Kamikaze Proj

By Mai Hanoon and Hilary Cutler

• To educate students about Kamikazes during World War II

• Means “divine wind” in Japanese

• During WWII, referred to suicide attacks against Allied boats in the Pacific by Japanese aviators

•Japan’s 205th was the air force regiment assigned the job of completing the suicide attacks

• The air group caused serious losses on the American Pacific fleet

•Japanese that volunteered to join the 205th Air Group were guaranteed a place in heaven for their sacrifices

• Kamikaze culture was based on Bushido tradition and was influenced by Shinto believes

• Young Japanese grew up learning the core beliefs of the Kamikaze through fairy tales and folklore

• Before the kamikaze pilots’ last mission a ceremony was performed where the Japanese flag, inscribed with inspirational words of wisdom, was given to them

• Pilots also read a “death poem” which was taken from Samurai tradition

• Saki was drunk before the pilots departed along with receiving their “Flag of the Rising Sun” headband

• Training for the Kamikaze unit was very brutal

• Torturous punishment and strenuous training was used daily

• Beatings during training were justified by the idea that they instilled the soldiers’ fighting spirits

• Daily punishments caused some pilots to lose patriotism for their country

• The idea of having a manned missile was proposed by vice-Admiral Onishi of the Japanese Navy on October 19, 1944.

• Adopted the motto “One man, one ship.”

• Created new plane just for the project named “Okha” translated to “Cherry Blossom”

•Nicknamed the "Zero”

•Kamikaze pilot's personal "flying coffin.“

•It had a maximum speed of 332 mph and a range of 1,930 miles.

•The A6M2 was armed with 2 machine guns and could carry 264 lbs bombs

•Main aircraft used at Pearl Harbor and in the early stages of Pacific War

•11,283 models produced

• Nakajima Ki-115 – 104 were built that could carry bombs used for kamikaze attacks

• Mitsubishi J8M/Ki-200 Shusui – rocket powered interceptor

• Reppu – specially designed for use againt B-29

• Yokosuka Ohka – piloted glide bomb called BAKA, or idiot, by the allies. It was very difficult to stop

• Ki-167 or Kiruy To-Go – Bomber with a 3 ton thermite bomb

• Went on from late March through June 1945• First Kamikaze attacks took place during the battle on April 6-7• 1465 Kamikaze attacks flown from Kyushu• Attacks sank 30 American ships and damaged 164 others

• There were other units and weapons used by the Kamikaze soldiers– Explosive speed boats– Suicide torpedoes called

“Kaitens”– Suicide midget submarines– Suicide divers carrying

explosives– Suicide infantry men

carrying anti-tank mines

Kamikaze Kaiten

• Continued to be active until the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• The commander of the Kamikazes, Admiral Takijiro Onishi, committed suicide when receiving the news of Emperor Hirohito’s surrender

• 5000 Kamikaze pilots launched• 36 American ships and landing crafts sunk• 368 American ships and landing crafts damaged

• The ideology of Kamikaze carried on into other cultures

• Germans used similar tactics during World War II such as suicide ground-attack pilots

• Al-Qaeda also adopted some Kamikaze ideas in both their first and second attacks on the World Trade Center