Kaiten

The kaiten was a torpedo modified as a suicide weapon, and used by the Japanese Navy in the final stages of the Second World War. Kaiten means turning of the heavens.

Early designs allowed for the pilot to escape after the final acceleration towards the target, although whether this could have been done successfully is doubtful. There is no record of any pilot attempting to escape or intending to do so, and this provision was dropped from later designs.

Kaitens were launched either from the deck of a surface ship or from a submerged submarine. Provision was made for the crew to enter from the submarine while submerged. Having a very limited depth capability themselves, when carried on a submarine deck the kaitens similarly restricted the diving depth of the submarine itself. This is one of several factors blamed for the very poor survival rate of submarines using them, eight submarines being lost while sinking only two enemy ships and damaging some others.

Both one and two person kaitens were manufactured. A submarine carried up to six kaitens.

External links

USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park description accompanying the exhibit of a type 4 kaiten
US Navy Historical Centre account of the kaiten program, with diagrams
Pictorial account of types 1 and 2 kaitens

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In the martial art of taijutsu, a kaiten is a rolling manouver.