Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A kamikaze aircraft crashes into a U.S. warship in May 1945.. Kamikaze (神風, pronounced [kamiꜜkaze]; ' divine wind ' [1] or ' spirit wind '), officially Shinpū Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (神風特別攻撃隊, ' Divine Wind Special Attack Unit '), were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels ...
A kamikaze pilot receives a hachimaki before his final mission, 1945.. The origin of the hachimaki is uncertain, but the most common theory states that they originated as headbands used by samurai, worn underneath the kabuto to protect the wearer from cuts [1] and to absorb sweat. [2]
Yukio Seki (関 行男, Seki Yukio, August 29, 1921 – October 25, 1944) was a Japanese naval aviator of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.As a kamikaze pilot, Lieutenant Seki led one of the three fighter groups of the second official kamikaze attack in World War II (the first official attack was an unsuccessful attempt led by Yoshiyasu Kunō [] on October 21, 1944).
Japan’s Kyushu island is home to two moving museums that detail the final thoughts of the young WWII pilots tasked with flying their bomb-laden planes into US warships.
During World War II, nearly 3,000 kamikaze pilots were sacrificed. [3] About 14% of kamikaze attacks managed to hit a ship. The Japanese high command exaggerated the effectiveness of the tokko attacks, claiming six aircraft carriers, one escort aircraft carrier and ten battleships had been sunk.
One was an application for all pilots in general, and another was a survey for the special flight officer probationary cadets (college graduates like Kiyoshi Ogawa) only. The survey asked: "Do you desire earnestly/wish/do not wish to be involved in the Kamikaze attacks?" Kiyoshi Ogawa had to circle one of the three choices, or leave the paper ...
As a kamikaze pilot and member of the 72nd Shinbu Squadron, Araki died on May 27, 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa when he deliberately crashed his bomb-laden Mitsubishi Ki-51 into the USS Braine. It is speculated that Araki and one other pilot hit and damaged the ship, killing 66 of its crew. At 17, Araki was one of the youngest kamikaze pilots.
Kamikaze pilots were generally 16-20 years old, poorly trained, and flew poorly maintained aircraft. [2] As leader of the Navy's Kamikaze Corps 7th Showa Special Attack Squadron, he led a group of four young men to attack US Navy ships. Yasunori led a group of six planes which departed Kanoya Air Base between 0640 and 0653 on May 11, 1945.