Kamikaze

Kamikaze by Terren

The kamikaze were Japanese pilots that flew suicide missions, such as attempting to fly Japanese Zero Fighters loaded with explosives into Allied warships. While many did attempt to hit the warships, many crash-landed in the sea. Most Kamikazes flew Aichi D3A dive-bombers, Mitsubishi Ki-51, Mitsubishi G4M, and many other airplanes too. The peak in kamikaze attacks came during the period of April–June 1945, at the Battle of Okinawa. Approximately 2,800 Kamikaze attackers sunk 34 Navy ships, damaged 368 others, killed 4,900 sailors, and wounded over 4,800. Prior to the formation of kamikaze units, deliberate crashes had been used as a last resort when a pilot's plane was severely damaged and he did not want to risk being captured, or he wanted to do as much damage to the enemy as possible since he was crashing anyway; this was the case in both the Japanese and Allied air forces. Did you know that kamikaze means "Divine Wind"?