5 facts about kamikaze that not everyone has heard of

1. Kamikaze is not only pilots

Usually people think of kamikazes (Japanese for "divine wind") as suicidal pilots who crashed into American ships in their "disposable" planes. And partly they are right.

For these daredevils created special flying machines Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka - winged bombs not designed for landing. They were delivered to enemy aircraft carriers attached to Mitsubishi G4M bombers.

But there were other kamikazes as well. For example, the Japanese developed torpedo submarines called kaiten (Japanese for "changing fate"). Yes, the inhabitants of Nihon country love beautiful names. The pilots of the kaiten got into their submarine, swam up to the enemy ship and blew themselves up.

The first modifications of the kaiten made it possible to eject. But with underwater explosions, no one survived anyway, and therefore the samurai decision was made to abandon this excess.

Besides, existed and the ground version of the kamikaze - soldiers armed with a Ni05 hand-held anti-tank gun, which was literally a grenade on a stick. The principle of operation is simple: shout "Banzai!", we run up to the American tank, we beat it, we explode. If you're lucky, he flies up into the air too.

And for that matter, their kamikaze were not only in Japan, but also in the Third Reich. Namely, the "Leonid Squadron" of the 200th bomber squadron. This subdivision the Luftwaffe was preparing suicide pilots to replace the V-2 rocket, which they never finished.

About 70 people were recruited into the squadron, and from April 17 to 20, 1945, during the Battle of Berlin, suicide bombers carried out attacks on the bridges surrounding the city. True, they did not have much success.

2. Not all kamikazes died

There is such an anecdote: two kamikaze pilots, an experienced one and a beginner, are waiting for a flight. An experienced person asks a beginner “For the first time, right?” And there is some truth in this joke: some kamikazes really survived during their missions.

There were cases when kamikaze returned to base without finding a target, or they were picked up from the sea after an unsuccessful attack.

And non-commissioned officer Takehiko Ena managed to survive at all during suicide missions. thrice. His first trip to an American aircraft carrier failed when airplane couldn't take to the air. The second time, Takehiko's engine broke down in the air and he crash-landed.

During the third flight, the engine started to malfunction again. Ena and the two comrades flying with him boarded the water, swam to the nearby island of Kuroshima, and stayed there for two and a half months before being picked up by a Japanese submarine. As a result, the unlucky kamikaze successfully survived the war, revised his views and lived to be 92 years old.

Survivors of kamikaze in a popular society did not use. Went to make a noble act of self-sacrifice and suddenly changed his mind - what good is it.

3. Kamikaze were not very effective

The Japanese believed that attacks made at the cost of one's own life must have been extremely destructive. Besides, supposedthat kamikazes would have a strong psychological effect on American troops: samurai were supposed to give the impression of the invincibility of the Japanese. But these hopes were not destined to come true.

American sailors contemptuously called kamikaze "tank-bomb". Baka in Japanese means idiot.

During World War II a total of his life gave away 1,321 kamikazes, resulting in the sinking of 34 American and British ships. But this did not prevent the latter from seizing the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

4. Set in kamikaze was voluntary-compulsory

Kamikazes are usually presented as enthusiasts who willingly set out to sacrifice their lives for the emperor. But in fact, not all of them were downright burning with the desire to sign up for suicide bombers.

When Vice Admiral of the Japanese Navy Takijiro Onishi came up with the idea to create a squadron pilots-suicidal high command gave the go-ahead on one condition: only if these guys are volunteers. Takijiro readily agreed.

To stir up the patriotic feelings of young pilots, the old experienced samurai commanders went to certain psychological tricks.

Yes, they handed out questionnaires with the question “Do you want to become a kamikaze?” and three response options: “I sincerely wish, I wish, I do not wish.” True, the pilot was obliged to leave his name and rank on the sheet, and if someone had enough impudence to answer in the negative, he himself and his relatives could face revenge from command.

And the fact that testing was carried out in groups further reduced the likelihood of failure - after all, it is hardest to pass for a coward among comrades. Why, even those who agreed, but not very zealously, were severely beaten with batons in order to "instill in them a fighting spirit."

How wrote soldier Irokawa Daikichi, "was beaten in the face so hard and often that it was impossible to recognize him." As you understand, this has little to do with "voluntary self-sacrifice."

5. Kamikaze went on a mission beautifully

Despite the methods of coercion listed above, being a kamikaze was still considered extremely honorable among young Japanese soldiers. And on their first and last mission, they tried to leave gracefully.

So, in winged bombs, that is, Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka aircraft, behind the pilot's head envisaged a place to mount a samurai sword. And also kamikaze wrote dying haiku verses are like samurai about to do seppuku.