Kamikaze Facts
Franklin Roosevelt was
the 32nd American President who served in office from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945,
the day of his death.
One of the events during his presidency was
the attacks by Kamikaze pilots in the final stages of WW2.
Kamikaze Facts
for kids
The following fact
sheet contains interesting information, history and
facts on Kamikaze for kids.
Kamikaze
Facts for kids
Kamikaze
Facts - 1: Definition: The
name 'Kamikaze' refers to two great typhoons in 13th
century history that saved Japan from invasion by the
Mongol fleet under Kublai Khan. Each typhoon wrecked
Mongol fleets attempting to invade Japan in 1274 and
1281. The Japanese believed the typhoons had been sent
from the gods to protect them from their enemies.
Kamikaze
Facts - 2: The massive Mongol fleet was
destroyed by the great typhoons which the Japanese called "Kamikaze"
meaning the 'divine wind'. In the Japanese language 'kami' is the
word for god, or divinity; and 'kaze' is the word for "wind"
Kamikaze
Facts - 3: According to Japanese legend,
the Kamikaze (divine wind) was created by Raijin, god of thunder,
lightening and storms, to protect Japan against the Mongols.
Kamikaze
Facts -
4: Definition: The
term kamikaze or 'divine wind' was used in honor of the
1281 typhoon as it was believed to be a gift from the
gods that was granted after the Emperor Hojo Tokimune
prayed for divine intervention. It was one of the
largest and most disastrous attempts at a naval invasion
in history.
Kamikaze
Facts -
5: The name
'Kamikaze' was used again during WW2 for suicide attacks
by Japanese pilots who deliberately crashed their planes
into enemy targets.
Kamikaze
Facts - 6: The metaphor meant that the
pilots were to be the ‘divine wind’ that would once again save Japan
from invasion and sweep the enemy from the seas.
Kamikaze
Facts - 7: After their
initial, successful attacks on Pearl Harbor and the
Philippines the Japanese were defeated in many important
battles and began to lose their ships, airplanes and
pilots. Japanese technology was inferior to the Allies
and they were unable to match the huge levels of war
production achieved by the United States.
Kamikaze
Facts - 8: Most of the
experienced Japanese pilots had died during the battles
and were replaced by extremely young inexperienced
pilots who had limited flight training.
Kamikaze
Facts - 9: During 1944 the
situation was becoming desperate for the Japanese as the
Allied forces moved ever close to the Japan bringing
with it the threat of invasion and the defeat of Japan.
Kamikaze
Facts -
10: The Japanese
military realized that they were facing an impossible
task requiring drastic action. Conventional
tactics and methods were no longer effective.
Kamikaze
Facts -
11: Admiral Takijiro
of the Japanese Navy proposed a drastic solution to
Japan’s dire situation: "to organize suicide attack
units composed of Zero fighters armed with 250-kilogram
bombs, with each plane to crash dive into an enemy
carrier."
Kamikaze
Facts - 12: The Japanese emperor, Hirohito, agreed to form a
special Kamikaze attack unit (Tokkai tai) from Japan’s 201st Navy
Air Group.
Kamikaze
Facts -
13: The strategy of
the suicide attack was not new to the Japanese. They had
already begun to use the suicidal last-resort Banzai
charge in their battles on the Marshall and Gilbert
Islands.
Kamikaze
Facts -
14: The Banzai Charge
was the name given by Allied forces because, during the
charge, Japanese forces yelled "Tenno Haika Banzai!"
meaning "long live the emperor, ten thousand ages!" On
Saipan, over 1,000 US marines had been killed in one
Banzai charge.
Kamikaze
Facts -
15: The Banzai Charge,
and the later Kamikaze attacks, were founded on the
principles of honor and loyalty based on dying honorably
rather than surrendering. The strong Japanese tradition
of death instead of defeat, and its perceived shame, was
deeply entrenched in Japanese culture.
Continued...
Kamikaze
Facts for kids
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about the Kamikaze Facts for kids
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on Kamikaze for kids.
Kamikaze
Facts for kids
Kamikaze
Facts - 16: The Japanese therefore began to
produce a new weapon as part of the final defense of
Japan - the Kamikaze pilots
Kamikaze
Facts -
17: The Kamikaze
pilots of the tokko tai (special attack forces) were
among the best in Japan and were highly educated young
men who totally aware of the consequences of their
actions and driven by a sense of duty to his family, his
country and his emperor.
Kamikaze
Facts - 18: At the beginning of WW2, the
Japanese military estimated that pilots needed 500 hours of flight
experience to be prepared for combat missions. The Kamikaze pilots
of the tokko tai received just 40 to 50 hours of flight training.
Kamikaze
Facts - 19: Kamikaze pilots were given
special training for about one week. In the first few days the
pilots learned to take off. They then learned to fly in formation
and the last days were focused in the study and practice of how to
attack a target.
Kamikaze
Facts -
20: There was not time
for Kamikaze pilots to be provided with basic piloting
skills such as navigation, landing techniques, or the
use of on-board radio equipment.
Kamikaze
Facts - 21: The Japanese overcame the
obstacle of navigating and locating targets in the open sea by
assigning experienced pilots to escort them. The Kamikaze pilots
followed the escort pilots until they sighted and then launched the
suicide attack on the enemy. The escort pilots then returned
providing news of the Kamikazes success.
Kamikaze
Facts -
22: The Japanese
employed both conventional aircraft and specially
designed planes, called Ohka (“cherry blossom”). The
Ohka (Cherry Blossom) Model 22 plane was designed to
allow a pilot with minimal training to drop from a
Japanese navy bomber at high altitude and guide his
aircraft with its warhead at high speed into an Allied
warship.
Kamikaze
Facts - 23: Before embarking on their
suicide missions a short, special ceremony usually took place in
which the Kamikaze pilots received a "thousand-stitch sash" which
they wore as a scarf around their wrist and a white head band wear
called a hachimaki with the red rising sun in the centre.
Kamikaze
Facts - 24: On October 25, 1944, during
the Battle of the Leyte Gulf, the Japanese deployed its first
organized kamikaze (“divine wind”) suicide bombers against American
warships for the first time.
Kamikaze
Facts -
25: The first kamikaze
force was composed of 24 volunteer pilots from Japan’s
201st Navy Air Group. They were led by Lt. Yukio Seki of
the 201st Air Group the commander of the first group of
five tokko tai (Special Attack Corps units).
Kamikaze
Facts - 26: The USS St. Lo (CVE-63) was
struck by a Kamikaze Zero fighter during the Battle of Leyte and
sunk in less than an hour, killing 100 Americans. It was the first
US warship to sink as the result of a kamikaze attack. The flagship
of the Royal Australian Navy, the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, was
also hit and badly damaged on the same day.
Kamikaze
Facts - 27: The attack by Kamikaze pilots
was a complete surprise and the damage was not only physical but
also psychological. The United States and the Allies had never
fought an enemy who encouraged young men to commit deliberate acts
of suicide as part as their military strategy.
Kamikaze
Facts - 28: The Japanese were jubilant at
the success of the attacks and expanded the Kamikaze program.
The Japanese newspapers encouraged young men to volunteer for the
suicide missions. The were many more volunteers than the number of
airplanes available.
Kamikaze
Facts - 29: Kamikazes caused more Allied
naval casualties during the war than any other Japanese weapon. More
than 400 Allied vessels were struck by Japanese special attack
weapons in the last 12 months of WW2.
Kamikaze
Facts -
30: 7,465 Kamikaze
pilots flew to their deaths as they either crashed or
were shot down and many US ships were sunk. Between
October 25, 1944 and January 25, 1945, Kamikazes sunk
the USS Callaghan, USS Bush, USS Bismarck Sea, USS
Bates, USS Barry and the USS Abner Read. Kamikazes also
damaged 23 carriers, 5 battleships, 9 cruisers, 23
destroyers and 27 other ships.
Kamikaze
Facts - 31: 3,048 allied sailors were
killed and another 6,025 were wounded in Kamikaze attacks. Allied
troops were afraid of the kamikaze attacks because there was no way
to defend themselves against them.
Kamikaze
Facts - 32: The strategy of using suicide
attacks to inflict death and terror are still with us today - think
of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers.
Kamikaze
Facts for kids
Kamikaze Facts for kids - President Franklin Roosevelt Video
The article on the
Kamikaze Facts provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Franklin Roosevelt video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 32nd American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945.
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Franklin Roosevelt
Presidency from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945
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