Kamikaze 1945

[STEED]

Earlier this week I saw a documentary on TV called Day of the Kamikaze which looked at the peak of the Kamikaze attacks in April to June 45 as they attacked the American ships stationed at Okinawa while the bloody Battle for Okinawa was going on. Or so I must mention that us the British were also hit further south, excepted the Americans bore the brunt of these attacks.

Just wondering has anyone seen these Kamikaze attacks in the game?

[M. Sarsfield]

I haven't, but I can't imagine that it would be very difficult to modfy Zero behavior for that time frame to basically ram your boat, instead of bombing it. I've had plane parts hit my boat before after shooting them down and I never had any damage.

[ReallyDedPoet]

From a much earlier thread: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=113640&highlight=Kamikaze+attacks


RDP

[M. Sarsfield]

I have seen them climb straight up after an attack, but they never successfully hit my boat. It sounds like an intact plane will do damage to you, but if it's already destroyed, the parts won't.

[STEED]

Has anyone swung by Okinawa in that time frame?

Any ships in big groups?

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Kamikaze pilots were always told to go after capital ships, so I don't think they'd ever bother w/a submarine.

[Torplexed]

Kamikaze pilots were always told to go after capital ships, so I don't think they'd ever bother w/a submarine.
That's the odd irony of the kamikaze program. They were told to concentrate on sinking capital ships; carriers, battleships, cruisers, etc. But it was the picket destroyers at Okinawa that took the biggest beating. The poorly trained Japanese pilots simply didn't know the difference. As far as I know US submarines were never attacked by kamikazes. Probably because kamikazes were usually held in reserve for attacking large amphibious forces en masse. They weren't expected to fly routine patrol missions.

[nikimcbee]

Kamikaze pilots were always told to go after capital ships, so I don't think they'd ever bother w/a submarine.

I think you're right on this one, but if there was nothing else around, they might go for it.

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Well, another thing: subs would be typically lone wolves, or in a small group. Out in the middle of nowhere. Kamikazes would typically go for task forces and the like!!

[Torplexed]

I only saw this today, but I guess there is a least one recorded instance of a US sub being attacked by a kamikaze.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Devilfish_%28SS-292%29

However, There are instances throughout the war of Japanese pilots flying their (usually damaged) planes into ships or other planes even before the Special Attack Corps was started. Maybe this was one of these.

[The Fishlord]

I only saw this today, but I guess there is a least one recorded instance of a US sub being attacked by a kamikaze.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Devilfish_%28SS-292%29

However, There are instances throughout the war of Japanese pilots flying their (usually damaged) planes into ships or other planes even before the Special Attack Corps was started. Maybe this was one of these.

Definetely. The first deliberate Kamikaze attack was in 1943 during the New Guinea campaign, made by a twin engine Ki46 "Dragon Slayer" destroyer.

[Torplexed]

Interesting Fishlord...apparently, there was a Japanese Lt. Idia, who during the Pearl Harbor attack tried to fly his damaged plane into the armoury building at Kanehoe Air Station. He missed and hit a hill instead. Oddly, in the movie Tora, Tora, Tora he's shown dramatically making a direct hit. According to his fellow pilots before the raid, he had vowed to hit a worthy target if fatally damaged.

[scrag]

Kanehoe MCB and Air station is on the other side of the Island. There is a Mountain range that separates that side from Pearl (where I work). As far as the first attack from a Kamikaze dedicated A/C was 27 Oct 1944 on an Australian CA. Nov 1944 was the first attack by a Kaiten. There were a number of incidents of wounded pilots flying there critically hit A/C into targets of opportunity.

[Doolittle81]

...
As far as the first attack from a Kamikaze dedicated A/C was 27 Oct 1944 on an Australian CA. Nov 1944 was the first attack by a Kaiten. There were a number of incidents of wounded pilots flying there critically hit A/C into targets of opportunity.

Actually:
21 Oct44 Two planes with volunteers flew from the Philippines to attack US carriers. According to eyewitness [per wikipedia] accounts, the first Allied ship to be hit by a kamikaze attack was the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, the large heavy cruiser HMAS Australia on October 21 1944. The attack appears to have been spontaneous and was carried out by an unknown pilot who was not a member of Onishi's Special Attack Unit [kamikaze). The pilot was most likely an Imperial Japanese Army Air Force aviator from the 6th Flying Brigade, in a Misubishi Ki-51.


23-26 Oct44. Off Leyte, 55 Kamikaze pilots, in the first planned mass suicide attacks of the war, coordinated with the IJN attack on Leyte Gulf, hit the escort carriers and sank the St. Lo (CVE-63) and damaged the large escorts Sangamon (CVE-26), Suwannee (CVE-27), Santee (CVE-29), and small escorts White Plains, Kalinin Bay, and Kitkun Bay. In all, 7 carriers were hit and 40 other types damaged; five ships were sunk, 23 heavily damaged, and 12 moderate damage.

[mookiemookie]

Imagine if we had Ohkas in this game. :huh::dead:

[Torplexed]

Let's make it a triple threat and include the Kaiten manned torpedoes and the Shinyo one-man suicide boats. :hmm:

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Hmm...I don't suppose the Oka is modelled in IL-2 1946? Because that would be pretty amusing to pilot. And brings up interesting mission possibilities :hmm:(though, really, I don't see it possible to be part of an actual campaign :rotfl:)

[AkbarGulag]

If you looking for Japanese Imperial weapons etc.. this source is pretty good.

http://www.combinedfleet.com/

Here's the Ohka Mookiemookie mentions if anyone is intereseted in what it is...

http://www.combinedfleet.com/ijna/mxy7.htm

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Oh, I'm aware of and LOVE that site!!!!! :up:

I was rather disappointed that SH4 was going w/the American instead of Japanese sub fleet. :nope:

[AkbarGulag]

Oh, I'm aware of and LOVE that site!!!!! :up:

I was rather disappointed that SH4 was going w/the American instead of Japanese sub fleet. :nope:

Thats something else I noticed on that site, the American and Japanese sub fleets were almost identical in size. On top of that, their submarines set some impressive records, for speed, distance and size. Not to mention the varying specialist roles they were created for. Deffinately enough substance their to be worthy of a game. Be awesome to see a SH5 based around Imperial Japan.

[LukeFF]

Hmm...I don't suppose the Oka is modelled in IL-2 1946? Because that would be pretty amusing to pilot.

It is, but it's not flyable.

[scrag]

Oh, I'm aware of and LOVE that site!!!!! :up:

I was rather disappointed that SH4 was going w/the American instead of Japanese sub fleet. :nope:

Thats something else I noticed on that site, the American and Japanese sub fleets were almost identical in size. On top of that, their submarines set some impressive records, for speed, distance and size. Not to mention the varying specialist roles they were created for. Deffinately enough substance their to be worthy of a game. Be awesome to see a SH5 based around Imperial Japan.

Make a great add on though - I really wish that instead of going with yet more U-Boat stuff that they would have made the Japanese Subs playable (imagine positioning to release your Kaitan! then being able to pilot it into a target.

[The Fishlord]

Make a great add on though - I really wish that instead of going with yet more U-Boat stuff that they would have made the Japanese Subs playable (imagine positioning to release your Kaitan! then being able to pilot it into a target.

Though driving U boots aroudn in the Pacific will be fun, I think the same idea would have worked for Japanese boats as well. Instead of "strategic air support" you might just have your own crappy torpedo bombers to launch! sounds fun.

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Someone told me one reason they (Ubisoft) didn't go for a Japanese game was because there wasn't nearly the same information available for the IJN. I'm not sure if this is true, or not.

[M. Sarsfield]

Most Japanese subs were sunk or scuttled after the war. The KD boats were based on the WWI German U-139 boats and the L4 boats were based on the British L Class. Those two sub classes would probably be doable, since there's plenty of info for their european versions and the KD boats made some significant attacks.