Changes

In 1944, as Allied forces were advancing towards Japan. Japan's military aircraft, such as the [[Zero]], were completely outclassed by Allied aircraft, including the F6F Hellcat and the F4U Corsair. Japan had lost most of its best pilots in air battles against the Allies. Finally, in the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]], Japan lost a huge number of carrier-based planes, as well as their pilots. These problems, as well as shortages of fuel and spare parts, led Japan to develop kamikaze tactics, with planes full of explosives, enough fuel for a one-way trip, and a pilot psychologically prepared to die. The Kamikaze attacks worked because the pilot aimed directly at the ship, and did not worry about the trajectory of a bomb, or his escape route. Even if hit his plane continued toward the target.

In 1944, as Allied forces were advancing towards Japan. Japan's military aircraft, such as the [[Zero]], were completely outclassed by Allied aircraft, including the F6F Hellcat and the F4U Corsair. Japan had lost most of its best pilots in air battles against the Allies. Finally, in the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]], Japan lost a huge number of carrier-based planes, as well as their pilots. These problems, as well as shortages of fuel and spare parts, led Japan to develop kamikaze tactics, with planes full of explosives, enough fuel for a one-way trip, and a pilot psychologically prepared to die. The Kamikaze attacks worked because the pilot aimed directly at the ship, and did not worry about the trajectory of a bomb, or his escape route. Even if hit his plane continued toward the target.

==Kamikaze aircraft==

==Kamikaze aircraft==

Most aircraft used in kamikaze attacks were converted obsolete fighters and dive-bombers. However, purpose-built kamikaze aircraft were also constructed. These included the Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka, nicknamed the "baka bomb" (''baka'' is Japanese for "idiot"), and the Nakajima Ki-115 Tsurugi. The Ohka, effectively a manned cruise missile, was a rocket powered aircraft which was launched from a bomber aircraft. The Tsurugi was an extremely simple aircraft with a wooden fuselage and a reusable undercarriage, designed to use up obsolete engines. In 1945, Japan stockpiled hundreds of planes, Tsurugi, suicide boats, and Ohka for use against the Allied invasion of Japan expected in fall 1945.

Most aircraft used in kamikaze attacks were converted obsolete fighters and dive-bombers. However, purpose-built kamikaze aircraft were also constructed. These included the Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka (桜花Cherry Blossom), nicknamed the "baka bomb" (''baka'' is Japanese for "idiot"), and the Nakajima Ki-115 Tsurugi. The Ohka, effectively a manned cruise missile, was a rocket-powered aircraft which was launched from a bomber aircraft, most commonly the Mitsubishi G4M "Betty". The Tsurugi was an extremely simple aircraft with a wooden fuselage and a reusable undercarriage, designed to use up obsolete engines. In 1945, Japan stockpiled hundreds of planes, Tsurugi, suicide boats, and Ohka for use against the Allied invasion of Japan expected in fall 1945.

 

==Operations==

==Operations==

If the Americans valued lives over victory, and the Japanese were ready to die for their Emperor, then one radically new and astonishingly effective doctrine suddenly became available to Japan, the Kamikaze attack. Tokyo realized that the old orthodoxy of mass air attack that worked so well at Pearl Harbor now was totally ineffective against superior equipment and tactics; it was therefore necessary to try a desperate doctrine. It could not win the war, but it might lead to a negotiated peace. It capitalized on what Japan considered the sentimental psychological weakness of the Americans. While it failed in the end, it enraged the Americans and indicated that an invasion of Japan would involve hundreds of thousands of casualties on the American side, and millions on the Japanese. Kamikaze pilots were special volunteers, many of them elite students who had just joined the Navy or Army. They were given only rudimentary flight training. After ritual preparation, an experienced escort flyer (who was not a Kamikaze) would lead them toward American ships. Their planes became guided missiles, and only had to be steered at and crashed into a ship.  

If the Americans valued lives over victory, and the Japanese were ready to die for their Emperor, then one radically new and astonishingly effective doctrine suddenly became available to Japan, the Kamikaze attack. Tokyo realized that the old orthodoxy of mass air attack that worked so well at Pearl Harbor now was totally ineffective against superior equipment and tactics; it was therefore necessary to try a desperate doctrine. It could not win the war, but it might lead to a negotiated peace. It capitalized on what Japan considered the sentimental psychological weakness of the Americans. While it failed in the end, it enraged the Americans and indicated that an invasion of Japan would involve hundreds of thousands of casualties on the American side, and millions on the Japanese. Kamikaze pilots were special volunteers, many of them elite students who had just joined the Navy or Army. They were given only rudimentary flight training. After ritual preparation, an experienced escort flyer (who was not a Kamikaze) would lead them toward American ships. Their planes became guided missiles, and only had to be steered at and crashed into a ship.