Untold Stories of World War II

National Geographic

Kamikaze Terror/Thundergods

A kamikaze about to hit an aircraft carrier.

Pilots drinking sake before they leave for their last mission.

The film notes that some were veteran pilots, but many were students “eager to die for their nation's glory.”

More than 3,000 fliers “dove to their deaths.” They sank 57 ships and damaged more than 300 others.

Their attacks killed more than 3,000 Americans. Another name given to the kamikaze pilots was “One Way Charlies.”

Some former Japanese pilots look at a book showing the “baka bomb.” The men are alive because most of them were either flying fighter cover for the kamikaze pilots, or they were being held back for the expected invasion of Japan.

A baka bomb after the war.

The back part is removed, showing the rocket-propelled portion. They could get the baka bomb up to 535 miles per hour.

The 2600 pound armor-piercing warhead, revealed after the front part of the craft is removed.

A former vice-commander of the Thundergods corps, another name given to the baka bomb group. He says that, in the last part of the war, it was obvious that regular military tactics were not going to help Japan, so they needed to do something bizarre and unexpected, especially to get the American aircraft carriers.

The best way to deal with the kamikazes was, of course, to shoot them down before they could get to the ships. (The baka bomb's main problem was that it had to be carried into battle underneath a bomber, of the Betty class. The bomber was relatively slow and vulnerable to attack.)

Another plane is shot down.

Two planes shot down at the same time.

Photo of a ship showing the destruction caused to one of the ship's guns when it was hit by a kamikaze.



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