FS01 IJN HUMAN TORPED KAITEN TYPE 1 (CONTAIN 2 SHIPS)

Kaiten is the name of a type of Japanese human torpedoes from the Second World War. It can be assumed that the length of the Kaiten I (type I) torpedo was 14.75 meters, its maximum speed was up to 30 knots, and its maximum range did not exceed 75-80 kilometers. The warhead had a weight of up to 1,550 kilograms. The people responsible for creating this type of suicide were Sekio Nishina and Hiroshi Kuroki. The Japanese Navy approved the project in February 1944, and in September of the same year, the first base for the production and testing of Kaiten torpedoes was created. In total, there were five types of Kaiten. The first four (Type 1, 2, 3 and 4) were structurally based on the type 93 torpedo 610 mm caliber, the famous "long lance". The fifth type - type 10 - was based on the type 92 torpedo, caliber 533 mm. In total, around 420 Kaiten-type live torpedoes were built, the most of which were Type 1, and Type 3 probably never got past the design phase. Kaitens were transported by specially adapted Japanese navy units, most often submarines. The first combat use was in November 1944, and the Kaitens were used until the end of the war. However, the weapon proved to be ineffective, and one of its greatest successes was the sinking of the USS Underhill escort destroyer in July 1945.