Kaiten: Japan's Secret Manned Suicide Submarine and the First American Ship it Sank in WWII

(Paperback)

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In November 1944, the U.S. Navy fleet lay at anchor deep in the Pacific Ocean, when the oiler USS Mississinewa exploded. Japan's secret weapon, the Kaiten, a manned suicide submarine, had succeeded in its first mission. The Kaiten was so secret that even Japanese naval commanders didn't know of its existence. And the Americans kept it secret as well. Embarrassed by the attack, the U.S. Navy refused to salvage the sunken Mighty Miss. Not until 2001, when a diving team located the wreck, would survivors learn what really happened.

Reviews

Praise for Kaiten

A powerful taleabouthow anintersection of youth, patriotism, and sacrificeended in a fiery suicidal assault on an American warship. More than recounting a battle, this is a very human story that relives one of the most painful episodes of World War II.James P. Delgado, author of Silent Killers: Submarines and Underwater Warfare

A crisp, persuasive narrative about a little-known but startling World War IIattack... Mair and Waldron portray the story from both perspectives, constantly building to a dramatic, fiery crescendo. Their profiles of American and Japanese sailors add poignancy to a compelling story of battle disaster, death, and survival.David Sears, author of Pacific Air

This doomed mission almost became lost in history after the atomic explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But the authors of Kaiten have pulled together the story and populated it with flesh-and-blood warriors on both sides of the conflict... This book can take its place alongside Shadow Divers and Unbroken as a graphic, living story from the worst war the world has ever known.Richard McCord, journalist, editor, and publisher of the Santa Fe Reporter, and author of The Chain Gang: One Newspaper versus the Gannett Empire

Author Bio

A businessman and historian, Michael Mair is the son of a USS Mississinewa survivor. He began research for this book in 1995, including extensive interviews with other survivors and naval personnel stationed in the Pacific at the crucial time in 1944. He has appeared on various History Channel programs, served as a consultant for the Canadian television program Sea Hunters, and contributed to Naval History magazine. Joy Waldron is the coauthor of The USS Arizona- The Ship, the Men, the Pearl Harbor Attack, and the Symbol That Aroused America. A professional journalist and editor, she has published numerous articles on World War II ships, survivors, and underwater archaeology. Other journalistic credits include investigative reporting on the search for the Titanic and breaking the news worldwide of Robert Ballard's expedition, including roundup stories for Smithsonian magazine and others.