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Title details for Kaiten by Michael Mair - Available

Kaiten

Japan's Secret Manned Suicide Submarine and the First American Ship It Sank in WWII

by Michael Mair
Joy Waldron
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
In November 1944, the U.S. Navy fleet lay at anchor in Ulithi Harbor, deep in the Pacific Ocean, when the oiler USS Mississinewa erupted in a ball of flames. 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 shocking surprise attack, the U.S. Navy refused to salvage or inspect the sunken Mighty Miss. Only decades later would the survivors understand what really happened at Ulithi, when a diving team located the wreck in 2001.

In Kaiten, Michael Mair and Joy Waldron tell the full story from both sides, from the strategic importance of the USS Mississinewa to newly revealed secrets of the Kaiten development and training schools. U.S. Navy survivors recount their gripping experiences in the wake of the attack, as well as the harrowing recovery efforts that came later. Japanese pilots reveal their terrifying experiences training to die for their country and Emperor, never knowing when their moment of doom would come.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 6, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781452699349
      • File size: 300765 KB
      • Duration: 10:26:35

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Robertson Dean delivers this detailed and sometimes very personal account of a desperate and deadly Japanese attack on U.S. Forces, which was kept secret by both sides for years. In the early morning hours of November 20, 1944, five manned (kamikaze-style) torpedoes were launched from a Japanese submarine that entered the Ulithi anchorage in the South Pacific Caroline Islands. Only one mini-sub found its target, and the fuel tanker USS MISSISSINEWA and its 146,000 barrels of diesel fuel and aviation gasoline exploded into 200-foot plumes of smoke and flames. Author Michael Mair's father survived the attack. One can hear Dean's voice quaver slightly when he recounts the many acts of individual bravery that resulted in the survival of 236 of the 299 crew members that fateful day. B.P. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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