Kamikaze Attacks of World War II - A Complete History of Japanese Suicide Strikes on American Ships, by Aircraft and Other Means - Robin L. Rielly - Mantesh


Publisher: McFarland & Company
English
2010
ROBIN L. RIELLY
9780786446544
PDF
385 pages
15.4 MB


For the past fifteen years or so I have focused my research efforts on American naval history in the World War II era. This research began with an interest in the ship on which my father served during that war. I thought it would be my first and last effort in the area but as time went on, one research project seemed to lead to another. I completed books on the LCS(L) ships, then the radar picket ships at Okinawa and, in this work, the kamikaze experience...........................



Kamikaze (disambiguation).


USS Bunker Hill was hit by kamikazes piloted by Ensign Kiyoshi Ogawa (photo below) and another airman on May 11, 1945. 389 personnel were killed or missing from a crew of 2,600.[1]

The Kamikaze (神風?, common translation: "divine wind") ( [kamikaꜜze] (help·info)) were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible.

Kamikaze pilots would intentionally attempt to crash their aircraft into enemy ships—planes often laden with explosives, bombs, torpedoes and full fuel tanks. The aircraft's normal functions (to deliver torpedoes or bombs or shoot down other aircraft) were put aside, and the planes were converted to what were essentially manned missiles in an attempt to reap the benefits of greatly increased accuracy and payload over that of normal bombs. The goal of crippling as many Allied ships as possible, particularly aircraft carriers, was considered critical enough to warrant the combined sacrifice of pilots and aircraft.

These attacks, which began in October 1944, followed several critical military defeats for the Japanese. They had long lost aerial dominance due to outdated aircraft and the loss of experienced pilots. On a macroeconomic scale, Japan experienced a decreasing capacity to wage war, and a rapidly declining industrial capacity relative to the United States. The Japanese government expressed its reluctance to surrender. In combination, these factors led to the use of kamikaze tactics as Allied forces advanced towards the Japanese home islands.

While the term "kamikaze" usually refers to the aerial strikes, the term has sometimes been applied to various other intentional suicide attacks. The Japanese military also used or made plans for Japanese Special Attack Units, including those involving submarines, human torpedoes, speedboats and divers.


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