Japan's Forgotten Underwater Kamikaze Divers 

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My grandfather told me about these guys. He was often tasked with watching for them at night on his ship. He’s still alive at 95 years old.

Everybody gangsta till the water start speaking japanese

The bad news: you can easily kill divers using underwater explosions that aren't strong enough to harm a warship in the slightest, kinda like deafening people on land.

It’s such a huge contrast watching business blaze and then today I found out.

"Posessed certain critical technologies that Japan lacked" Japan: "What is nuke?"

Saddest thing is that they told the Kamikaze applicants that they would always be remembered as heroes.

Here's to the loneliest Veteran's group...

Japan: We don’t have enough money for submarines Japan military: Non sense, we make human submarines.

It's a bit morbid, but I find it hilarious that the country known today for being so incredibly technologically advanced, especially in robots, couldn't come up with anything better than strapping its men to all manner of explosive vehicles and sending them out to ram into stuff

The thing is how despite suicide attackers expecting to net a positive K/D, the failure rate of suicide attacks against military targets is always so initially high, (curious thing about war, if you focus on not dying yourself, you get more opportunities to kill the enemy then when you throw caution to the wind) then so quickly adapted against that they end up with an absolutely terrible K/D ratio.

“Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.” ― Baltasar Gracián

This is a fascinating video! Thank you! I just learned so much 🙏🏽❤️🤗

I haven't hear that word for decades! When I was a kid one of my favorite books was history of diving. There was a subchapter about Fukuryu.

Being a commercial diver myself, I spontaneously got the bends just from watching this video.

I clicked on this video because I misread the title as "Kamikaze Drivers" and thought, "I wonder what those are." 😂

When the Earth eventually lays barren and the last vestiges of Humanity finally wither away, we can at least take comfort in the thought that we exhausted all avenues of self destruction.

Interesting, I knew nothing of these units. Also thanks for that info right before the bonus facts. Just something to think about with regards to the two bombs dropped.

Just a few days ago, Simon mentioned kamikaze torpedoes in a video, and I said let's hear about those. This man is a machine!

Why would I need curiosity stream ? I have Today I found out 😂😂😂🤣😭😅

Im convinced they are twin brothers carrying out the same life ala The Prestige. Business Blaze is where the other one gets to be himself.

Concerning the Kamikaze, it is my understanding that one of the things that stoped them was the VT fuse. It was the second most top secret US project in WWII and was brutally effective against them. My mom was a final inspector of the fuses at McQuay Norris Corp. in St. Louis. I only learned about her role after I got my government clearance. She never talked about it very much all the way until she died. Have you done a video on that forgotten weapon?

The thought of preparing yourself to do a kamikaze attack and die is terrifying, combining that with a diving suit and being on the bottom of the sea or ocean makes it 100x scarier, it had to be horror being beneath a large naval vessel knowing your impending doom

Imagine what it was like living in one of those underwater bunkers, must have been a very miserable experience being surrounded by water, which was probably also leaking its' way into the things too...

You must have a huge staff but I wonder if you ever see your family due to the volume of videos you produce each week. I love every one of your channels and welcome your production of such interesting content.

🤯🤯🤯 Best TIFO video yet. My grand Father fought in WW2 during the Battle of Iwajima.

Man, could you imagine what a pressure wave would do to one of those divers if they got caught near a depth charge?

I remember watching this a while back but it says it was uploaded a week ago???

How does Simon find the time to do multiple videos for all his Channels twice or thrice every week 🔥

This was news to me. I've read a considerable amount about the second world war but I hadn't heard about this. Thank you! 👍🏻

Fascinating story, I never heard of the Kamikaze divers.

Why is the beginning of chop suey on repeat in the background

A Turtle doesn't approve these Kamikaze divers.

explosive motorboat. I think I got one of those at the strip club the other night.

_Operation Source_ that aimed to take out the _Tirpitz_ among others, using Chariots, hit the Tirpitz in Åfjord, not Bogenfjorden. Tidbits on Scandinavian languages: in Norwegian (all mainland Nordic languages afaik, Icelandic is... a different story): E is pronounced like the E in "meh" and "pet", rather than the more typical English pronounciation; "meme". Æ/æ and Ä/ä is a wovel and pronounced like the A in "cat silencer" and "bang". Ø/ø and Ö/ö is a wovel and pronounced like the U in "epic burn" and "can has cheezeburger". Å/å (and its common spelling as AA in names), is a vowel and pronounced like the O in "honk-honk" and "corn". Not like in _"Danny and Sam is chained to a radiator in Simon's basement pls send halp! Or coke!"._

Thank you ,

props for mentioning how brutal okinawa was in ww2.

Enemy soldier: "hold it right there...who the fuck are you?" Japanese guy: "fukuryu" Enemy soldier: "hey..i asked first"

Also, the Japanese government gave kamikaze pilots methamphetamines as an extra boost. A lot of them were probably so high they didn’t even know they were flying.

About that jet powered cherry blossom aircraft, i'm sure I read an article that they were just an unpowered glider packed with explosives & could not fly by themselves & had to be towed behind another plane ?, so is this incorrect ?. Also, had they not heard of limpet mines ?. Great video may we never see one again.

Imagine going to work one day and they tell you “OKAY GUYS, TODAY WERE LOADING PLANES WITH EXPLOSIVES AND YOU, WELL, YOU GET TO FLY THEM INTO SHIPS!”

Are there any photos of the underwater bunkers that the men lived in

Awesome

"Volentold" by coercion or other verbal enhancement ploys to shame one to " see the light" while those who mandate such action are always immuned from any or all harm ? Is that the size of it?

what is the map on the wall? Czechoslovakia, but it is somehow weird shape of slovak half?

How many channels does this guy have?

Kamikaze, attacks are the reason I hope Tojo is roasting and turning on a spit

well the ad worked i just signed up for that service through my amazon prime.This was a good episode I actually learned something new about WW2. too bad the locations of the underwater pillboxes are not known. im in japan now and wouldn't mind diving on them

how can simon be this but also business blaze simon... wth?

The underwater “witness me” weapon

Is it just me or did the American frogman program lead to the most legendary of any of them. They were eventually renamed to SEALs.

Capt. Hara Tameichi was commander of the Kawatana Arashi Butai (Storm Force), which was a training center for motor boats, Fukuryu and Shinyo, and in his autobiography noted the irony that volunteers for the suicidal fukuryu course where more likely to survive the war than their non-suicidal regular motor boat counterparts because they had been held in reserve for the defense of Japan so didn't get a chance to die in combat. They did lose some students to bad compressed air and the unreliable breathing apparatuses as mentioned in the video. There is a Shinyo memorial at the site of the former training center today, which is now a residential neighborhood. All that remains of the Arashi Butai is a concrete stump in Ogushi Bay. I wrote about visiting Kawatana here: www.wayfarerdaves.com/?p=1801

@Zenmasterme Samurai Pizza Cats, of course!!!

I keep expecting you to blaze out business style 😃😉

The suicide boats were crazy. Imagine that day on the water.....😬

The US wasn't lacking kilotons of Japanese chum to rack up the natural selection dial to Remote Dynamite Fishing.

Is that vsoup?

I love the logic though, we have low man power so let’s use our limited man power as weapons

Japanese soldiers really went hard in the paint.

you wonder why you lost the war when your strategy is oh just send a guy on a suicide mission by the end your like oh shit we need more solders

Ahhh I'm early 4 minutes ago and the 4th comment. I love watching and listening to Simon on all your channels. This is my second favorite! Of course Business Blaze is the first!

With a five meter long stick between me and the bomb I would have worried the explosion would horribly maim me rather than killing me instantly.

Perfect example of why and how the nukes saved lives.

Caillou? Like that bald kid on TV. Who knew? 13:31 - Is that what You Only Live Twice based it's MI6 installation on?

The book _The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers by Lankford, Adam_ makes a very solid argument that the first requirement of a kamikaze or a suicide bomber is to be suicidal. Dedication to the cause, patriotism are not even critical factors. Almost all soldiers and all of the people who've run suicide bomber units when asked if they'd 'do it' say they think they are more valuable to their cause fighting and surviving. The way the Japanese got a steady supply of kamikazes is the Imperial military system of brutality and bullying: officers who hit and beat sergeants, sergeants would beat corporals and soldiers, corporals beat... and the soldiers, would bully each other, local people, prisoners of war. I've read a couple of accounts of kamikaze pilots, they were carefully controlled and isolated from anyone not in their units. These first hand accounts emphasize patriotism, dedication, and passion, so it's difficult not to get the impression these guys were just more patriotic than the rest of us. But after reading Lankford you can begin reading between the lines. Someone on your staff should read this book you'd get at least one video out of it and it would inform all future videos about one-way soldiering. I once met someone who'd been in a kamikaze flying unit at the end of the war, but I didn't know this until after his death (many years later after a long life) Missed opportunity.

I hope "Manifest Destiny" is a Megaprojects soon🤔

Hardly forgotten. The Japanese even have existing museum exhibits honoring suicide divers and any reputable history of Special Attack units features suicide divers. The Japanese had numerous types of Special Attack units - even paratroopers. Civilians would have been trained and used had allied forces conducted invasions of the home islands.

this reminds me of the oxygen bomb thing in the godzilla movie where he kills himself underwater with it so people wouldnt get ahold of this info

Its crazy how entire countries can be whipped up into a cult-like frenzy. Its sad to see this happening in my country too, where random citizens fetishize dying or killing for certain political figures. A true leader should prioritize the well-being of their constituents, not offer them up for slaughter.

Today I found out that u look like vsauce!!

Well I didn't know that

Honestly, How could anyone be weighted down to the ocean floor & then when the time is r

Interesting.

Forgotten kamikaze divers? Damn man talk about a job that ain't what it was cracked up to be

With this YT subscriber, a video without a "like," is most likely one that has not been seen.

Terrifying to think thrrs a good chance a bunch of her bunkers where forgotten about while they where filled Wih people

“No dumb bastard ever won a war by going out and dying for his country. He won it by making some other dumb bastard die for his country.” General George S. Patton.

Thank you for pronouncing "corps" correctly

Huh. I remember when I read about this topic when I went looking for the Japanese super carriers that all sunk before they could do anything because of American subs then from there, got distracted by reading about kamikaze, then from there I went to this topic.

Good Tube

In my first year as an apprentice, I helped re-design and build the motor control system of a fully functional (minus the warhead) MK ii Chariot, which is now on display in a museum. www.divingheritage.com/torpedo3.htm

I'd like to know more obscure bits of Japanese history like Yasuke and the Japanese immigration to Argentina

Suicide is painless...

01:02 video begins

so this is how tsunami’s are created

Good video 👍

Was that a 360 controller 😂

I would love to build an under water bunker and live in it

Why not use water mines instead?

It was believed that a single suicide pilot could take out a lot. In reality, they were neither effective nor efficient, with a majority not reaching their targets, and the damage on par with what a group of ordinary aircraft could to anyway. Your numbers speak for themselves: 2800 attacks, 7000 enemey casualties and 70 sunk ships. The whole idea of resisting however died in the nuclear blasts.

Fukuru sounds like Fucku you 😂 what an irony 😂😂

The Onion had an article about WWII Kamikaze divers just reaching Pearl Harbor in the 2000s

SUICIDE BOMBER: I've been promised to have 100 virgins in the afterlife if I complete my mission FUKURYU MEMBER: Good luck with that. We were recruited as "volunteer by default" whether we like it or not.

They couldn't do this, they'd be held down by their giant balls

11:42 - 12:05 thats not Japan Home Islands though, that's Japanese-occupied Philippines (on the displayed map)

Wait, the Italians STOPPED using the technique after joining our side? Cheeky buggers

Oh god, being dept charged as a diver sounds awful way to go.

Alright goodnight everyone

The Yellow Peril.

good stuff but man, the way you mangled the pronunciation of Italian words 😂 next time I offer my consultancy for free :)