Traveler Roald Amundsen his discovery. Roald Amundsen

Japanese suicide pilot - kamikaze

Towards the end of World War II, the allied countries of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis, anticipating defeat, tried to correct the situation in their favor with the help of effective weapons capable of causing significant damage to the enemy. Germany relied on V-2 missiles, while the Japanese used a simpler method, mobilizing suicide pilots - kamikazes - to solve this problem.

There is no doubt that Japanese warriors have been considered the most skilled and fearless in the world for centuries. Part of the reason for this behavior was adherence to Bushido, the moral code of the samurai, which requires unconditional obedience to the emperor, whose divinity stems from great ancestors who possessed the special physical and spiritual properties of the Sun Goddess.

Seppuku is hara-kiri

This cult of divine origin was introduced by Jimmu in 660 BC, who proclaimed himself the first emperor of Japan. And somewhere during the Heian era, in the 9th-12th centuries, an important component of the code appeared - the ritual of seppuku, better known by its second name “harakiri” (literally “cutting the belly”). This was suicide in the event of an insult to honor, committing an unworthy act, in the event of the death of one’s overlord, and subsequently by a court verdict.

The fact that in the process of suicide it was not the heart that was affected, but the abdomen was ripped open, is explained simply: according to the philosophy of Buddhism, in particular the teachings of the Zen sect, it is not the heart, but the abdominal cavity that is considered as the main central point of a person’s life and thus the seat of life.

Harakiri became widespread during the period internecine wars when opening the abdomen begins to prevail over other methods of suicide. Very often, bushi resorted to hara-kiri in order not to fall into the hands of enemies when the troops of their clan were defeated. With the same samurai, they simultaneously made amends to their master for losing the battle, thus avoiding shame. One of the most famous examples committing harakiri by a warrior upon defeat is considered seppuku by Masashige Kusunoki. Having lost
battle, Masashige and 60 of his devoted friends performed the hara-kiri ritual.

Seppuku or hara-kiri is a common phenomenon among Japanese samurai

The description of this procedure is a separate topic, so it’s only worth noting one more important point. In 1878, after the fall of the last of the shoguns, the military-feudal rulers of Japan, ruling the country for six centuries, power was concentrated in the hands of Emperor Meiji, who set a course for the construction of capitalism. And a year later one of richest people In Japan, a certain Mitsuri Toyama, together with his influential friends, creates a secret society “Genyosha” (“Black Ocean”), which set itself the goal of creating a military-political doctrine of Japan on the basis of the official religion of Shintoism. Being an enlightened man, Toyama
He saw seppuku as a relic of the past, but introduced a new meaning into this rite: “suicide as an example of fidelity to duty in the name of the prosperity of the Motherland.”

Japanese kamikaze pilots

However, at the beginning of the 20th century and for another four decades, the ideology of seppuku turned out to be unclaimed. But the second principle of the Genyosha doctrine was in full swing: “The gods protect Japan. Therefore, her people, territory and every institution associated with the gods are superior to all others on earth. All this places Japan in sacred
mission is to unite the world under one roof so that humanity can enjoy the benefit of being under the rule of a divine emperor.”

And indeed, victory in the Russo-Japanese War soon followed, successful fighting in Manchuria against the Kuomintang members of Chiang Kai Shek and the People's Liberation Army of Mao Zedong, crushing blow on Americans in Pearl Harbor, occupation of countries South-East Asia. But already in 1942, after the lost battle of the imperial fleet in naval battle near Midway Atoll it became clear that the Japanese war machine began to malfunction, and two years after successful ground operations
American troops and their allies in Tokyo started talking about the possible defeat of the imperial army.

Then, like a drowning man clutching at a straw, General base proposed to recall the principle of hara-kiri in a slightly modified version: to create units of suicide pilots who are ready to voluntarily give their lives for the emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun. This idea was proposed by the commander of the First Air Fleet, Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi, on October 19, 1944: “I don’t think there is any other way to bring down a Zero armed with a 250-ton bomb on the Americans.”

The admiral had in mind the A6M Zero carrier-based fighters, and a few days later, quickly created groups of suicide pilots flew out on the first and last mission of their lives.

The groups received the name “Kamikaze” - “Divine Wind” - not by chance. Twice in 1274 and 1281 armada Mongol Khan Khubilai tried to approach the shores of Japan with aggressive goals. And both times the plans of the aggressors were thwarted by typhoons that scattered ships across the ocean. For this, the grateful Japanese called their natural savior “Divine Wind.”

The first kamikaze attack took place on October 21, 1944. A suicide plane struck the Australian flagship, the cruiser Australia. True, the bomb itself did not explode, but the superstructure with the ship's deckhouse was destroyed, resulting in the death of 30 people, including the ship's commander. The second attack on the cruiser, carried out four days later, was more successful - the ship was seriously damaged and forced to go to the docks for repairs.

Japanese kamikazes in World War II

We will not dwell on the list of combat missions of kamikaze detachments, which lasted a little more than six months. According to the Japanese, during this time 81 ships were sunk and 195 were damaged. The Americans and allies were more modest in their assessment of losses - 34 and 288 vessels of various classes, respectively: from aircraft carriers to auxiliary vessels. But here it is worth noting one thing interesting feature. The Japanese, one might say, reversed Suvorov’s commandment: “Fight not with numbers, but with skill,” relying precisely on numerical superiority. However, the air defense systems of American naval formations were quite effective, so the use of radars
coupled with the actions of more modern carrier-based fighter-interceptors such as the Corsair or Mustang, as well as anti-aircraft artillery, gave only one kamikaze out of ten a chance to complete the combat mission assigned to them.

Japanese kamikaze pilots - students before a combat mission

Therefore, very soon the Japanese were faced with the problem of how to make up for the loss of aircraft. There were no problems with volunteer suicide bombers, but means of delivering live bombs were in short supply. Therefore, we first had to reactivate and commission the previous generation A5M Zero fighters, equipped with low-power engines from the 1920s. And at the same time, start developing a cheap but effective “flying torpedo.” Such a sample, called “Yokosuka,” was created quite quickly. It was a wooden glider with shortened wings. A charge with a capacity of 1.2 tons of ammonal was placed in the bow of the device, in the middle part there was a pilot's cabin, and in the tail - jet engine. There was no landing gear, since the airframe was attached under the belly of the Gingo heavy bomber, which delivered the torpedo to the attack area.

Having reached a given point, the “airplane” unhooked the glider, and it continued to fly in free mode. Having reached the goal, planning directly to the maximum if possible
at a low altitude, which ensured its secrecy from radars, counteraction from fighters and naval anti-aircraft guns, the pilot turned on the jet engine, the glider soared into the sky and from there dived onto the target.

However, according to the Americans, the attacks of these air torpedoes turned out to be ineffective and rarely reached their target. Therefore, it is no coincidence that “Yokosuka” received the nickname “Baka” from the Americans, which means “fool”. And there were very good reasons for this.

The fact is that in a relatively short period of time, professional pilots who flew as suicide pilots have already ended their life in the waters Pacific Ocean, so the survivors were used only as pilots of Zero fighters accompanying bombers with human torpedoes. And then a recruitment was announced for those wishing to “commit hara-kiri” in the name of the triumph of the Japanese nation. Oddly enough, this mobilization was received with a bang. Moreover, the decision to become suicide bombers was mainly expressed by university students, where the dogmas of “Genyosha” were actively promoted.

Kamikaze volunteers

For comparatively a short time the number of young yellowthroats willing to give up their lives rose to 2,525, which was three times the number of aircraft available. However, by that time the Japanese tried to create another aircraft, also made of wood, but launched using an improved
jet engine. Moreover, to reduce weight, the landing gear could be separated after takeoff - after all, the bomb plane did not need to land.

Nevertheless, the number of volunteers wishing to join the ranks of kamikazes continued to grow rapidly. Some were truly attracted by a sense of patriotism, others by the desire to glorify their family with a feat. Indeed, not only the suicide bombers themselves, for whom they prayed in churches, but also the parents of those who did not return from the mission were surrounded with honor. Moreover, the Yasunuki Shrine still contains clay tablets with the names of the dead kamikazes, which parishioners continue to worship. And even today, in history lessons, teachers talk about the romantic rituals that heroes who received a “one-way ticket” went through.

A cup of warm sake vodka, the ceremony of putting on a hachimaki - a white bandage on the forehead, a symbol of immortality, after takeoff - heading towards Mount Kaimon and saluting it. However, not only young people were ready to sacrifice their lives. The air force commanders, Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki and Rear Admiral Masadumi Arilsa, also wore hachimakis and went on their last combat mission.

Amazingly, some of the kamikazes managed to survive. For example, non-commissioned officer Yamamura found himself on the verge of death three times. The first time, the Gingo transporter was shot down by American fighters, and the suicide pilot was rescued by fishermen. A week later, another Gingo was caught in a thunderstorm front and was forced to return to base in accordance with instructions. Finally, during the third flight, the torpedo release system did not work. And then the war ended. The day after the signing of the act of surrender, the “father of kamikazes”, Admiral Takijiro Onishi, wrote a farewell letter. In it, he thanked all the pilots who responded to his call, and ended the message with the tercet in
haiku style: “Now everything is done, and I can sleep for millions of years.” After which he sealed the envelope and committed hara-kiri on himself.

Japanese kamikazes on torpedoes

In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that kamikaze pilots were not the only voluntary suicide bombers (“tokkotai”), in Japanese army There were other divisions, for example, in the navy. For example, the “Kaiten” (“Path to Paradise”) unit, in which by the beginning of 1945 ten groups of human torpedoes were formed.

Torpedo, Kaiten units, Japanese kamikazes died in these on torpedoes

The tactics of using human torpedoes boiled down to the following: having discovered an enemy ship, the carrier submarine occupied a certain position along its route, after which the suicide bombers boarded the torpedoes. Orienting himself using a periscope, the commander fired one or more torpedoes, having previously set the course for the suicide bombers.
After traveling a certain distance, the torpedo driver surfaced and quickly inspected the water area. This maneuver was calculated so that the torpedo was on the bow heading angles
enemy ship and at a distance of 400-500 meters from it. In this position, the ship was practically unable to evade the torpedo, even after detecting it.

Your son went into nowhere endlessly proud
A toy whose factory lasts for two hours.
Wasp stuck into enemy aortas
His wooden flaming "Kokusai".

These planes were designed for only one flight. A one-way ticket. They were made of birch plywood, equipped with obsolete decommissioned engines and lacking weapons. Their pilots had the lowest level of training, they were just boys after a couple of weeks of training. Such a technique could only be born in Japan, where Beautiful death redeemed no matter how meaningless and empty a life. Equipment for real heroes.

This is how the girls saw them off:

Kamikaze planes

By 1944, Japanese military equipment and aviation in particular were hopelessly behind their Western counterparts. There was also a shortage of trained pilots, and even more so of fuel and spare parts. In this regard, Japan was forced to seriously limit air operations, which weakened its already not very strong position. In October 1944 American troops attacked the island of Suluan: this was the beginning famous battle in Leyte Gulf near the Philippines. The first air fleet of the Japanese army consisted of only 40 aircraft, unable to provide navy at least some significant support. It was then that Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi, commander of the First Air Fleet, made a largely historic decision.

On October 19, he said that he saw no other way to inflict any noticeable damage on the Allied forces other than by using pilots who were ready to give their lives for their country and bring down their plane, armed with a bomb, on an enemy ship. The preparation of the first kamikazes took about a day: already on October 20, 26 light carrier-based Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters were converted. On October 21, a test flight was made: the flagship of the Australian fleet, the heavy cruiser Australia, was attacked. The kamikaze pilot did not cause too serious damage to the ship, but, nevertheless, part of the crew died (including the captain), and the cruiser could not take part in battles for some time - it was undergoing repairs until January 1945. On October 25, the first in history was committed successful attack kamikaze (vs. American Navy). Having lost 17 aircraft, the Japanese sank one ship and seriously damaged 6 more.

In fact, the cult of a beautiful and honorable death has been known in Japan for centuries. The valiant pilots were ready to give their lives for their homeland. In the vast majority of cases, kamikaze attacks used conventional aircraft, converted to transport a single heavy bomb (most often these were mass-produced Mitsubishi A6M Zeros of various modifications). But “specialized equipment” was also designed for kamikazes, characterized by simplicity and low cost of design, the absence of most instruments and the fragility of materials. This is what we will talk about.

Mitsubishi A6M Reisen, better known as "Zero"(or "Rei shiki Kanjo sentoki" in Japanese), was by far the most produced Japanese fighter-bomber of the Second World War. It began production in 1939. In its designation, “A” indicates the type of aircraft (fighter), “6” - the model (it just replaced the “5” model, produced from 1936 to 1940 and was in service until 1942), and “M” - “Mitsubishi” " The aircraft received the nickname “Zero” for the nomenclature of model 00, which came from the last digits of the year of the start of mass production (2600 according to the Japanese calendar, also known as 1940). A group was allocated to work on “Zero” the best engineers Mitsubishi company led by designer Jiro Horikoshi.

"Zero" became one of the best carrier-based fighters of World War II. It was distinguished by a very high flight range (about 2600 kilometers) and excellent maneuverability. In the first battles of 1941-42. he had no equal, but by the autumn of 1942 they were in full force over the battlefield large quantities the newest Airacobras and other, more advanced enemy aircraft appear. Reisen became obsolete in just six months, and there was no worthy replacement for it. Nevertheless, it was produced until the very end of the war and therefore became the most popular Japanese aircraft. It had more than 15 different modifications and was produced in quantities of more than 11,000 copies.

“Zero” was very light, but at the same time quite fragile, since its skin was made of duralumin, and the pilot’s cabin had no armor. The low wing load allowed for a high stall speed (110 km/h), that is, the ability to make sharp turns and increased maneuverability. In addition, the aircraft was equipped with retractable landing gear, which improved the aerodynamic parameters of the machine. Finally, visibility into the cockpit was also excellent. The aircraft had to be equipped with the latest technology: full set radio equipment, including a radio compass, although in reality, of course, the equipment of the aircraft did not always correspond to what was planned (for example, in addition to command vehicles, there were no radio stations installed on the Zero). The first modifications were equipped with two 20-mm cannons and two 7.7-mm machine guns, plus mountings for two bombs weighing 30 or 60 kilograms were provided.

The very first combat missions of the Zero turned out to be a brilliant success for the Japanese air fleet. In 1940, they defeated the Chinese air fleet in a demonstration battle on September 13 (according to unverified data, 99 Chinese fighters were shot down versus 2 from the Japanese, although according to historian Jiro Horikoshi, no more than 27 “Chinese” were killed). In 1941 the Zeros maintained their reputation with a string of victories across vast areas from Hawaii to Ceylon.

However, the Japanese mentality worked against Japan. Although incredibly maneuverable and fast, the Zeros were stripped of all armor, and the proud Japanese pilots refused to wear parachutes. This led to constant losses of qualified personnel. IN pre-war years The Japanese Navy did not develop a system for mass training of pilots - this career was considered deliberately elitist. According to the memoirs of pilot Sakai Saburo, summer school in Tsuchiura, where he studied - the only one where naval aviation fighters were trained - in 1937 received one and a half thousand applications from potential cadets, selected 70 people for training and ten months later graduated 25 pilots. In subsequent years the numbers were slightly higher, but the annual “production” of fighter pilots was about a hundred people. In addition, with the advent of the light American Grumman F6F Hellcat and Chance Vought F4U Corsair, the Zero began to rapidly become obsolete. Maneuverability no longer helped. Grumman F6F Hellcat:

“Mitsubishi” began to rapidly make changes to the design and “produce” modifications of the aircraft: “A6M3” types 32 and 22, “A6M4”, “A6M5” type 52. The latter (in the “Hei” modification) received an armored back and an armored headrest for the pilot. Most of the modifications were designed to further increase maneuverability, as the “Zero” trademark, as well as increase firepower, including rate of fire. The speed of the Model 52 was increased to 560 km/h.

We are most interested in modification "Mitsubishi A6M7", developed specifically for kamikaze attacks and a modification of the Mitsubishi A6M5, which, due to its mass production, was most often converted for the same purposes. In the first battles in October and November 1944, the following actions were carried out with the A6M5: machine guns and cannons were dismantled, and a 250-kilogram bomb was installed under the fuselage.

The A6M7, although it was a “suicide plane,” carried on board not only a bomb, but also two 13.2 mm wing machine guns, which made it possible to use it as a dive fighter before the final attack. The only thing that really distinguished it from the A6M6 model was a cheaper, simplified version of the Nakajima Sakae 31b engine without a water-methanol mixture injection system. In addition, two additional 350-liter fuel tanks were installed on the aircraft to increase the flight range. This made it possible to strike from a greater distance. Taking into account the fact that fuel was refueled for a one-way flight, the distance covered by the suicide plane almost doubled, which contributed to the “surprise” Japanese attacks to the Allied fleet.

In total, 530 A6M type aircraft carried out deadly attacks, although more than 1,100 representatives of this model were converted for the needs of kamikazes. It should be noted that the predecessors of the Zero, the A5M model, which were completely obsolete by the end of the war, were also actively used for deadly attacks. Actually, almost all of the last surviving “fifth” models, worn out to the utmost, ended their lives in this way.

Despite the fact that the A6M was not specifically designed for kamikazes, it became the most common manned projectile of the Second World War and was used in this capacity in almost every air battle involving the Japanese fleet.

Nakajima Ki-115 Tsurugi became the first and, in fact, the only aircraft designed specifically for kamikaze attacks. Its development began in January 1945, when the “stocks” of old, worn-out aircraft suitable for conversion into flying coffins began to deplete. The task before the designers was simple: lightness, speed, maneuverability. No weapons (except bomb racks) or armor. Maximum low cost of materials and ease of manufacture. The designer of the Nakajima company, Aori Kunihara, was appointed chief engineer.

The design of the Ki-115 was simplified to the point of absurdity. Such an aircraft could be assembled “on the knee” in almost any conditions and equipped with absolutely any engine with power from 800 to 1300 hp. The frame was welded from steel pipes, the hood was made from sheet metal, the fuselage was made from duralumin, and the tail section had a fabric covering. One 800-kilogram bomb was attached to a recess under the fuselage. The cockpit was open, and a sight was painted on the windshield, making it easier to hit the target.

Actually, the aircraft was intended to be produced by unskilled workers from scrap materials and to be flown by unskilled pilots. True, the plane was quite difficult to control on the ground. The landing gear was intended for take-off only and was discarded as soon as the aircraft lifted off. There was no turning back for the kamikaze. Here is the control panel of this aircraft:

They tried to improve the planes, for example, to equip them with rocket boosters, but similar works There was essentially no time left. We also produced several prototypes of the “Otsu” modification with wooden wings. larger area. A total of 105 copies of the Ki-115 aircraft were manufactured, but the Allies learned about their existence after the war. Not a single “Sword” (as “Tsurugi” is translated) was ever used during combat.

However, there was another model developed “from scratch” specifically for suicidal attacks. It was a plane Kokusai Ta-Go. It was developed by a group of officers led by aircraft technician Yoshiuki Mizuama in early 1945.

The plane was made entirely of wood (wooden and plywood slats on a metal frame) and canvas, only the landing gear and engine mount were metal. The power unit was an in-line Hitachi Ha-47 engine with a power of 510 hp, and the aircraft was armed with one bomb weighing 500 kilograms. Even the engine hood was made of plywood, not tin, as on other “disposable” designs.

Characteristically, the plane did not have rounded surfaces at all, being assembled, in fact, from wooden sheets. This made it possible to make a car even in a carpentry workshop. The landing gear was not retractable at all, the shock absorbers were made of ordinary rubber, and the tail spike, instead of the third wheel, was made of welded pipes. Instruments in the cockpit included a compass, speedometer and altimeter. The aircraft was light and rather slow, the only weapon it could carry was a 100 kg bomb.

In June 1945, the only experimental Kokusai took off. Until the end of the war, the Japanese did not manage to launch “Bamboo Spears” (“Ta-Go”) into mass production.

In 1945, another specialized kamikaze aircraft was developed - Mitsubishi Ki-167. Unlike its “brothers”, the Ki-167 model was a bomber, and quite a heavy one at that. Information about this aircraft is contradictory, but most of sources agree that on April 17, 1945, three Ki-167 vehicles carried out a combat mission in the Okinawa area. Not finding the target, two aircraft returned to base (the landing gear of these aircraft was not dropped), and the third detonated its bomb for technical reasons. The only photo of this plane:

The base model for the Ki-167 was the Ki-67 Hiryu medium torpedo bomber, which entered service at the end of 1943. Model 167 was equipped with a huge Sakuradan bomb weighing 2900 kilograms. To transport such weight, the aerodynamics of the aircraft were seriously modernized. The documentation for the Ki-167 was destroyed after the war, so there is practically no specific information about it.

But probably the most famous aircraft The kamikaze, which appeared in many films and described in books, became a legendary projectile aircraft Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka. His project was developed by a group of researchers at the University of Tokyo led by former combat pilot Mitsuo Ota in the fall of 1944. Unlike an ordinary aircraft, the Ohka projectile had no landing gear at all and was intended exclusively for launch from a carrier. The aircraft was made entirely of wood and could be manufactured using unskilled labor. Three rocket boosters were installed on it.

The carrier used was a special modification of the Mitsubushi G4M2 Tei heavy bomber. In addition to fasteners for the projectile aircraft under the fuselage, this modification was equipped with additional armor, since it was the carrier that was the factor increased risk in Ohka missile attacks. The slow and clumsy bomber was quite easy to shoot down, unlike a fast projectile with rocket boosters.

The first modification “MXY7 Ohka” bore the index “11” and carried a charge weighing 1200 kilograms in the bow. The penetrating ability of the aircraft-projectiles turned out to be monstrous: there is a known case when a missile completely penetrated the American destroyer Stanley, which saved it from sinking. But if the rocket hit the target, the destruction was very great. True, the flight range of the projectile aircraft was most often less than the damage radius air defense; therefore, the missiles could not always be launched successfully.

The Ohka was first used in March 1945, and on April 12, the first ship, the destroyer Mannert P. Abel, was sunk with the help of these aircraft. Pay attention to the dimensions of the bomb:

Naturally, progress did not stand still, and designers were required to improve the design. Further development of the design of the projectile aircraft led to the appearance of the “Model 22” modification. New development was aimed, first of all, at launching from a more advanced and protected Kugisho P1Y3 Ginga carrier aircraft. It was smaller in size and carried a much lighter charge (only 600 kilograms). In addition, the more powerful Tsu-11 jet engine made it possible to launch a projectile at a greater distance from the target. A total of 50 copies of modification “22” were manufactured, and the first test flight took place in July 1945.

Subsequently, several more modifications of the Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka were developed (but never left the project stage): model 33 (for launch from a Renzan G8N1 aircraft), model 43a (for launch from catapults submarines– with folding wings; in modification "b" the wingtips were discarded altogether), model 21 (essentially a hybrid of models 11 and 22) and model 53 with a turbojet engine. Two training copies of the 43 Wakasakura model with a landing ski and a second cabin were even made, but things did not go further than that.

It was precisely because of the slowness of the carriers that the effectiveness of using aircraft-projectiles was not very high. Many pilots died senselessly; enemy losses were not so great. In this regard, the Americans even called Japanese projectiles in official documents the word “Baka” (“fool”).

By the way, due to the fact that engines, especially rocket engines, were not cheap, projects of kamikaze gliders were also developed, not burdened with power units, for example, Yokosuka Shinryu. Development began in May 1945 under the direction of engineer Sakakibara Shigeki. One prototype glider was manufactured and tested: it could carry a charge of 100 kg and accelerate to 300 km/h. The glider was launched from the ground using stationary Toku-Ro 1 Type 1 rocket boosters. They started for only 10 seconds, but that was enough to start.

The tests were unsuccessful: the pilot concluded that the glider was very difficult to control, and low-skilled kamikaze pilots simply would not be able to control it. In addition, rocket engines were too expensive and imperfect. The project for the improved Shinryu II glider remained only on paper, and soon work on the first model was completely curtailed.

By the way, in 1944, the development of another type of “suicide technique” began. These were the legendary Kaiten torpedoes, launched from submarines or ships and controlled by suicide bombers. The pilot sat down in the control room of the guided missile, the hatch was sealed tightly.

The first Kaitens included a pilot ejection mechanism, but torpedo drivers simply refused to use them. Unlike kamikaze planes, Kaitens had virtually no success. Too expensive to manufacture and leading to personnel losses, they rarely reached their target, being intercepted by enemy retaliatory torpedoes or anti-torpedo defense systems. In total, 10 groups of Kaiten drivers were trained during the war, after which their production was curtailed.

It must be said that many Japanese aircraft were used for kamikaze attacks. These were mostly obsolete, retired models that were hastily converted to carry a single bomb. For example, a modification of the Kawasaki Ki-48 medium bomber (“Kawasaki Ki-48-II Otsu Kai”), built in 1939-1944, was created for similar purposes, but it was never used in battle. The Mitsubishi Ki-67 medium bomber also had a kamikaze modification: Mitsubishi Ki-67-I-Kai “To-Go”.

In 1945, a development project for the Nakajima Ki-115 Tsurugi model called Ki-119 was also developed, but this machine remained on paper. The documents also mention the Rikugun To-Go aircraft, but there is no specific information about this suicide aircraft.

In 1944-45, the Japanese army and air force trained approximately 4,000 kamikazes, which sank or damaged more than 300 Allied ships. However, there were almost three times as many volunteers: there was not enough equipment. However, many “volunteers” simply received orders. And they couldn’t break it. Before flights, twenty-year-old suicide bombers drank a ritual cup of sake and tied their heads with a white strip of cloth with a red circle (“hachimaki”).

And then they took their planes into the air without landing gear and died for the country they loved more than their own lives.

However, experienced pilots often acted as kamikazes. The most famous suicide pilot was Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki. On August 15, 1945, along with other pilots, he took off on the Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive bomber and died heroically near the island of Okinawa. Actually, such a death was something like an analogue of the ritual suicide of seppuku, honorable for a samurai. By the way, the “father of kamikaze” Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi also committed ritual suicide shortly before the surrender of Japan, on August 16, 1945, when it became clear that the war was lost.

Some examples of kamikaze aircraft can still be seen in Japanese museums. The thought that a person boarding such a plane knew that he would never return home makes him turn away and move on to other exhibits.

P.S. In fact, “kamikaze” is just one of the varieties of so-called "teishintai", volunteer suicide bombers, ready to give their lives for their homeland. Teishintai worked not only in aviation, but also in other military units. For example, there were entire groups of suicide paratroopers who armed themselves with bombs and dropped them on enemy equipment. Ground-based teishintai worked in exactly the same way, destroying enemy officers, radar points and other objects at the cost of their lives. Teishintai sometimes used small boats and guided missiles to launch their attacks on the water.

P.P.S. By the end of World War II, aircraft for suicide pilots were also being developed in Germany. The Fi-103R “Reichenberg” flying bomb (modification “Fi-103R-IV”) was converted into a manned aircraft. A volunteer suicide squad was recruited and even specialized courses on flying bombs were organized. But psychology made itself felt. Germany was already, in fact, losing ground, and the pilots had no desire to give their lives “for nothing.” Despite the fact that the German kamikaze project was personally supervised by Himmler, it was curtailed without, in fact, starting.

Now this will seem funny, but in the 30s of the twentieth century, Japanese design engineers were considered capable of only copying the achievements of their colleagues from Europe and America. The fallacy of this view was later well understood by the Americans at Pearl Harbor. But the first Europeans to learn for themselves what Japanese engineers were were the Russians. In 1937, Soviet fighters collided in Chinese skies with the A5M, the world's first carrier-based monoplane fighter developed in Japan.

The Imperial Army set the Mitsubishi Design Bureau the task of creating a carrier-based fighter with a horizontal speed of at least 400 km/h. The normal speed of European biplanes was 350-370 km/h, the A5M monoplane gave 414 km/h in the first tests, but the inspectors did not believe it and demanded a test flight. The second time, the A5M accelerated to 449 km/h and was put into service.

At first, the experienced pilots of the Yokosuka Experimental Squadron preferred the old biplane, which was much more maneuverable in horizontal turns in the classic “dog dump” that originated over the trenches of the First World War. However, young pilots who tried to fight in vertical turns were delighted with the dive attack on slow-moving targets.

The Second Sino-Japanese War began because Private Imperial Army Shimura Kukujiro got lost at night, going to the toilet. If you believe the legend, the Japanese command took advantage of the fact that the Chinese did not allow the private to be searched Japanese soldiers, and gave the order to the artillery. Kukujiro returned when his commanders had already begun shelling Beijing. Twenty days later, on July 28, 1937, the capital of China was taken.

The Japanese had about 700 aircraft, the Chinese - 600, both of them mostly biplanes. Just before the start of the war, Chiang Kai-shek bought about a hundred advanced American Curtiss Hawk III biplanes. During the first month of fighting over Beijing and Shanghai, the Chinese shot down about 60 Japanese aircraft.

Soon, the aircraft carrier Kaga with a squadron of A5M approached the shores of China. On September 7, over Lake Tan, Captain Igarashi, having a speed advantage of 60 km/h, shot down three Hawks in a row. Within a week, the Japanese had gained air supremacy.

On September 19, Japanese aircraft carried out a raid on Nanjing, which became the new capital of China. IN total 45 aircraft were involved, including 12 A5M. They were met by 23 Chinese fighters: American Hawks and Boeings, Italian Fiats, English Gladiators. During the battle, the Chinese shot down four Japanese biplanes, and the A5M shot down seven Chinese ones.

Chiang Kai-shek turned to the USSR for help, and Stalin declared Operation Z (similar to Operation X in Spain), sending a Soviet squadron of I-16 (31 aircraft, 101 people) - the world's first serial monoplane fighter with a retractable landing gear flight, as well as a squadron of biplane fighters I-15 bis (31 aircraft, 101 people) and a squadron of SB bombers (31 aircraft, 153 people).

Volunteer pilots in China. From right to left: F.P. Polynin, P.V. Rychagov, A.G. Rytov, A.S. Blagoveshchensky

Volunteers Stalin's falcons became like this: at the beginning of October 1937, the cadets of the Moscow Zhukovsky Academy were gathered by the commanders and announced: “The Motherland has decided to send you on a secret special mission to China. Who refuses?

There were no such people.

The best Soviet pilots at that time were in Spain, and people who had absolutely no combat experience went to China. They planned to use monoplanes together with biplanes: the pre-war aviation doctrine of the USSR was dominated by the theory that high-speed monoplanes should catch up with the enemy and engage him in battle, and then more maneuverable biplanes should destroy him.

In addition to inexperienced pilots and outdated views on tactics, there was another problem. It was easy for Stalin to wave his hand over the map: “Deliver planes to China!” And how to do it? The nearest airfield was in Almaty, and it turned out that we would have to fly through the Himalayas. Without maps, at extreme altitudes, without intermediate airfields and in open cockpits.

The first plane that set off to plot the route flew into a remote gorge, noticed it too late and crashed when hit by a sheer wall. The navigator managed to survive and ten days later, frostbitten and hungry, he went out to local residents. Gradually, the route was paved, but Soviet squadrons still lost every second plane during the flight to China.

I-16 fighter identification marks ROC Air Force

By the time when soviet planes and the pilots arrived, 81 aircraft remained from the Chinese Air Force, almost all of the Hokies were shot down. Japanese aircraft dominated the skies. The Japanese ground army stormed Nanjing. On November 21, 1937, seven I-16s took off on their first flight over Nanjing (the I-16 was nicknamed “donkey” in the USSR, and “fly” and “rat” in Spain). Led by commander Blagoveshchensky, the pilots entered into battle with 20 Japanese aircraft. The Donkeys shot down one bomber and two A5Ms without losses.

The next day, November 22, six I-16s engaged six A5Ms, shooting down one of them. Japanese pilot Miyazaka was captured.

With similar tactical and technical characteristics, as Soviet pilots found out, the A5M was seriously inferior to the I-16 in weapon accuracy and the weight of a second salvo. They were equipped with two old English Vickers machine guns, and the I-16 was equipped with four newest Soviet ShKAS machine guns.

The Japanese did not at all expect the appearance of enemy monoplanes. However, they still had the advantage of combat experience.

Battle participant Georgy Zakharov recalled: “Later, having fought and gained experience in battles, we naturally came to understand the tactics of modern air combat by those standards. And at first, the pilots did not even take into account such tactical basics as launching an attack from the direction of the sun. Therefore, they often started the battle from a deliberately disadvantageous position.”

Soviet pilots quickly retrained: abandoned tactics sharing monoplanes and biplanes and mastered combat on vertical turns.

On November 24, the Mikado pilots took revenge: six A5Ms, accompanying eight Bombers, shot down three of the six I-16s that took off to intercept.

On December 1, the Japanese Air Force attempted to bomb the Nanjing airfield where Soviet units were based. In total, in five sorties that day, the Russians shot down about ten Bombers and four A5Ms. Their losses were two I-16s; the pilots jumped out with parachutes. One plane landed on a flooded rice field due to running out of fuel.

Chinese peasants pulled him out with oxen. The bombers were never able to descend for a targeted strike and dropped their cargo at an altitude of five kilometers without causing damage to the target.

By the end of 1937, the Soviet Air Force had gained air supremacy over Nanjing. The Japanese withdrew their aircraft away from the front line.

Under New Year Nine SB bombers, flown by Soviet pilots under the command of Machin, took off from Nanjing and raided Japanese air bases near Shanghai. According to our pilots, in total they destroyed 30-35 Japanese aircraft on the ground.

Another group of bombers that day reported the destruction of the light aircraft carrier Yamato, which did not have time to lift its planes into the sky. But, according to Japanese data, there has never been any aircraft carrier Yamato in the Japanese fleet. There was another ship with the same name, but it was sunk by an American submarine in 1943. Perhaps Soviet bombers destroyed some large transport.

In January, after the bombing of the bridges over the Yellow River, the SB of the squadron commander, Captain Polynin, was intercepted by three A5Ms and shot down. His son later said that his father’s plane glided and landed in a rice field between Japanese and Chinese infantry positions.

For the next ten minutes, Polynin, holding a pistol in his hand, watched with interest the Japanese and Chinese soldiers. If the Japanese had arrived first, the captain, in accordance with the order, was obliged to shoot himself in the head. He was lucky: the Chinese ran faster.

On February 23, 1938, 28 SB aircraft under the command of Commissar Polynin carried out a sensational air raid on a Japanese air base on the island of Taiwan, dropping 2080 bombs and destroying 40 new Italian twin-engine Fiat BR.20 bombers and about fifty of the best Japanese pilots caught in the bombing during lunch.

Polynin's squadron used a trick: it went around Taiwan in a wide arc and entered the east, from the direction of Japan. Later, the Japanese would do the same in the first raid on Pearl Harbor, and also successfully: they would be accepted as one of their own and would not pay attention to them.

In the spring of 1938, Soviet and Japanese pilots began ramming each other in the Chinese skies. The first ram was carried out by the plane of Senior Lieutenant Shuster in an air battle on April 29 over Wuhan: during a frontal attack, it did not turn and collided in the air with an A5M. Both pilots were killed.

In May, a successful ram on an I-16 was carried out by an ace pilot (seven aerial victories), senior lieutenant Gubenko. A year later he received the Gold Hero Star for this.

On July 18, the Japanese carried out the first air ram. In an air battle over Nanchang, the A5M of Lieutenant Commodore Nango collided with the one he had previously fired at Soviet fighter. The Japanese died, but the Soviet pilot, junior lieutenant Sharai, remained alive, managed to land the damaged I-16 and a year later received the Order of the Red Banner for this battle.

These cases became interested in Takijiro Onishi, the future developer of the air raid on Pearl Harbor, and at that time the commander of aviation on the aircraft carrier Hosho. In 1938, he founded the Society for the Study of Air Power and published the book “The Combat Ethics of the Imperial navy”, which, in particular, addresses the issue of subordinates’ readiness to complete a task even at the cost of their own lives.

These developments were of great use to him in 1944, when he began to form the first squadron of suicide pilots (remained in history as the “father of kamikaze”). In October, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, his subordinates carried out the first and most successful operation against the US Navy, sinking one and damaging six aircraft carriers (losing 17 aircraft).

After this, Onishi was tasked with creating a suicide air fleet. Japanese aviation has already switched to the next generation of its aircraft - the famous A6M Zero - so the outdated A5M became the main aircraft for kamikazes. Propaganda in the country began to work, and soon all the boys in Japan dreamed of dying heroically, according to the custom of samurai warriors, leaving short poems “jisei” (jisei - a song of death, poems that were written before suicide) to the world as a farewell. For example, like this:

We just want to fall
Cherry petals in spring
So clean and shining!

In 1944-1945, 2,525 naval and 1,388 army pilots were killed in kamikaze attacks.

On April 29, the birthday of Emperor Hirohito, the largest air battle for the entire war.

The Japanese decided to take revenge for the bombing of Taiwan and stage a bomber raid under cover of 27 A5Ms. 45 I-16s flew out to intercept them. In the 30-minute battle, 11 Japanese fighters and 10 bombers were shot down, while 12 aircraft piloted by Chinese and Soviet pilots were lost. After this, the Japanese did not raid Wuhan for a month.

And TB-3 arrived in the Soviet units. At the end of the summer, a group of these bombers defiantly flew over the Japanese Islands during the day, dropping not bombs, but leaflets.

The Japanese understood the hint correctly and began to probe the ground for peace negotiations with the USSR. In the summer of 1938, the first batch Soviet pilots returned to the USSR. The commander of the I-16 squadron, Captain Blagoveshchensky, was supposed to take the captured A5M to Moscow for study, but Japanese agents in China worked well, and sugar was poured into his gas tanks. The engine failed over the Himalayas and the plane crashed. Blagoveshchensky, with a broken arm, took several days to reach his own people and was immediately arrested by them.

The ace pilot (14 victories in the skies of China) was transferred to Moscow and spent several unforgettable months at Lubyanka while investigators found out whether he deliberately crashed the newest Japanese fighter. The day before Stalin, dissatisfied big losses on the Himalayan route, ordered the NKVD to look for saboteurs there.

This hassle ended with the fact that one day during the interrogation the investigator pointed to the paper lying in front of him. “This is an anonymous denunciation that you have long been an enemy of the people and a Japanese spy. And these,” he pointed to a stack of sheets lying nearby, “are statements of your colleagues who vouch for you as for yourself. You can go, comrade captain."

A year later, Alexei Blagoveshchensky received the Gold Hero Star for China.

You know, mom, tomorrow I will become the wind,

By sacred will, striking from above.

I ask you for love and faith,

And I ask you to plant cherries near your house,

I'll see, mom, I'll become the wind.

Divine wind

Group shot of six Japanese pilots kamikaze in flight uniform and personal signatures. Such pictures are usually
done on the eve of the last flight. Presumably 1945.

On October 15, 1944, a fighter plane took off from a small military airfield in the Philippines. He did not return to base. Yes, however, no one expected his return: after all, he was piloted by the first suicide pilot (kamikaze) Rear Admiral Arima, commander of the 26th Air Flotilla.

The young officers tried to dissuade the rear admiral from participating in the deadly flight. But he tore the insignia from his uniform and boarded the plane. Ironically, Arima failed to complete the task. He missed and crashed into sea ​​waves, without reaching the target of the American ship. Thus began one of the darkest combat campaigns of World War II in the Pacific.

Japanese kamikaze pilot Corporal Yukio Araki (in the center of the photo with a puppy in his hands) with his comrades from the 72nd Shinbu Squadron at Bansei airfield

Kamikaze pilots received a form to fill out and took five oaths:

The soldier is obliged to fulfill his obligations.

A soldier is obliged to observe the rules of decency in his life.

A soldier must be a highly moral person.

A soldier must live a simple life

Onishi Takijiro. The man called "the father of kamikaze"

Japanese kamikaze pilots before a combat mission from Choshi Airfield east of Tokyo. From left to right: Tetsuya Ueno, Koshiro Hayashi, Naoki Okagami, Takao Oi, Toshio Yoshitake. Of the eighteen pilots who took part in this flight, only Toshio Yoshitake survived: his plane was shot down by an American fighter, emergency landing and the pilot was rescued by Japanese soldiers.

The pilots were photographed against the background of a Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter.

Team Sikishima of the 1st Special Attack Corps prepares to take off from Mabalacat Air Base in the Philippines. People are photographed having a ceremonial farewell toast. The group commander - Lieutenant Yukio Seki - with a cup of water in his hands. Vice Admiral Onishi is in the center of the photo, facing the five members of Team Shikishima. The man offering Seki a cup of water - Asaichi Tamai (October 20, 1944).

Lieutenant Seki Yukio!!

“The sacred wind... The saved homeland... The path of the warrior... American aircraft carriers...” and finally said the name - Yukio Seki.

Yukio Seki stood first in the line. He had a dry face with sunken cheeks. The eyes are tense and half-closed. He greedily caught every word of the general in order to carefully take it with him into the sky. We all knew: nine cars had been prepared, and under each pilot’s seat there was a box with a towel. Before throwing a car onto an American ship from a height, each pilot pulls the fuse out of the box...

Last flight!! In the foreground is Seki Yukio!!
Farewell on the island of Iwo Jima!

The death of the escort aircraft carrier Saint-Lo and Lieutenant Seki Yukio.

The convoy aircraft carrier "St. Lo" is on fire after a kamikaze attack.

April 11, 1945. America's largest warship, the USS Missouri, moments before being struck by a kamikaze Zero. The aircraft struck the ship below the main deck, causing minimal damage and no catastrophic consequences. Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center

USS Bunker Hill on May 11, 1945 after the Tokkotai attack. A couple of minutes later, the aircraft carrier is attacked by another suicide bomber. One crashed directly into the midst of the aircraft on the aft deck and caused a large fire. The bomb that separated from the aircraft pierced several decks and the outer skin and exploded at the surface of the water, riddling the left side of the ship with shrapnel. The second plane struck the flight deck next to<островом>and exploded inside the hull, causing fires in the gallery deck. The engine that came off the plane landed in the flagship premises. command post(on<Банкер Хилле>the flag was held by the commander of TF-58, Admiral Mitscher) and caused the death of most of the staff officers who were there. The losses in its crew were very heavy: 391 killed and 264 wounded. In addition, almost all the aircraft on the aircraft carrier burned down.

Bunker Hill is on fire

View of the burning aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) from the battleship USS South Dakota (BB-57).

On May 11, 1945, the USS Bunker Hill was hit by two aircraft Japanese kamikaze, produced at intervals of 30 seconds. 372 soldiers were killed and 264 military personnel were injured. Most of the dead were suffocated by combustion products during interior spaces ship.

Kamikaze pilot Kiyoshi Ogawa who attacked the USS Bunker Hill

On April 12, 1945, schoolgirls escort Lieutenant Toshio Anazawa to his death in the Okinawa region, waving cherry branches after him. The pilot's return salute is addressed not so much to the schoolgirls as to his native country and life in general. On board his Hayabusa plane is a 250-kilogram bomb

The light cruiser USS Columbia is attacked by kamikazes in Lingayen Gulf. January 6, 1945.

Kamikaze pilots in a 1944 photo taken in the city of Choshi (east of Tokyo) before a combat mission towards the Philippines (Reuters).

A kamikaze pilot ties a hachimaki.

Before departures, special ceremonies were held, including a ritual cup of sake and hachimaki (a white bandage on the forehead). The symbol of the kamikaze was the chrysanthemum flower. According to legend, young kamikaze pilots, flying on a mission, flew over Mount Kaimon in southwestern Japan. The pilots took a last look at their homeland, and, saluting, said goodbye to it.

The kamikaze attack took place on October 21, 1944. The victim was the heavy cruiser Australia, which was the flagship of the Australian fleet. The aircraft, believed to be an Aichi D3A or Mitsubishi Ki-51, was armed with a 200 kg bomb. The collision occurred in the area of ​​the superstructure of the cruiser Australia. The ship was lucky: the bomb did not explode. The attack killed 30 people, including the ship's commander. 64 people were injured. On October 25, Australia received another hit, after which the ship had to be sent for repairs. By the end of the war, "Australia" survived 6 hits from kamikaze aircraft.

Damaged cruiser Australia

They can't get to the port

That's all, I touch the side,

And reflected in dilated pupils

All my long way to the goal,

The one in sight

There is a reason for me to explode for others.

Damaged destroyer!

Kamikaze strike on the battleship Maryland. That time, on November 25, 1944, the damage was significant - the main battery turret was damaged, 31 sailors were killed

Saratoga is on fire - three kamikaze strikes led to the loss of 36 aircraft of the air wing, the entire bow was destroyed, 123 sailors were killed

The last dive. Target: cruiser Columbia

Debris on the deck of HMS Formidable. Powerful shocks caused the steam line of the power plant to burst, the speed dropped, the radars failed - in the midst of the battle the ship lost its combat capability

Consequences of a kamikaze attack

Former Japanese kamikaze pilot Hichiro Naemura holds his wartime portrait as he stands next to a Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter jet at the Imperial War Museum in London, where he came to meet British war veterans at a book launch. "Kamikaze: Japanese Gods of Suicide." October 7, 2002 (Reuters)

From a farewell letter to Jr. Lieutenant Shunsuke Tomiyasu: “Today the fate of our country is in my hands. We are the defenders of our country. You may forget me when I'm gone, but please live better than you lived before. Don’t worry and don’t be discouraged.”

Kamikaze monument. This monument, glorifying the heroism of Japanese kamikaze pilots, stands today at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

"I'm flying into the sky. The sky will become my grave. I'm dying for the emperor." Kamikaze pilots wrote such haiku on their hachimaki. "Don't cry. Don't be sorry. I'll come home. Meet me at the Yasukuni Shrine. I'll be there."

At the end of the post, an accompaniment to what was written and seen above, Rosenbaum’s hit, simple music, simple words like life and death of a kamikaze!! Banzai for you glorious sons of your homeland!!

These planes were designed for only one flight. A one-way ticket. They were made of birch plywood, equipped with obsolete decommissioned engines and lacking weapons. Their pilots had the lowest level of training, they were just boys after a couple of weeks of training. Such a technique could only have been born in Japan, where a beautiful death redeemed no matter how meaningless and empty a life. Equipment for real heroes.

By 1944, Japanese military equipment and aviation in particular were hopelessly behind their Western counterparts. There was also a shortage of trained pilots, and even more so of fuel and spare parts. In this regard, Japan was forced to seriously limit air operations, which weakened its already not very strong position. In October 1944, American troops attacked the island of Suluan: this was the beginning of the famous Battle of Leyte Gulf near the Philippines. The first air fleet of the Japanese army consisted of only 40 aircraft, unable to provide the navy with any significant support. It was then that Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi, commander of the First Air Fleet, made a largely historic decision.

On October 19, he said that he saw no other way to inflict any noticeable damage on the Allied forces other than by using pilots who were ready to give their lives for their country and bring down their plane, armed with a bomb, on an enemy ship. The preparation of the first kamikazes took about a day: already on October 20, 26 light carrier-based Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters were converted. On October 21, a test flight was made: the flagship of the Australian fleet, the heavy cruiser Australia, was attacked. The kamikaze pilot did not cause too serious damage to the ship, but, nevertheless, part of the crew died (including the captain), and the cruiser could not take part in battles for some time - it was undergoing repairs until January 1945. On October 25, the first successful kamikaze attack in history was carried out (against the American fleet). Having lost 17 aircraft, the Japanese sank one ship and seriously damaged 6 more.

In fact, the cult of a beautiful and honorable death has been known in Japan for centuries. The valiant pilots were ready to give their lives for their homeland. In the vast majority of cases, kamikaze attacks used conventional aircraft, converted to transport a single heavy bomb (most often these were mass-produced Mitsubishi A6M Zeros of various modifications). But “specialized equipment” was also designed for kamikazes, characterized by simplicity and low cost of design, the absence of most instruments and the fragility of materials. This is what we will talk about.

"Zero" became one of the best carrier-based fighters of World War II. It was distinguished by a very high flight range (about 2600 kilometers) and excellent maneuverability. In the first battles of 1941-42. he had no equal, but by the autumn of 1942, the latest “Air Cobras” and other, more advanced enemy aircraft began to appear over the battlefield in increasing numbers. Reisen became obsolete in just six months, and there was no worthy replacement for it. Nevertheless, it was produced until the very end of the war and therefore became the most popular Japanese aircraft. It had more than 15 different modifications and was produced in quantities of more than 11,000 copies.

“Zero” was very light, but at the same time quite fragile, since its skin was made of duralumin, and the pilot’s cabin had no armor. The low wing load allowed for a high stall speed (110 km/h), that is, the ability to make sharp turns and increased maneuverability. In addition, the aircraft was equipped with retractable landing gear, which improved the aerodynamic parameters of the machine. Finally, visibility into the cockpit was also excellent. The aircraft had to be equipped with the latest technology: a full set of radio equipment, including a radio compass, although in reality, of course, the equipment of the aircraft did not always correspond to what was planned (for example, in addition to command vehicles, the Zero was not equipped with radio stations). The first modifications were equipped with two 20-mm cannons and two 7.7-mm machine guns, plus mountings for two bombs weighing 30 or 60 kilograms were provided.

The very first combat missions of the Zero turned out to be a brilliant success for the Japanese air fleet. In 1940, they defeated the Chinese air fleet in a demonstration battle on September 13 (according to unverified data, 99 Chinese fighters were shot down versus 2 from the Japanese, although according to historian Jiro Horikoshi, no more than 27 “Chinese” were killed). In 1941 the Zeros maintained their reputation with a string of victories across vast areas from Hawaii to Ceylon.

However, the Japanese mentality worked against Japan. Although incredibly maneuverable and fast, the Zeros were stripped of all armor, and the proud Japanese pilots refused to wear parachutes. This led to constant losses of qualified personnel. In the pre-war years, the Japanese Navy did not develop a system for mass training of pilots - this career was considered deliberately elitist. According to the memoirs of pilot Sakai Saburo, the flight school in Tsuchiura where he studied - the only one where naval aviation fighters were trained - in 1937 received one and a half thousand applications from potential cadets, selected 70 people for training and ten months later graduated 25 pilots. In subsequent years the numbers were slightly higher, but the annual “production” of fighter pilots was about a hundred people. In addition, with the advent of the light American Grumman F6F Hellcat and Chance Vought F4U Corsair, the Zero began to rapidly become obsolete. Maneuverability no longer helped. Grumman F6F Hellcat: