Lt Commander Naito Takeshi was the Assistant Naval Attache in Berlin in 1940.After the British attack on the Italian ships at Taranto he specially flew down from Berlin to investigate the success of the operation...."he was able to radio Tokyo the secret of the British shallow-water torpedo wooden fins to add buoyancy."
Naito was back in Japan in October 1941.Though not privy to the secrets of the upcoming Pearl Harbor attack,Naito briefed Yamamoto's staff on Taranto.He was also a good friend of Fuchida who quized him further in private.
Has anyone any details on this naval officer?
Naito Takeshi visits Taranto
Re: Naito Takeshi visits Taranto
According to 'A general handbook on Japanese Army and Navy' (日本陸海軍総合事典), the dispatchment of 内藤雄 to Germany was from Jan 1941 to Oct 1941.Peter H wrote:Lt Commander Naito Takeshi was the Assistant Naval Attache in Berlin in 1940.After the British attack on the Italian ships at Taranto he specially flew down from Berlin to investigate the success of the operation...."he was able to radio Tokyo the secret of the British shallow-water torpedo wooden fins to add buoyancy."
Naito was back in Japan in October 1941.Though not privy to the secrets of the upcoming Pearl Harbor attack,Naito briefed Yamamoto's staff on Taranto.He was also a good friend of Fuchida who quized him further in private.
Has anyone any details on this naval officer?
http://www.utp.or.jp/bd/4-13-030135-7.html
But he is the right person to send such a report; he was an officer almost specialized as a pilot. He was a classmate of Fuchida both in navy war school and navy war academy. Maybe he had already arrived to Europe before an appointment or he had another appointment in Europe. Another question in my mind is how he came to Japan just after Barbarossa but a website states that another mission of Japanese government officials came to Japan from Germany in Octover 1941 via Portugal, USA and Shanghai. Perhaps he was with them. He was appointed as a staff of Ozawa's Southern expeditionary freet, and later in Southwest theater fleet HQ. He came back to Japan in 1943 and became the chief aviation staff (航空甲参謀) of the combined fleet. He was missing and supposedly killed by airplane accident in March 1944 with his chief, admiral Koga.
The development of torpedoes for shallow seas began in around 1939, and IJN ordered to Yokosuka air group to research maneuver of torpedo attackers at shallow seas in September 1940. Even before Taranto IJN was conscious that there were many shallow ports around Japan as potential targets. They finally overcame the problem with trainings and additional wooden fins on torpedoes controlled with a gyroscope.
It is said that in the end of November 1940 Yamamoto fixed his mind that air raid to Pearl Harbor was the only gamble to find a way to win the US Navy. He revealed his idea to the minister of the navy and his chief-in-staff in January 1941, and outline was discussed by his staffs after that.