Little-known facts about kamikaze

We all heard about people like kamikaze. There was no rebound from those who wanted to try their hand in this matter, because for their people they were heroes, and they terrified the enemy. What else was connected with the mass character of this phenomenon, what imprint does this leave on the modern inhabitants of the island state, and what manufacturers have put their hands on this? In this article we will talk about other kamikazes - underwater. Not everyone heard about them, but this page was also in the book of Japanese history.

First of all, it’s worth understanding where in general, as they say, legs grow and what the Japanese mean death for the benefit of others.

Even now, Japan leads the ranking of countries bythe number of suicides per capita. In the culture and teachings of the Japanese, suicide has always been considered something different than in other cultures. Especially if this is due to victory in battle or not to be captured by the enemy. Even the well-known word “hara-kiri” also refers to the culture of the Japanese and is an integral part of bushido.

Bushido (translated from Japanese “warrior's path”) -the code of the samurai, a set of rules, recommendations and standards of behavior of a true warrior in society, in battle and alone with himself, military male philosophy and morality, rooted in ancient times. Initially, it was a set of general rules of a warrior, but later it merged with the culture of the samurai and became a set of rules of the samurai ethics.

Content

• 1 Who are Kamikaze
• 2 What did kamikaze look like?
• 3 reasons for the appearance of kamikaze
• 4 How was taken in kamikaze
• 5 Interesting Facts About Kamikaze
• 6 Who built the kamikaze planes
• 7 Underwater Kamikaze
• 8 What is kaiten
• 9 The fate of kamikaze

Who are the Kamikaze

I think few people will have to explain that the term“Kamikaze” was mainly used in military pilots at the end of World War II. They were dying for their country, but there was one “but” - they had no right to survive after the battle. There were exceptions and we will talk about them a little lower, but exceptions only confirm the rule.

Kamikaze squad before a combat mission (everyone is happy)

The history of the term “kamikaze” originates inIn 1281, when a hurricane suddenly struck, it allowed to defeat the troops of Khan Khibulay. That hurricane was called “Divine Wind”, which in translation means “kamikaze”. That is why this name was chosen for the units that were supposed to smash American ships during the Second World War.

What did kamikaze look like?

In general, the kamikaze was not much different from ordinary Japanese military pilots of that era. The main difference was the headband with the image of the Japanese flag and hieroglyphs.

As a rule, they wrote two hieroglyphs, namely,“Kami” (in Japanese reading “Jin”) and “Kajo”. Accordingly, all the same "Divine wind." But there were exceptions when the pilots themselves wrote on their blindfold what came to their mind at the time of their emotional patriotic upsurge.

The reasons for the appearance of kamikaze

One of the main causes of kamikazeis the poor technical equipment of the air force. The aircraft were of average quality, often broke and did not have outstanding flight characteristics. All this prevented the pilots from fully leaving for missions and returning from them.

To develop new types of time aircraft is notIt was, and to increase the output of available with an even greater number of defects (due to accelerated production and savings) was quite realistic. Saved literally on everything. For example, the Nakajima Ki-115 Tsurugi did not even have a chassis. The plane rolled on a strip on racks, which then remained on the ground. For landing, the landing gear was not needed, so the truck was placed under another plane and the take-off procedure was repeated.

Aircraft Nakajima Ki-115 Tsurugi (front landing gear fell off during takeoff, no rear at all)

Against the background of giving life for the motherland forthe Japanese were always honorable, and the idea that this idea was further cultivated by the leadership of the country, ideas about a new type of warriors began to arise. So, on the basis of the first air fleet of Japan, detachments of suicide pilots were formed.

To recruit volunteers, the Japanese scatteredinvitations to the ranks of kamikaze, which could not be accepted. The fact is that in the invitation there was a question formed in such a way that a negative answer meant recognition in cowardice. For the Japanese, this is unacceptable.

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The third factor in the appearance of kamikaze wasadditional psychological advantage in battle. The appearance of aircraft, which flew with a full bomb load and crashed into ships, exerted very strong pressure on the enemy and demoralized him.

It looked like an attack on enemy warships

How to take in kamikaze

Since there were a lot of volunteers, and to the military commissariatsqueues lined up for those who wanted to give their lives for their homeland, and at the same time receive fame and honor, certain demands were made on them, and not everyone went round. In addition to the basic requirements that are needed to control the aircraft, the applicant should have had no family. This was a prerequisite.

There is a case in history when Hajime Fujireally wanted to get into the detachment of the "divine wind", but he had a wife and two children. On this basis, he was refused. Without hesitation, the wife decided to kill the children and herself so that her husband could complete the feat. It looks a little creepy, but that's how the kamikaze was built. This slightly dispels their romantic image.

After a potential kamikazeaccepted into the detachment, he was to undergo training. It is impossible to call it complicated and long, since he needed only basic skills of flying an airplane and some psychological preparation. Naturally, the current pilots were easier.

Interesting facts about kamikaze

Kamikaze could not come back, becausethe fuel in their tanks was only up to the goal. Plus the goals were very far away. This was an advantage, leveling the shortcomings of aircraft. Japanese aircraft of that time could not fly far. If they were still to return to base, the flight time would be reduced by at least half. Instead, they flew far, carried out their mission, and did not return.

Of course, it wasn’t always possible to complete the mission,since most of the planes were shot down by enemy ships, but some of them were sunk anyway. Japan and the United States publish different data, however, the count of sunken ships went to dozens, and severely damaged - to hundreds.

As I said above, the pilots could notto return from the assignment, but they didn’t. There were times when after departure the pilot changed his mind to die, but this was rather the exception. Despite the prohibition of returning from a regular flight, this did not contradict the duty of the pilot to return if it was impossible to complete the task. For example, non-flying weather, technical malfunction and the like.

The record holder in this regard was the pilot Yamomura,who returned three times from the assignment alive. At first, his plane was shot down, but fishermen saved him, and he returned to base. In the second flight, he was prevented by weather conditions and the inability to properly direct the aircraft to the target. The third flight ended with technical malfunctions, and he again had to return. So the pilot, longing to give his life for his people, survived the war and lived for many more years. You can say, "winner in life."

Who built kamikaze planes

Planes that were used for deadlyrams, built several factories in Japan. As a rule, they had a somewhat unified design, which made it possible to install different engines with power from 800 hp on them. up to 1300 hp

Among the main manufacturers can be calledsuch as Yokosuka and Nakajima. In addition, aircraft were often used for attacks by the well-known Kawasaki company. Now she is known, first of all, for her motorcycles, but in those days they made planes that were very useful to the Japanese in the war. If you heard about the companies listed, write about it in our Telegram chat.

By the way, this is largely why Japanesemotorcycles and cars are now considered the best in the world. After the war, Japan did not have the right to produce military aircraft, and many manufacturers switched to civilian goods, devoting all their forces, resources, best practices and hard work to this area. But this is the topic of a separate article.

Underwater kamikaze

Bye kamikaze death whirlby the divine wind) flew into enemy ships from the air, something no less terrible was happening under the water. Suicide bombers worked inside special submarines, which were more like torpedoes than really deep-sea vehicles.

The beginning of such wars was the battle next toMidway Atoll near Hawaii. The most serious battle unfolded there in that part of the globe as part of the Second World War. The imperial army lost 4 aircraft carriers, many warships and enough personnel to undermine the fighting spirit of the survivors.

The fleet needed new warriors, with a spark in their eyes,with a firm hand and not afraid of death. They appeared, and the very submarines, called Kaiten (translated from Japanese as “the will of heaven”) were specially developed for them.

What is kaiten

The kaitens were smalltorpedo boats attached to a carrier submarine. The total number of such “sticks” was from 4 to 6. A large submarine cruised under water and at the right moment the captain gave command to special people who made their way through the narrow pipe into the kaiten, took places and went to the last attack.

The descent of kaiten into the water

It is worth noting that at first they were equippedejection system, but later it was refused, and there was so little space that even the Japanese inside was crowded. Largely because of this, the gun often did not reach the target. The man was simply suffocating and dying. In later models, they were equipped with timers so that they explode somehow.

Management was difficult and staff training wasnowhere. Schools appeared spontaneously and were often almost immediately destroyed by American bombers. In addition, the “pilots” acted almost blindly. It was possible to raise the periscope for a maximum of three seconds so that the boat could not be detected. Therefore, kaiten was controlled almost blindly.

The management of kaiten was primitive. By and large, only two handles were provided, one of which was responsible for speed, and the second for rotation. There was a lever at the feet, which would draw intake water into the compartments to compensate for buoyancy.

Appearance of kaiten

Kaitens worked on pure oxygen. Such engines allowed to accelerate to 40 knots. This was more than enough to defeat any ship of that time and enhanced the effect of the explosion. The disadvantage of the design was that the boat was made of steel with a thickness of only 6 mm. This thickness was chosen from the economy, but after several raids, the kaitens began to rust, and after a deep dive they could flatten.

The fate of kamikaze

I think it’s not worth talking about that withthe modern capabilities of technology, putting death row in it makes no sense. To learn a pilot you need to spend several years and a lot of money, so every pilot is worth its weight in gold. Missiles can hit any target, and ethical standards of the modern world do not allow people to sacrifice just like that.

That is why there are no kamikaze right now. Although, such a profession exists. This indicates that many Japanese are still ready to give their lives for their homeland. Against the background of all events, the attitude towards death remained in the blood of the Japanese, which I spoke about at the beginning of this article. It is this that leads to sad statistics and a large number of suicides in Japan. Not the most positive note to end the article. But the topic is not the most rosy. It is only on the part of the kamikaze that they seem to be romantics; in fact, everything was different.