Binta was known for his generous contributions to the enhancement of aircraft carriers and their escort vessels. However, there were exceptions. The most notable of these exceptions was the idea of converting merchant ships into aircraft carriers.
In fact, the Imperial Navy had plans to convert large cargo and passenger ships into aircraft carriers. These converted ships would be integrated into the mobile fleet to bolster the naval air power at sea. Most of the construction costs would be subsidized, but the intent was to have them available as aircraft carriers in times of emergency. As usual, the Imperial Navy approached Binta for funding for this purpose.
According to the one in charge, these merchant ship-converted aircraft carriers were advertised to have the operational capabilities of carrier-based aircraft rivaling that of the smaller Ryūjō and approaching the medium-sized Sōryū. These converted ships were to be incorporated into the Combined Fleet, contributing to the fleet's battle capabilities alongside other aircraft carriers. Binta, however, angrily rejected the request.
"Converting merchant ships into aircraft carriers is stupid. They would go up in flames with a single torpedo hit if they were targeted. And using them in fleet battles, where aircraft carriers would be the primary targets, is even more foolish. There's no way we should be spending money on something like this."
Undeterred by Binta's outburst, the Navy officer continued to press his case. He argued that in a total war scenario, even these merchant ship-converted carriers had to be brought to the forefront to assist in the battle.
"The Imperial Navy loads these fragile ships, like the merchant ship-converted carriers, with torpedoes, bombs, aviation fuel, and most importantly, a large number of highly trained and valuable personnel. In the brutal naval air battles at sea, these paper-thin defense merchant ship-converted carriers wouldn't stand a chance. Furthermore, due to their inherently lower resistance compared to regular warships, the loss of crew and personnel would be staggering, even an amateur like myself can understand that."
When it came to the issue of personnel, those in charge had no counterargument. It was clear to everyone that the Imperial Navy was lacking mid-level officers and specialized crew members. Furthermore, an infuriated Binta hurled one final criticism at the Imperial Navy.
"I no longer wish to be associated with an organization that's so callous with human lives. Once the support I promised is fulfilled, I will cease providing funds to the Imperial Navy."
This statement from Binta sent shockwaves through the Imperial Navy. It was evident that without his financial support, the Navy organization would no longer be able to function. Eventually, this matter was resolved to some extent when Minister Yonai and Vice-Minister Yamamoto traveled to meet Binta and offered their apologies. However, as a result of this incident, the plan to convert large cargo and passenger ships into aircraft carriers equivalent to Sōryū and Hiryū was abandoned.
In addition to his substantial assistance in enhancing aircraft carriers and their escort vessels, Binta was even more fervent in supporting technical development and the stockpiling of supplies, including fuel and ammunition. Thanks to his support, the Naval Technical Research Institute had been progressing with the development of guided weapons at an early stage. Researchers were dedicating themselves to daily research in pursuit of creating bombs and torpedoes that could track and home in on their targets using radio waves, infrared, heat, and sound, among other methods.
In the midst of this research, a proposal was put forward by researchers in the radio wave division. Their idea was to use radio waves to detect objects at a distance. By creating a device to measure reflected waves, they claimed that it would be possible to measure the distance and direction to the target.
Furthermore, with improved accuracy, this technology could potentially be used for targeting and aiming devices. At present, optical rangefinders are the primary means of targeting and aiming devices on surface combatant vessels such as battleships and cruisers. These optical rangefinders had reasonable azimuth accuracy but struggled with distance accuracy. Researchers argued that using radio waves would allow for accurate distance measurement.
Additionally, the Imperial Navy had experienced numerous painful collision accidents during night and rough weather exercises. These accidents led to the sinking of ships and the loss of many personnel. However, with the introduction of detection equipment utilizing radio waves, even in conditions where visual contact was impossible, ships could confirm each other's positions. Moreover, if it could cover a wide area, it might be possible to detect distant enemies. The earlier enemies were spotted, the more reaction time could be allocated to interception, allowing for more efficient combat.
As a result, the Imperial Navy recognized the utility of this radio wave technology from an early stage and continued to advance its research. Binta, understanding its potential, provided substantial financial support.
Regarding guided weapons, in the field of various tracking methods, radio-controlled guided bombs with propulsion were ahead in terms of practical application. These bombs allowed the crew of attacking aircraft or bombers to manually guide the bombs to their targets via radio control, ensuring precision hits. However, due to Japan's limited scientific and technological capabilities, they encountered various challenges in fields like attitude control and rocket technology. Nevertheless, research had commenced in 1932, and with the generous financial support from Binta, significant progress had been made by the mid-1930s.
As the development of guided weapons progressed, there was a rapid loss of interest among those involved in a different area: dive bombing. Despite the image one might associate with its name, dive bombing, which required pulling out of a low-level dive at low speed, was an extremely dangerous tactic that involved approaching enemy ships at low altitudes of a few hundred meters while using dive brakes. Although it offered high accuracy, it also came with a significant risk of being shot down during the attack. In recent times, with the remarkable improvement in the performance of machine guns and cannons, using tactics like dive bombing could quickly lead to the destruction of aircraft, even with the addition of bulletproof equipment to Imperial Navy aircraft, as per Binta's request.
For these reasons, the Imperial Navy designated the Type 96 carrier bomber (Aichi D1A) as its final dive bomber. The planned Experimental Type 11 carrier bomber (Nakajima D3N) ended up being a failed project.
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Cash-Loaded Fleet
Historical Fiction「As long as you have money, you can strengthen the fleet as much as you want.」 Born with a natural inclination for gambling, or perhaps a true gambler at heart, Binta Satsutaba is drawn by his instincts to immerse himself in the tumultuous world of...
