Type 4 Ka-Tsu
Encyclopedia
The was a Japan
ese amphibious tank during World War II
.
. Five submarines, equipped with four Ka-Tsu's armed with aerial torpedo
es, were to release the tanks near Pearl Harbor in conjunction with several other attacks. However, the Ka-Tsu was plagued with problems from the start. Crew noticed the engine was not entirely water-tight, and after a time would completely flood. Another factor was that the Ka-Tsu's had no dedicated tank crewmen, but were drafted from the members of midget submarine
s and trained for about two weeks on Nasake Jima. It also took some 20 minutes for the tanks to deploy from their mother submarine, thanks in part to their sadly lacking engine, which was also quite noisy. Finally, the tracks had the alarming tendency to slip or give out upon meeting the slightest obstacle.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese amphibious tank during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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History
This type, though relatively obscure, would have played a major role in the planned second sneak attack on Pearl HarborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. Five submarines, equipped with four Ka-Tsu's armed with aerial torpedo
Aerial torpedo
The aerial torpedo, airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo is a naval weapon, the torpedo, designed to be dropped into water from an aircraft after which it propels itself to the target. First used in World War I, air-dropped torpedoes were used extensively in World War II, and remain in limited...
es, were to release the tanks near Pearl Harbor in conjunction with several other attacks. However, the Ka-Tsu was plagued with problems from the start. Crew noticed the engine was not entirely water-tight, and after a time would completely flood. Another factor was that the Ka-Tsu's had no dedicated tank crewmen, but were drafted from the members of midget submarine
Midget submarine
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...
s and trained for about two weeks on Nasake Jima. It also took some 20 minutes for the tanks to deploy from their mother submarine, thanks in part to their sadly lacking engine, which was also quite noisy. Finally, the tracks had the alarming tendency to slip or give out upon meeting the slightest obstacle.