo.Thirteen minutes after the submarine surfaced, it intercepted a telegram sent by the enemy from Guam, which said that a suspicious ship had been spotted near Guam.Have we been discovered by the enemy?With a full two-hour flight to go from the launch location, there was nothing to do but keep going. On January 9, our aerial reconnaissance found 20 large transport ships, 40 small transport ships and 4 floating docks in Guam Harbor.These ships are certainly not very important targets compared to larger warships. The pilots were disappointed, but I advised them to look for a large transport ship full of loads, and at the same time explain that the floating dock moored in a corner of the bay is not a worthless target.I also reassured them that after the aerial reconnaissance of Guam on January 9, an aircraft carrier might have come there. One of the officers in the Huitian pilot left a note, which said: I want to know all the information obtained by aerial photographic reconnaissance.Is it responsible to send us to attack without letting us know anything about the enemy's defenses and the situation in the port?I will never forget this note. It seems the enemy has spotted us.I order drivers 2 and 3 to be in place immediately.There are clouds in the sky, but some places still twinkle with stars.Two pilots came to the bridge to report, their facial expressions could not be seen clearly in the darkness.After they were silent for a while, one of the pilots asked: Captain, which one is the Southern Cross?His question caught me off guard, and I looked at the sky, but couldn't find the constellation.The nautical master beside me said that this constellation is not visible yet, but it will appear in the southeast soon.The drivers simply said that we were in place.He shook hands with us resolutely and left the bridge. At this time, Guam appeared in front of us.After a while, a puff of white smoke rose from there. At 23:00, we speed up to twelve knots.It takes another hour to sail to the manned torpedo launch position. At about 24:00, strong pulses appeared on the radar screen, which appeared to come from two different places. Did an enemy ship or the enemy on shore spot us?In any case, the enemy's radar has clearly spotted us.We don't know exactly where we are, and if we're far from our goal, that's a bad thing.But for better or worse, we continued on to Guam, while we got the radar to check the distance to the coast.At this time, we were seventeen miles offshore, as expected.We were going to dive immediately, hoping to fire manned torpedoes before the enemy attacked.At this time, the diesel engine room reported that seawater had poured into the engine room through the exhaust pipe, and it was impossible to dive.Whether you like it or not, there is no other way than to continue sailing on the water.Our situation is very difficult.But ten minutes later, the fault was cleared and we were able to dive again.While the above situation was happening, drivers No. 2 and No. 3 reported by phone that they were already in position. At 02:00, I asked pilots 1 and 4 to look at the lights of Guam through their periscopes, wish them success, and then ordered them to enter the torpedoes.I still remember the calm demeanor of these two young men to this day.The sailor responsible for closing the lower cover of the manned torpedo closed the lower cover and raised his hands to indicate that everything was ready. At 2:30, the order to prepare for launch was issued.The rudder of each manned torpedo was corrected for the position of the submarine's rudder.Before launching, the submarine and the manned torpedo maintained contact by telephone.The telephone line was only cut when the man torpedo broke away from the submarine. Ten minutes later, preparations for launch were made.The launch time stipulated in the plan is 3 o'clock sharp, and dawn began at 4:30 o'clock. Driver #1 reports: All set!The final clamp was released, the torpedo's engine started to work, and the driver drove the torpedo towards his target.When the torpedo left the submarine, its telephone contact with the submarine was lost, and the torpedo sped toward the enemy ships in Guam Harbor.At the last moment before launching the torpedo, the pilot shouted Long Live the Emperor! Torpedo No. 2 was launched in the same manner.Although the pilot was very young, he remained calm and did not say a word when he left the boat. Torpedo No. 3 had a lot of water in its engine, so it was launched last.When the No. 4 torpedo was launched, the cry of long live the emperor came from the phone. Torpedo No. 3 was launched last, and the last words of the pilot were not heard due to a telephone failure. At this time, a violent explosion was heard.We surfaced and, fearing to be pursued, headed out to sea. At 4:30, the No. 1 manned torpedo should have reached its target.We wanted to see what was going on in Apra Bay when a plane appeared and we were forced to dive away.The planes did not attack us. We had tried to listen for the torpedo explosion with the noise direction finder, and after daylight we floated to periscope depth and observed the eastern horizon, but found no evidence of a successful torpedo attack.We stayed underwater until 23:00.At supper, we prayed for the spirits of these four warriors, and then sorted out their relics. One of them, Lieutenant Ishikawa, wrote before the torpedo launch: At last the day came when I and my three companions were to take part in the decisive action.Our bodies are in good health, our spirits are high, and our actions will surprise the enemy in Apra Bay.The moon in the sky was very pale, and the stars were few and far between. Guam in early January seemed to be in a dream, peacefully appearing before my eyes.Who knows what chaos will ensue there in a few hours?For our great motherland, we have come to the designated place. Twenty-one years seem to be spent in a dream.But the meaning of life will be fully revealed today. At the moment when Japan is in a decisive battle with the United States, we should use a fatal blow to restore our unstable position, so that Japan, which has a history of three thousand years and is famous all over the world, will always be strong. Great Japan is heaven.The kingdom of heaven is eternal.There is nothing to be afraid of death. Today, we sacrifice our lives for the motherland with peace of mind, but in the future, thousands of young people will grow up.Let us leave this world to a world where justice reigns forever! Another pilot wrote: "Although the god of happiness has often blessed our empire, we still need to work hard, and we need to have the qualities of sincerity, justice and loyalty. Without these, all will be meaningless."In the future, even with God's blessing, we should not forget the danger. Great Japan must win.The decisive battle has approached the enemy's homeland.Let those heroic spirits who have already gone to heaven be the witnesses of our struggle to the last breath! With a sad heart, we headed north toward the Bungo Waterway and returned to our motherland.It would be nice to attack a few enemy ships on the way back.I don't think there will be such an opportunity anytime soon.We decided to search north to avoid unnecessary risks, because Japanese submarines operating in the southern sea area might mistake us for the enemy when they encountered us. On January 14, we received a report on the results of the aerial photographic reconnaissance on the 9th, confirming that there was indeed an aircraft carrier anchored in the port of Guam on the 9th.It makes me sad to think that the aircraft carrier might leave Guam before the manned torpedo attacks begin. Before January 15th we only surfaced at night and encountered no enemies.All boats that failed to launch manned torpedoes by January 14 were also ordered to return to base. On January 16, I sent a report to the headquarters, which read as follows: The attack was completed on January 12 as planned.All manned torpedoes have been fired.The outcome of the attack is unknown.This is the first telegram we've sent since we left base.That evening, the noise direction finder spotted a warship with a turbine main engine.Our boat's torpedo tubes are ready.But the night was too dark. In such a dark night, shooting at the sailing warship would be blind shooting. At this moment, the noise disappeared.Later we heard the noise of a vessel with diesel power, but that too soon disappeared.By January 19th we had traveled far north and it was getting colder.Just after noon, we spotted a plane.For safety, we dive underwater.This time our anti-air radar happened to not work. On the night of January 20, at the mouth of the Bungo Channel, our anti-air radar detected a submarine.Because it was night and there was mist on the sea, the visibility was not good.This submarine is very similar to I|36.We sent out the identification signal, but there was no answer from the other party.The boat went faster than us and disappeared after a while.After returning to the base, after questioning, it was found that the submarine was Yi｜36, but it did not find us. What about the results of the other submarines of the King Kong team?Submarine I|56 reached the Admiralty Islands and made three attempts to approach the launch position, but due to the extremely tight defenses around the islands, they were unsuccessful.As a result, the boat returned without launching a manned torpedo.Yi｜47 passed the entrance of Hollandia Bay (New Guinea) smoothly on January 11.When it entered the bay, an enemy patrol ship was conducting a firing exercise.From 4 o'clock the next day, the boat launched all manned torpedoes at intervals of half an hour.During the day, submarines intercepted many telegrams from the enemy.According to the judgment, these telegrams were related to the submarine attack or the detection of the submarine.Yi | 47 began to return, and it had no doubts about the success of the attack. Yi｜53 headed for the Kosol Waterway in the Palau Islands.After arriving at the designated location, manned torpedoes were launched, but one failed to be launched due to a malfunction.The other exploded after leaving the boat due to a ruptured pipeline. Although the other two were launched, the results of the battle are unknown. As for I|36, it is the second time that it has carried out such a mission in the Ulithi Islands. This time, the boat approached the archipelago from the other side.When approaching, the hull touched the reef slightly, but no damage was caused.It successfully launched a manned torpedo, but the outcome of the attack is unknown. Yi|48 was to attack the enemy near the Ulithi Islands on January 20.In our estimation, it may have launched a manned torpedo.But the boat did not return to base. After the war, we only knew that the Yi｜48 was sunk by an American destroyer in the waters off the Ulithi Islands on January 2. Fourteen manned torpedoes were launched by the King Kong submarines, and the other ten torpedoes were not launched due to malfunctions.The outcome of the attack was unclear until after the battle.According to the information released by the United States, the manned torpedo launched by Yi｜58 in Guam sank a large oil tanker and most of the crew died. The air-to-air radar on the No. 58 boat was too ineffective, so we made a Yagi antenna.The long survival of Yi|58 is due in no small measure to this improvement.