The Long Lance: Japan's Secret Weapon and the Sinking of the Allied Fleet (The True War Stories Collection)

"The Long Lance: Japan's Secret Weapon and the Sinking of the Allied Fleet" by Jerome Ellis explores the development, deployment, and impact of Japan's revolutionary Type 93 torpedo during World War II. The book details the engineering marvels behind the "Long Lance," particularly its use of liquid oxygen for propulsion, which gave it an unprecedented range of up to 40 kilometers, high speed, and a nearly wakeless, stealthy approach that baffled Allied forces.
The narrative chronicles how the Imperial Japanese Navy leveraged this secret weapon to achieve a significant tactical edge in early Pacific engagements. In key conflicts like the
Battle of the Java Sea and the Battle of Savo Island off Guadalcanal, Japanese destroyers and cruisers used the Long Lance to devastating effect, sinking numerous Allied warships from distances the Allies believed were safe. The book highlights how Japan's mastery of night-time torpedo tactics, combined with the torpedo's powerful warhead, created shock and fear among Allied sailors and forced a complete reevaluation of their naval strategies.
The latter part of the book details the Allied response to this formidable threat. It covers their struggle to understand the weapon, the intelligence efforts to reverse-engineer captured torpedoes, and the eventual development of countermeasures. Through improved radar and sonar technology, better evasive maneuvers, and a strategy of targeting the Japanese destroyers that carried the torpedoes, the Allies gradually diminished the Long Lance's dominance. The book concludes by reflecting on the weapon's legacy, emphasizing the crucial role of technological innovation and tactical surprise in warfare.