How to become a Kamikaze Pilot in World War II

It is in the root of Japanese warriors the code of samurai called Bushido, that surrender is a disgrace and to die in the battlefield is a great honor. The act of giving your life for the service of the country, loveones, principles, beliefs and or faith is not new to the Japanese, their superb love and belief to their emperor is one factor that drives them to defy death in their respective duty. During the feudal period of Japan where Shoguns rule their lands, an act of fighting to death and not to surrender is part of their samurai code and it is noble and an honor. When the tides of the pacific war during World War II favored the Allies, it is instinct to all Japanese warriors to fight to death, to apply the samurai legacy.

Recruitment

The establishment of kamikaze forces required recruiting men for the task — this proved easier than the commanders had expected. Qualifications were simple: “youth, alertness and zeal. The youngest of kamikaze pilot of the Imperial army was 17 and the oldest was 35. Flight experience was of minimal importance and expertise in landing a luxury.” After all, these men were not really going to need to know how to land a plane if all they were meant to do was crash the plane into a carrier. Captain Motoharu Okamura commented that “there were so many volunteers for suicide missions that he referred to them as a swarm of bees, explaining: ‘Bees die after they have stung.’”

Most of those who had come from college came in what is called the Gakuto Shutsujin.

This was when the college students exemption from being drafted into the military was

lifted, and the graduation of the seniors was shifted from Aprill 1944 to September 1943.

Those who are involved in the Kamikaze program had been trained in/as one of the following:

The Youth Pilot training school, Candidates for Second Lieutenant, The Imperial Army Air Cops Academy, Pilot Trainee, Flight Officer Candidates, Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadet, Pilot Training Schools, or Special Flight Officer Candidate.

^{Article below is excerpt from research work of Mako Sasaki}

Since the Kamikaze attacks were to be made only if the pilots had volunteered, and could not be commanded, there were two methods to collect volunteers. One was for all pilots in general, and another was for the Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadet ( College Graduates ) only. The former was an application form, and the latter was a survey. The survey asked: "Do you desire earnestly/wish/do not wish/to be involved in the kamikaze attacks?" They had to circle one of the three choices, or leave the paper blank. The important fact is that the pilots were required to sign their names. When the militatry had the absolute power, and the whole admosphere of Japan expected men to die for the country, there was great psychological pressure to circle "earnestly desire" or "wish". The army selected those had circled earnestly desire. The reason why the army preferred a survey for the college pilots, its because they believe they had known that students from college had a wider vision, and would not easily apply for such a mission. The army was confident that there would be many young pilots who would apply and they were right. Because there were so many volunteers, the military had decided to let the ones with better grades go first.

When the volunteers arrived for duty in the corps there were twice as many persons as aircraft. “After the war, some commanders would express regret for allowing superfluous crews to accompany sorties, sometimes squeezing themselves aboard bombers and fighters so as to encourage the suicide pilots and, it seems, join in the exultation of sinking a large enemy vessel.” Many of the Kamikaze believed their death would pay the debt they owed and show the love they had for their families, friends, and emperor. “So eager were many minimally trained pilots to take part in suicide missions that when their sorties were delayed or aborted, the pilots became deeply despondent. Many of those who were selected for a bodycrashing mission were described as being extraordinarily blissful immediately before their final sortie.”

Becoming a Kamikaze Pilot

Becoming a pilot in the Military during 1940s is a noble profession and indeed a popular profession compared to ordinary soldiers, the benefits and respect is greater. Japan air service (Army/Navy) in the advent of second World War had a lot of applicants ,in spite the fact that Imperial govt. was requiring every family to submit their sons to the military. Talented, bright young students preferred to become a pilot or naval officer and they really put their hearts to it.

Japanese pilots during early years of World War II were well-trained and well-equipped they have the superiority in the skies of the pacific.

The Japanese ace Saburo Sakai described how the resilience of early Allied aircraft was a factor in preventing the Zeros from total domination:

“ I had full confidence in my ability to destroy the Grumman and decided to finish off the enemy fighter with only my 7.7mm machine guns. I turned the 20mm. cannon switch to the 'off' position, and closed in. For some strange reason, even after I had poured about five or six hundred rounds of ammunition directly into the Grumman, the airplane did not fall, but kept on flying. I thought this very odd - it had never happened before - and closed the distance between the two airplanes until I could almost reach out and touch the Grumman. To my surprise, the Grumman's rudder and tail were torn to shreds, looking like an old torn piece of rag. With his plane in such condition, no wonder the pilot was unable to continue fighting! A Zero which had taken that many bullets would have been a ball of fire by now. ”

First Kamikaze Unit

Commander Asaiki Tamai asked a group of 23 talented student pilots, all of whom he had trained, to volunteer for the special attack force. All of the pilots raised both of their hands, thereby volunteering to join the operation. Later, Tamai asked Lt Yukio Seki to command the special attack force. Seki is said to have closed his eyes, lowered his head and thought for ten seconds, before saying: "please let me do that." Seki thereby became the 24th kamikaze pilot to be chosen. However, Seki later wrote: "Japan's future is bleak if it is forced to kill one of its best pilots. I am not going on this mission for the Emperor or for the Empire... I am going because I was ordered to." During his flight, his commanders heard him say "It is better to die, rather than to live as a coward."

The names of four sub-units within the Kamikaze Special Attack Force were Unit Shikishima, Unit Yamato, Unit Asahi, and Unit Yamazakura. These names were taken from a patriotic poem (waka or tanka), "Shikishima no Yamato-gokoro wo hito towaba, asahi ni niou yamazakura bana" by the Japanese classical scholar, Motoori Norinaga. The poem reads:

“ If someone asks about the

Yamato spirit [Spirit of Old/True Japan] of Shikishima

[a poetic name for Japan] — it is the flowers of yamazakura [mountain cherry blossom ] that are fragrant in the Asahi [rising sun].

A less literal translation might read: "if someone asks about the spirit of old/true Japan, it is the flowers of mountain cherry blossom that are fragrant in the rising sun"

The peak in kamikaze attacks came during the period of April-June 1945, at the Battle of Okinawa. On April 6, 1945, waves of planes made hundreds of attacks in Operation Kikusui ("floating chrysanthemums"). At Okinawa, kamikaze attacks focused at first on Allied destroyers on picket duty, and then on the carriers in the middle of the fleet. Suicide attacks by planes or boats at Okinawa sank or put out of action at least 30 U.S. warships,and at least three U.S. merchant ships,along with some from other Allied forces. The attacks expended 1,465 planes. Many warships of all classes were damaged, some severely, but no aircraft carriers, battleships or cruisers were sunk by kamikaze at Okinawa. Most of the ships destroyed were destroyers or smaller vessels, especially those on picket duty.

U.S. aircraft carriers, with their wooden flight decks, were more vulnerable to kamikaze hits than the reinforced steel-decked carriers from the British Pacific Fleet (BPF) which operated in the theatre during 1945. The resilience of well-armoured vessels was shown on May 4. Just after 11:30, there was a wave of attacks against the BPF. One Japanese plane made a steep dive from "a great height" at the carrier HMS Formidable and was engaged by AA guns. The kamikaze was hit at close range but crashed into the flight deck, making a massive dent about 10 feet (three meters) long, two feet (0.6 m) wide and two feet deep in the armoured flight deck. A large steel splinter speared down through the hangar deck and the centre boiler-room, where it ruptured a steam line and came to rest in a fuel tank, starting a major fire in the aircraft park. Eight crew members were killed and 47 were wounded. One Corsair and 10 Grumman Avengers were destroyed. However, the fires were gradually brought under control, and the crater in the deck was repaired with concrete and steel plate. By 17:00, Corsairs were able to land. On May 8, Formidable was again damaged by a kamikaze, as was the carrier HMS Victorious and the battleship HMS Howe.

Sometimes twin-engined aircraft were used in planned kamikaze attacks. For example, Mitsubishi Ki-67 Hiryū ("Peggy") medium bombers, based on Formosa, undertook kamikaze attacks on Allied forces off Okinawa.

Rear Admiral Matome Ugaki, the second in command of the Combined Pacific Fleet, directed the last official kamikaze attack, sending some Yokosuka D4Y Suisei "Judy" dive bombers from the 701st Air Group against the Allied fleet at Okinawa on August 15, 1945.

At least one kamikaze attack was made against land forces of the Soviet Red Army, on August 19, 1945, during Operation August Storm. Six planes from a Kwantung Army air unit made the attack, on the 46th Tank Brigade, 6th Guards Tank Army, near Tongliao, Manchuria. One truck was destroyed, and a Sherman tank was damaged.

Some sources report that a Soviet Navy cutter, KT-152, was sunk by a kamikaze attack on August 18 or August 19, 1945, near Shumushu, Kuriles archipelago.

Kamikazes are remembered until now, they are really extraordinary, a different act of heroism.