Training of cadets of the Japanese naval school at Sasebo, Japan, conduct a charge, Sept 1941.

Daka-Daka-Daka-Daka.

Ha! That's the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture "Haven't they heard of machine guns?"

Japanese soldier using a Kaiten torpedo. It was used for suicide attacks.

That just doesn't look all that seaworthy to me.
Of course, it was usually a short trip soo...

That looks like a wash bucket strapped to a torpedo!

Did some looking up....

“Kaiten (回天, literal translation: "Turn the Heaven", commonly rendered as "turn of the Heaven's will", "the heaven shaker" were crewed torpedoes and suicide craft, used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the final stages of World War II.

The very first Kaiten was nothing much more than a Type 93 torpedo engine compartment attached to a cylinder that would become the pilot's compartment with trimming ballast in place of the warhead and other electronics and hydraulics. The torpedo's pneumatic gyroscope was replaced by an electric model, and controls were installed which gave the pilot full control of the weapon.”


“In the end, Kaiten proved to be a disaster-within-a-disaster, a foolhardy experiment within a misguided war. More Kaiten pilots and supporting submarine crew members died in training and on missions than the number of sailors they managed to kill on the American side.”

Japanese pill box at the Pacific area.

The amount of manual labor involved in building those must have been staggering.

I never thought there would be iron ties holding the logs together.

IJN battleship Musashi, shown here firing her 18.1 inch guns, the largest guns ever mounted on warship. She was sunk on this date, October 24, 1944 after a determined and prolonged attack by US Navy aircraft. 19 torpedoes and at least 17 bomb hits were needed to sink her !!

I wondered if there were any pictures of the Musashi under air attack.
I only found the one pic.

"Japanese Battleship Musashi under heavy air attack by USN Aircraft during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea - October 24, 1944 Despite Japanese attempts to save her, Musashi capsized and sank later that day, she had been hit by an estimated 19 torpedoes & 17 bombs."

Yasuji Okamura (1884/1966), commander-in-chief of Japan’s China Expeditionary Army, signs and presents the Japanese Instrument of Surrender to Chinese General He Yingqin (1890/1987), Nanking 9 Sept 1945.

A Shinto priest blesses several Mitsubishi A5Ms in Dec 1941 (Unknown: before or after Pearl Harbor?)

Three disarmed Japanese land mines removed from the sandy beach at Iwo Jima. Feb., 1945.

Japanese officer points to a geographical map depicting military operations to Filipino citizens in Japan occupied Manila city.

Australian engineers operating a captured Japanese Daihatsu landing craft.
The Daihatsu was the contemporary of the American LCPL (Landing Craft Personnel (Large)) and was, in many ways, a superior design. First emerging in 1924, it was a rugged landing craft built almost entirely of steel. Its hull design was also better able to handle rougher seas, making it more suited to operating in swells compared to the American landing craft.
Perhaps the best feature of the Daihatsu was its bow ramp. The ramp lowered after the landing craft ran up onto the beach, allowing it to disembark its cargo far more easily. This capability was first seen by US observers during the Battle of Shanghai in 1937. This information was brought to the attention of Andrew Higgins, builder of the LCPL. He was able to incorporate the bow ramp into the LCVP (landing craft, vehicle, personnel) design. This latter design would become so successful that it would popularly be known as the "Higgins Boat".
The Daihatsu would see service throughout the Second World War. Even when Japan was no longer able to conduct invasions, the Daihatsu continued to see use as a resupply craft. It ferried supplies to island garrisons and delivered cargo along various coastal rivers.

US sailors examining the battle board of IJN battleship Nagato on August 30, 1945, when the US Navy took possession of the ship. The ship had been disabled in November 1944 and was moored as a floating AA battery at Yokosuka.
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