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Ōurasaki Special Attack Base (P Base) Monument
Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture

Ōurasaki Park, located along the Inland Sea in Ondo-chō (part of Kure City since 2005), has a monument to remember Ōurasaki Special Attack Base, a special submarine base with the code name of P Base. The monument stands just off the park's beach facing the Inland Sea, where special submarine crews trained during WWII.

Special submarines are usually referred to as midget submarines outside of Japan. Kohyoteki special submarines carried out attacks early in the war at Pearl Harbor, Sydney, and Diégo Suarez in Madagascar.

The monument has the following inscription:

In October 1942, construction of a factory began in strict secrecy and opened for production in the following March. This was the Kure Naval Arsenal factory that specialized in production of Kōhyōteki special submarines. Crew training also began here at the same time. The number of trainees, including pilots and support personnel, totaled 2,600 men, and 439 of these men died during the war.

The duties of this base included Kōhyōteki production, crew training, and research and development of special attack weapons. In 1945, the base completed Type D Kōhyōteki (Kōryū) special submarines, and it achieved a useful level of Kaiten (human torpedo) production.

Preparations were made for the expected decisive battle for the homeland, but on August 15 of the same year the war ended, and the base was abolished. Now it has become a peaceful park that townspeople can enjoy as a place of recreation and relaxation.

Erected February 1992

The Special Submarine Monument at Hachimanyama Jinja is located about one kilometer from Ōurasaki Park.