Human torpedo war. Torpedoes controlled by suicide pilots. World War II.

Описание: The first projects of the torpedo-kaiten provided for a pilot ejection mechanism. However, due to the fact that ejection in the immediate vicinity of the target being hit during the explosion left the pilot virtually no chance of survival, and due to the fact that there was not a single known case when a kaiten pilot tried to use a means of rescue, later modifications of the torpedo no longer had ejection mechanisms. The pilot was simply placed in the control room, the hatch was closed into it. The search for the target by the pilot was carried out using a periscope at a shallow depth. After reaching the target and aiming, the pilot switched the torpedo to attack mode: the periscope was removed, the depth increased and full speed was turned on. The pilot could not leave the torpedo in case of a miss and died from lack of oxygen, subsequently a self-destruct mechanism was added to the design.
The Kaiten torpedo proved to be an ineffective weapon. The preparations for the launch were lengthy and quite noisy. Since the kaytens were designed for a small maximum depth of immersion and were attached to the outside of the boat, the permissible depth of immersion of the boat itself decreased accordingly, and the vulnerability from anti—submarine weapons increased. Accuracy and reliability during long-range launches were unsatisfactory. The commanders of the Japanese submarines understood this.