Kamikaze Pilots of WWII

Presented by:

Mr. Pitman

BACKGROUND

Japanese forces, after their defeat at the Battle of Midway in 1942, lost the momentum they had at the start of the Pacific War (known officially as the Great Eastern Asian War in Japan).

During 1943-44, Allied forces, backed by the industrial might and rich resources of the United States, were advancing steadily towards Japan.

BACKGROUND

Japan's fighter planes were becoming outnumbered and outclassed by newer US-made planes, especially the F4U Corsair and P-51 Mustang. Because of combat losses, skilled fighter pilots were becoming extremely scarce.

Finally, the low availability of parts and fuel made even normal flight operation a problem.

Table of Contents

Who Are Kamikaze Pilots? What Exactly Did They Do? Why Did They Do This? Agreed To a Five Point Oath Reasons To Be a Kamikaze Pilot USN Ships Sunk and Damaged By Kamikaze Pilots Kamikaze Airplanes Reference List

FORMING THE UNIT

Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi decided to form a suicide attack unit, the Kamikaze Special Attack Force.

Onishi, visiting the 201st Navy Flying Corps headquarters, suggested: "I don't think there would be any other certain way to carry out the operation [to 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."

Who Are Kamikaze Pilots?

Japanese pilots who crashed into enemy ships

Majority accepted were in their late teens Brainwashed by the empire

Experienced pilots trained the Kamikaze pilots

What Exactly Did They Do?

They purposely crashed their planes into enemies Their planes were loaded

with explosives They crashed into

different things Naval bases Enemy warships

Why Did They Do This?

Japan was losing in the Pacific Last effort to turn around

their fortunes These crashes did

extreme damage One crash equal to ten

firing missions Suicide was completely

new in warfare The missions would take

Americans by surprise

Agreed To a Five Point Oath

Must make loyalty his obligation

Must make prosperity his way of life

Must highly esteem military valor

Must have a high regard for righteousness

Must live a simple life

I’m Scared

Reasons To Be a Kamikaze Pilot

In Japanese, kamikaze means “divine wind” Was an honor to die for

country Was an honor to serve the

emperor One crashed plane could

sink a ship Became a hero if fifty

people died

USN Ships Sunk and Damaged By Kamikazes

Kamikazes did extreme damage to US ships They sunk a total of

34 ships They damaged a

total of 288 ships

Kamikaze Airplanes

Kamikaze pilots flew a Zero-22 It is a green camouflage color Was flown with a Sakae radial engine

The engine had wooden parts in it

Kamikaze Airplanes

Purpose-built kamikaze planes, as opposed to converted fighters and dive-bombers, had no landing gear at all.

Small boats packed with explosives, and manned torpedoes.

Battle of OKINAWA

April 6, 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa, when waves of planes made hundreds of attacks

These attacks, which expended 1,465 planes

By the end of the battle, at least 21 US ships had been sunk by kamikazes, along with some from other Allied navies, and dozens more had been damaged by Kamikazes.

DEFENDING ATTACKS

Lack of training, kamikaze pilots tended to be easy pickings for experienced Allied pilots, flying vastly superior aircraft.

Firing their big 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.

EFFECTS

By the end of World War II, the Japanese naval air service had sacrificed 2,525 kamikaze pilots and the army air force had given 1,387

up to 80 percent of US losses in the final phase of the war in the Pacific.

14 percent of Kamikazes survived to score a hit on a ship; nearly 8.5 percent of all ships hit by Kamikazes sank.

TRADITIONS

The Japanese military never had a problem in recruiting volunteers for kamikaze missions; indeed, there were three times as many volunteers as there were aircraft.

Experienced pilots were turned away -- Defensive or training roles

The average kamikaze pilot was a 20-something studying science at university. Their motivations in volunteering varied from patriotism, to a desire to bring honour to their families, or to prove themselves personally — in an extreme fashion.

Reference List

“Information on The Kamikaze Pilots” ( 2001)http://mtmt.essortment.com/kamikazeinforma_rglb.htm

Photos by Derrill Steinhttp://www.laffey.org/2001%20Reunion/WWII%20Photos/Page6/fotoww24.htm

http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/cumberland/854/kamikaze_.html

Tony DiGiulian “Kamikaze Damage to US and British Carriers” 28 Apr. 2002 http://www.warships1.com/W-Tech/tech-042.htm

“Aviation Sounds”http://avanimation.avsupport.com/Sound.htm

Cindy Keller “Zero-22 Restoration News” 17 Apr. 2002http://home.interlink.or.jp/~katoh00/kaigun/a6m/restor.htmhttp://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Market/2978/music/index-j.html#N-Mil