Just a V-1 with Pilot.
The following account is from the 04/12/45 log of the USS Stanly, provided by Bob Alexander. Bob was a Gunner’s Mate 1st Class on the ship and his memory of the attacks is quite good.
At 1449 diving out of a melee on our starboard boom, an unidentified plane out-ran our Combat Air Patrol and was taken under fire by 5” battery and automatic weapons as it approached on a collision course. The plane, although hit by automatic fire, crashed into our starboard bow, frame 23, about five feet above the water line, parts of it passing through the ship and continuing through the port side. A large explosion of the port bow at this time seemed to indicate that a bomb exploded there after passing through the ship. The plane, as sketched in enclosure (E), was approximately 20 feet long, had a 15 foot wing span and no engine or propeller was observed. Remains of a pilot were found in compartment A-302-L with the wreckage. Our speed at this time was 30 knots. At 1458 while we were maneuvering radically another dog-fight was going on high on our starboard quarter, and two Nips were shot out of the sky by our CAP. Suddenly a plane appeared out of nowhere low on our starboard beam. He closed us so rapidly that he was taken under fire by automatic weapons only. Many hits were observed, and a small section of his wing was shot away as he passed over the ship just aft of #2 stack, ripping our ensign. As we took him under fire to port he attempted to bank but hit the water 2,000 to 3,000 yards off our port bow, bounced once, hit the water again, and disintegrated. This was another engine less, propeller less plane, similar to the one that crashed into the ship. The speed of both planes was estimated to be in excess of 500 knots, and only a “swishing” was heard.
A person who is fully willing to sacrifice his or her own life in whatever interest is a very dangerous weapon. A human being who has committed himself to a “definitely no return” mission in an Okha flying bomb must have been one of the most dangerous “guidance systems” in history - at least assuming that his Betty bomber “carrier” did not get shot down before the “bombload” could be released, a very frequent occurrance. However, as regards the voluntary character of this act, yes, clearly, it often was; however, veteran interviews I saw recently suggest that a good proportion of kamikaze pilots were induced to the act by moral pressure, from their superiors, their comrades, their families, or all three. It must have been difficult for a very young, probably immature man raised in that culture to resist such pressure. Best regards, JR.
Howdy JR nice to see you in here.
With reference to your time out issues, when you log in tick the little box near where you enter your password, says something like remember my password, it should not keep logging you out then (of course only do this on your computer).
I have read several accounts now from kamikazi pilots (some actually did return due to various faults or failures to locate the enemy, along with those who never actually left for missions) who stated they were encouraged to volunteer by their peers and family. It was for the honour of the family ‘pity it often ended the line of the family’.
Thread moved out of archive and back into Japanese Military Forum…
Baka in that case is not “stupid” but “crazy”. From American point of view the suicide attacks are a waste of life. Kamikaze attacks are not able to pose a real threat to US Navy so the name is correct.