Strana 12
second was Chief Petty Officer Satō. Like the
members of Shikishima Tai, they were part of
Kōkūtai 201, but their special attack unit was
called Yamato Tai.
Battle for the Philippines
The Japanese Army Air Force engaged its
special assault units in the defense of the
Philippines to a lesser extent about two weeks
later. Unlike their Navy Air Force counterparts,
these units were composed largely of training
personnel. Concurrently, both Japanese air
forces continued to conduct conventional
attacks on land and naval targets.
For the defenders aboard Allied vessels, this
marked an extraordinary shift in enemy tactics,
initially perceived by some commanders
as desperate to the point of folly. However,
the kamikaze attacks were immediately
censored for the Allied press, and an objective
assessment of the strategy soon emerged. The
Allied command recognized that these were
well-coordinated operations executed with
clear intent to strike critical parts of ships.
Furthermore, due to the one-way nature of
the flights, the special attack aircraft had a
greater operational range. If a pilot located the
target early, the damage was amplified by more
fuel ignited upon impact after the detonation
of the aircraft's bomb. During the Philippine
campaign, Zeros comprised the vast majority of
aircraft used by the Japanese Naval Air Force's
special attack units. From October 21, 1944, to
January 9, 1945, Kōkūtai 201 deployed more than
200 Zeros in over 60 special attacks, with
only a few failing to reach their targets due to
unfavorable weather. Starting in late October,
units in the Philippines were reinforced by
Kōkūtai 221, which was equipped not only with
Zeros but also with Tenzan and Suisei aircraft.
This Kōkūtai also designated Zeros for special
HISTORY
A fire on the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) near the
island structure after Ensign Kiyoshi Ogawa's attack on May 11, 1945.
Among other damage, the bomb hit the ready room with
VF-84 pilots, killing 22 of them. Photo: US Naval Heritage Command
A Zero piloted by PO2c Setsuo Ishino in the final moments before crashing into the side of USS Missouri
on April 11, 1945. Photo: US Naval Heritage Command
INFO Eduard12
April 2025