     were manned torpedoes and suicide craft, used by the imperial japanese navy in the final stages of world war ii. ==history==  in recognition of the unfavorable progress of the war, towards the end of 1943 the japanese high command considered suggestions for various suicide craft. these were initially rejected, but later deemed necessary. various suicide mission vehicles were developed in the japanese special attack units. for the navy, this meant kamikaze planes, shinyo suicide boats, kaiten submarines and fukuryu suicide divers or human mines. the kamikazes were somewhat successful, and the second most successful were the kaitens. research on the first kaiten began in february 1944, followed on 25 july of the same year by the first prototype. by 1 august, an order for 100 units had been placed. ==development== 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 re
Torpedoes_of_Japan World_War_II_suicide_weapons_of_Japan