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''Kamikaze'' ( usually refers to the Suicide Attack s by Military Aviators from the Empire Of Japan , against Allied shipping, in the closing stages of the Pacific Campaign of World War II . It is considered related to the Bushido tradition. Kiyoshi Ogawa hit the aircraft carrier USS ''Bunker Hill'' (see picture right).]] These attacks, beginning in 1944, followed several very significant and critical military and strategic defeats for Japan, its decreasing capacity to wage war along with the loss of experienced pilots, and the increasing Industrial Capacity of the United States as well as Japan's reluctance to surrender at near the very end of Pacific War . Kamikaze pilots would attempt to intentionally crash their aircraft (usually laden with explosives, bombs, torpedoes and full fuel tanks) into Allied ships with a goal of causing greater damage than a conventional attack such as dropping bombs, torpedoing or using machine guns. This is similar to the last desperate and largely hopeless military charge (the " Banzai Charge ") historically used by the Imperial Japanese Army. Their objective was to stop or slow the Allied advance towards the Japanese Home Islands by causing as much damage and destruction as possible on the American fleet while committing suicide. Kamikazes were the most common and best-known form of Japanese suicide attack during World War II. For instance the Imperial Japanese Navy used or made plans for Various Suicide Attacks , including Midget Submarines , Human Torpedoes , Speedboat s (some of which were also commissioned by the army) and Divers . 3 (Type 33) ''Suisei'' diving at USS ''Essex'' , November 25 , 1944 . The Air Brakes are extended and the Non-self-sealing port wing tank is trailing fuel vapor and/or smoke.]] DEFINITION AND ETYMOLOGY In the Japanese language, ''kamikaze'' (Japanese:神風), usually translated as "divine wind" (kami is the word for "god", "spirit", or "divinity"; and kaze for "wind"). The word ''kamikaze'' originated as the name of Major Typhoon s in 1274 and 1281 , which dispersed Mongolia n invasion fleets. In Japanese, the formal term used for units carrying out suicide attacks during 1944-45 is ''tokubetsu kōgeki tai'' (特別攻撃隊), which literally means "special attack unit." This is usually abbreviated to ''tokkōtai'' (特攻隊). More specifically, air suicide attack units from the Imperial Japanese Navy were officially called ''shinpū tokubetsu kōgeki tai'' (神風特別攻撃隊, "divine wind special attack units". ''Shinpū'' is the On-reading (''on'yomi'' or Chinese -derived pronunciation) of the same Characters that form the word ''Kamikaze'' in Japanese. During World War II, the actual word ''Kamikaze'' was never, or rarely, used in Japan in relation to suicide attacks. U.S. translators during the war erroneously used the '' Kun'yomi '' (indigenous Japanese pronunciation) for ''Shinpū'', giving the English Language the word ''kamikaze'', for Japanese suicide units in general. This usage gained acceptance worldwide. After the war, Japanese speakers re-imported the word and the English language pronunciation, under the influence of U.S. media sources. As a result, the special attack units are sometimes known in Japan as ''kamikaze tokubetsu kōgeki tai''. Since the end of the war, the term ''kamikaze'' has sometimes been used as a '' Pars Pro Toto '' for other kinds of attack in which an attacker is deliberately sacrificed. These include a variety of suicide attacks, in other historical contexts, such as the proposed use of '' Selbstopfer '' aircraft by Nazi Germany and various Suicide Bombing s by Terrorist organizations around the world (such as the September 11, 2001 Attacks ). In English, the word kamikaze may also be used in a Hyperbolic or Metaphor ical fashion to refer to non-fatal actions which result in significant loss for the attacker, such as injury or the end of a career. HISTORY Background in this case, about to hit the USS ''Missouri'' .]] Prior to the formation of kamikaze units, deliberate crashes had been used as a last effort when a pilot’s plane was severely damaged and he did not want to risk being captured — this was the case in both the Japanese and Allied air forces. According to Axell & Kase, these suicides “were individual, impromptu decisions by men who were mentally prepared to die.”''Kamikaze: Japan’s Suicide Gods'', pp. 34, 40-41 In most cases, there is little evidence that these hits were more than accidental collisions, of the kind likely to happen in intense sea-air battles. One example of this occurred on December 7, 1941 during the Attack On Pearl Harbor . First Lieutenant Fusata Iida’s plane had been hit and was leaking fuel, when he apparently used it to make a suicide attack on Kaneohe Naval Air Station . Before taking off, he had told his men that if his plane was badly damaged he would crash it into a "worthy enemy target".''Kamikaze: Japan’s Suicide Gods'', 44 A monument at the site of Iida’s crash reads: 'JAPANESE AIRCRAFT IMPACT SITE. PILOT-LIEUTENANT IIDA, COMMANDER, THIRD AIR CONTROL GROUP, DEC. 7 1941.’” During 1943-44, Allied forces, backed by the industrial might and rich resources of the United States, were advancing steadily towards Japan. Japan's fighter planes were becoming outnumbered and outclassed by newer U.S.-made planes, especially the ". Skilled fighter pilots were also becoming scarce. Tropical diseases, as well as shortages of spare parts and Fuel , made operations more and more difficult for the IJNAS. On June 19 , 1944 , the Japanese 333rd Air Group, led by Captain Eiichiro Jyo, set out in Zero fighters laden with 250 kg (550 lb) bombs, and attacked a US Battleship task group. About a dozen Zeroes got through and two allegedly made suicide attacks, one of which hit the USS ''Indiana'' .''Fighting Elites: Kamikaze'': 9, 12 The important Japanese base of Saipan Fell To The Allied Forces on July 15 , 1944 . Its capture provided adequate forward bases which enabled U.S. air forces using B-29 Superfortress long-range Bomber s to strike the Japanese home islands. After the fall of Saipan, the Japanese high command predicted that the Allies would try to capture the Philippines , which were strategically important because of their location between the Oil Fields of Southeast Asia and Japan. In August 1944, it was announced by the Domei news agency that a flight instructor named Takeo Tagata was training pilots on Taiwan for suicide missions. ''Kamikaze: Japan’s Suicide Gods'', 40,41 Another source claims that the first kamikaze mission happened on September 13 , 1944 . A group of pilots from the army's 31st Fighter Squadron on Negros Island decided to launch a suicide attack the following morning.John Toland, ''The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936-1945'', Random House, 1970, p. 568 First Lieutenant Takeshi Kosai and a sergeant were selected. Two 100-kilogram bombs were attached to two fighters, and the pilots took off before dawn, planning to crash into carriers. They never returned, and there is no record of an enemy plane hitting an Allied ship that day. According to some sources, on October 14, 1944, USS ''Reno'' was hit by a deliberately-crashed Japanese plane. ww2pacific.com, 2004, "World War II in the Pacific: Japanese Suicide Attacks at Sea." Access date: August 1, 2007. However, there is no evidence that this was a deliberate attack. ly to Admiral and was given official credit for making the first kamikaze attack. However, it is not clear that this was a planned suicide attack, Bill Gordon, 2005, " On carrier-based fighters, three Nakajima B6N Torpedo bombers, one Mitsubishi G4M and two Yokosuka P1Y land-based bombers, with one additional reconnaissance plane. The task facing the Japanese air forces seemed impossible. The 1st Air Fleet commandant, Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi decided to form a suicide attack force, the Special Attack Unit. In a meeting at Mabalacat Airfield (known to the U.S. military as Clark Air Base) near Manila , on October 19 , Onishi told officers of the 201st Flying Group headquarters: "I don't think there would be any other certain way to carry out the operation hold the Philippines , than to put a 250 kg bomb on a Zero and let it crash into a U.S. carrier, in order to disable her for a week." First kamikaze unit wearing a life preserver.]] & Hideaki Kase , 2002. ''Kamikaze: Japan's Suicide Gods''. London: Pearson Education, p.16. The names of four sub-units within the Kamikaze Special Attack Force were ''Unit Shikishima'', ''Unit Yamato'', ''Unit Asahi'', and ''Unit Yamazakura''. These names were taken from a patriotic poem ( Waka or Tanka ), "''Shikishima no Yamato-gokoro wo hito towaba, asahi ni niou yamazakura bana''" by the Japanese classical scholar, Motoori Norinaga . The poem reads:
Leyte Gulf: the first attacks , in September 1944. The officer facing right is Captain Emile Dechaineux , killed by the first kamikaze to hit an Allied ship, on October 21 , 1944 .]] According to eyewitness accounts, the first Allied ship to be hit by a kamikaze attack was the flagship of the . The attack took place on October 21 , 1944 , near Leyte Island; gunners from HMAS ''Australia'' and HMAS ''Shropshire'' fired at, and reportedly hit, three Japanese aircraft. One plane flew away from the ships before turning and flying into ''Australia'', striking the ship's superstructure above the Bridge , and spewing burning fuel and debris over a large area, before falling into the sea. A 200 kg (440 pound) bomb carried by the plane failed to explode; if it had, the ship might have been effectively destroyed. At least 30 crew members died as a result of the attack, including the commanding officer of ''Australia'', Captain Emile Dechaineux ; among the wounded was Commodore John Collins , the Australian force commander. (A6M5 Model 52) towards the end of its run at the Escort Carrier USS ''White Plains'' on October 25 , 1944 . The aircraft exploded in mid-air, moments after the picture was taken, scattering debris across the deck.]] horizontal Stabilizer from the tail of a "Judy" on the deck of USS ''Kitkun Bay'' .]] On October 25 , 1944 , the ''Australia'' was hit again and was forced to retire to the New Hebrides for repairs. That same day, the Kamikaze Special Attack Force carried out its first mission. Five Zeros, led by Seki, and escorted to the target by leading Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa , attacked several Escort Carriers . One Zero attempted to hit the bridge of the USS ''Kitkun Bay'' but instead exploded on the port catwalk and cartwheeled into the sea. Two others dove at USS ''Fanshaw Bay'' but were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire. The last two ran at the USS ''White Plains'' , however one, under heavy fire and trailing smoke, aborted the attempt on the ''White Plains'' and instead banked toward the USS ''St. Lo'' , plowing into the flight deck. Its bomb caused fires that resulted in the bomb magazine exploding, sinking the carrier.John Toland, ''The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936-1945'', Random House, 1970, p. 567 By day's end on October 26 , 55 kamikaze from the special attack force had also damaged the large escort carriers USS ''Sangamon'' , USS ''Suwannee'' , USS ''Santee'' , and the smaller escorts USS ''White Plains'' , USS ''Kalinin Bay'' , and USS ''Kitkun Bay'' . In total seven carriers had been hit, as well as 40 other ships (five sunk, 23 heavily damaged, and 12 moderately damaged). ''HMAS Australia'' returned to combat at the . Main wave of attacks is attacked by a kamikaze off Lingayen Gulf , 6 January 1945 .]] Early successes, such as the sinking of the ''St. Lo'' were followed by an immediate expansion of the program, and over the next few months over 2,000 planes made such attacks. When Japan began to be subject to intense Strategic Bombing by B-29 bombers, the Japanese military attempted to use suicide attacks against this threat. During the northern hemisphere winter of 1944-45, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force formed the 47th Air Regiment, also known as the '' Shinten '' Special Unit (''Shinten Seiku Ta'') at Narimasu Airfield, Nerima, Tokyo , to defend the Tokyo Metropolitan Area . The unit was equipped with Nakajima Ki-44 ''Shoki'' ("Tojo") fighters, which they were to ram USAAF B-29s in their attacks on Japan. However, this proved much less successful and practical since an airplane is a much faster, more maneuverable, and smaller target than a warship. The B-29 also had formidable defensive weaponry, so suicide attacks against the plane demanded considerable piloting skill to be successful. That worked against the very purpose of using expendable pilots and even encouraging capable pilots to bail out before impact was ineffective because vital personnel were often lost when they mistimed when to exit and were killed as a result. Sub-Lieutenant Nakano, Petty Officer Shihara, PO Goto and PO Taniushi carried out the last kamikaze operation from the Philippines on January 6 , 1945 , from Mabalacat. However, kamikaze attacks were being planned at far-flung Japanese bases. On January 8 , Onishi formed a second official naval kamikaze unit, in Formosa . The unit, '' Niitaka '' used Zeroes and Yokosuka D4Y s, and was based at Takao Airfield. On January 29 , 1945 , seven Kawasaki Ki-48 "Lily" from the Japanese Army " Shichisi Mitate " Special group, took off from Palembang, Sumatra to strike the British Pacific Fleet . Vice Admiral Kimpei Teraoka and Captain Riishi Sugiyama of the 601st Air Group organized another second special unit, '' Mitate '' at Iwo Jima on February 16 , as a U.S. invasion force approached. On March 11 , the U.S. carrier '' Randolph '' was hit and moderately damaged at Ulithi Atoll , in the Caroline Islands, by a kamikaze that had flown almost 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from Japan, in a mission called Operation Tan No. 2 . On March 20 , the submarine USS ''Devilfish'' survived a hit from an aircraft, just off Japan. .]] Purpose-built kamikaze planes, as opposed to converted fighters and dive-bombers, were also being constructed. Ensign Mitsuo Ohta had suggested that piloted Glider Bomb s, carried within range of targets by a mother plane, should be developed. The First Naval Air Technical Bureau (''Kugisho''), in Yokosuka , refined Ohta's idea. Yokosuka MXY7 ''Ohka'' Rocket Plane s, launched from bombers, were first deployed in kamikaze attacks from March 1945. U.S. personnel gave them the derisive nickname "Baka Bombs" (''baka'' is Japanese for "idiot" or "stupid"). A specially-designed propellor plane, the Nakajima Ki-115 ''Tsurugi'', was a simple, easily-built aircraft, intended to use up existing stocks of engines, in a wooden airframe. The Undercarriage was non-retractable: it was jettisoned shortly after take-off for a suicide mission and then re-used on other planes. During 1945, the Japanese military began stockpiling hundreds of ''Tsurugi'', other propellor planes, ''Ohka'', and suicide boats, for use against Allied forces expected to invade Japan. Few were ever used. Allied defensive tactics In early 1945, Commander John Thach , a U.S. Navy air operations officer, who was already famous for developing effective aerial tactics against the Japanese such as the Thach Weave , developed an anti-kamikaze strategy called the " Big Blue Blanket ". Bill Coombes, 1995, "Divine Wind The Japanese secret weapon - kamikaze suicide attacks" This plan called for round-the-clock fighter patrols over Allied fleets. However, the U.S. Navy had cut back training of fighter pilots, so there were not enough Navy pilots available to counter the kamikaze threat. , as it is hit by a kamikaze at the Battle Of Lingayen Gulf , January 1945.]] Thach also recommended larger Combat Air Patrol s (CAP), further from the carriers than had previously been the case, intensive fighter sweeps over Japanese airfields, the bombing of Japanese runways with Delayed Action Fuse s to make repairs more difficult, a line of picket Destroyer s and Destroyer Escort s at least 50 miles (80 km) from the main body of the fleet to provide earlier Radar interception, and improved coordination between fighter direction officers on carriers. As the end of the war approached, the Allies did not suffer significantly more damage, despite having far more ships and being attacked in far greater density. Poor training tended to make kamikaze pilots easy targets for experienced Allied pilots, who also flew superior aircraft. Moreover the U.S. Fast Carrier Task Force alone could bring over 1,000 fighter aircraft into play. Allied pilots became adept at destroying enemy aircraft before they struck ships. Allied naval crews had begun to develop techniques to negate kamikaze attacks, such as firing their High-caliber guns into the sea in front of attacking planes flying near sea level, in order to create walls of water which would swamp the attacking planes. Although such tactics could not be used against Okhas and other fast, high angle attacks, these were in turn more vulnerable to Anti-aircraft fire. In 1945 large amounts of anti-aircraft shells with Radio frequency Proximity Fuze s became available, these were on average seven times more accurate than regular shells. Final phase The peak in kamikaze attacks came during the period of April-June 1945, at the s or Cruiser s were sunk by kamikaze at Okinawa. Most of the ships destroyed were destroyers or smaller vessels, especially those on picket duty. {Link without Title} , , ''Formidable'' was again damaged by a kamikaze, as was the carrier HMS ''Victorious'' and the battleship HMS ''Howe'' . Sometimes twin-engined aircraft were used in planned kamikaze attacks. For example, Mitsubishi Ki-67 ''Hiryū'' ("Peggy") medium bombers, based on Formosa, undertook kamikaze attacks on Allied forces off Okinawa. Rear Admiral Matome Ugaki , the second in command of the Combined Pacific Fleet, directed the last official kamikaze attack, sending some Yokosuka D4Y ''Suisei'' "Judy" dive bombers from the 701st Air Group against the Allied fleet at Okinawa on August 15 , 1945 . At least one kamikaze attack was made against land forces of the Soviet Red Army , on August 19 , 1945 , during Operation August Storm . Six planes from a Kwantung Army air unit made the attack, on the 46th Tank Brigade, 6th Guards Tank Army , near Tongliao , Manchuria . One truck was destroyed, and a Sherman Tank was damaged. Some sources report that a Soviet Navy cutter, KT-152, was sunk by a kamikaze attack on August 18 or August 19 , 1945 , near Shumushu , Kuriles archipelago. Effects gun aboard the battleship USS ''New Jersey'' watches as a kamikaze plane prepares to strike USS ''Intrepid'' ]] By the end of World War II, the Japanese naval air service had sacrificed 2,525 kamikaze pilots, and the army air force had lost 1,387. According to an official Japanese announcement, the missions sank 81 ships and damaged 195, and according to a Japanese tally, suicide attacks accounted for up to 80 percent of the U.S. losses in the final phase of the war in the Pacific. According to a U.S. Air Force source: Approximately 2,800 Kamikaze attackers sunk 34 Navy ships, damaged 368 others, killed 4,900 sailors, and wounded over 4,800. Despite Radar detection and cuing, airborne interception and attrition, and massive anti-aircraft barrages, a distressing 14 percent of Kamikazes survived to score a hit on a ship; nearly 8.5 percent of all ships hit by Kamikazes sank. In a 2004 book, ''World War II'', the historians Wilmott, Cross & Messenger stated that more than 70 U.S. vessels were "sunk or damaged beyond repair" by kamikazes. RECRUITMENT The establishment of kamikaze forces required recruiting men for the task — this proved easier than the commanders had expected. Qualifications were simple: “youth, alertness and zeal. Flight experience was of minimal importance and expertise in landing a luxury.” After all, these men were not really going to need to know how to land a plane if all they were meant to do was crash the plane into a carrier. Captain Motoharu Okamura commented that “there were so many volunteers for suicide missions that he referred to them as a swarm of bees, explaining: ‘Bees die after they have stung.’”''Kamikaze: Japan’s suicide gods'', 35 When the volunteers arrived for duty in the corps there were twice as many persons as aircraft. “After the war, some commanders would express regret for allowing superfluous crews to accompany sorties, sometimes squeezing themselves aboard bombers and fighters so as to encourage the suicide pilots and, it seems, join in the exultation of sinking a large enemy vessel.” Many of the Kamikaze believed their death would pay the debt they owed and show the love they had for their families, friends, and emperor. “So eager were many minimally trained pilots to take part in suicide missions that when their sorties were delayed or aborted, the pilots became deeply despondent. Many of those who were selected for a bodycrashing mission were described as being extraordinarily blissful immediately before their final sortie.”''Kamikaze: Japan’s suicide gods'', 40 TRAINING :When you eliminate all thoughts about life and death, you will be able to totally disregard your earthly life. This will also enable you to concentrate your attention on eradicating the enemy with unwavering determination, meanwhile reinforcing your excellence in flight skills.'' (A paragraph from a kamikaze pilots' manual.) ''Tokkōtai'' pilot training, as described by Kasuga Takeo, generally "consisted of incredibly strenuous training, coupled with cruel and torturous corporal punishment as a daily routine." Irokawa Daikichi, who trained at Tsuchiura Naval Air Base, recalled that he "was struck on the face so hard and frequently that {Link without Title} face was no longer recognizable." He also wrote: "I was hit so hard that I could no longer see and fell on the floor. The minute I got up, I was hit again by a club so that I would confess." This brutal "training" was justified by the idea that it would instill a "soldier's fighting spirit." However, daily beatings and corporal punishment would eliminate patriotism among many pilots. Pilots were given a manual which detailed how they were supposed to think, prepare, and attack. From this manual, pilots were told to "attain a high level of spiritual training," and to "keep {Link without Title} health in the very best condition." These things, among others, were meant to put the pilot into the mindset in which he would be mentally ready to die. The ''tokkōtai'' pilot's manual also explained how a pilot may turn back if the pilot could not a locate a target and that " pilot should not waste [his] life lightly." However, one pilot who continuously came back to base was shot after his ninth return. The manual was very detailed in how a pilot should attack. A pilot would dive towards his target and would "aim for a point between the bridge tower and the smoke stacks." Entering a smoke stack was also said to be "effective." Pilots were told not to aim at a ship's bridge tower or gun turret but instead to look for elevators or the flight deck to crash into. For horizontal attacks, the pilot was to "aim at the middle of the vessel, slightly higher than the waterline" or to "aim at the entrance to the aircraft hangar, or the bottom of the stack" if the former was too difficult. The ''tokkōtai'' pilot's manual told pilots to never close their eyes. This was because if a pilot closed his eyes he would lower the chances of hitting his target. In the final moments before the crash, the pilot was to yell "Hissatsu" at the top of his lungs which roughly translates to "Sink without fail."http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/619508.html, accessed April 20, 2007
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