PT-35 destroyed to prevent capture, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippine Islands, 12 April 1942. USS Peary (DD-226) sunk by Japanese aircraft at Darwin Harbor, Australia, 19 February 1942. USS Corvina (SS-226) sunk after being torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-176 southwest of Truk, Caroline Islands, 16 November 1943. Ryukyu Islands, 4 April 1945. USS Erie (PG-50) torpedoed by German submarine U-163 off Curacao Island,  12 October 1943. This is usually abbreviated to tokkōtai (特攻隊). Patrol Ships USS PC-1261 sunk by shellfire from shore batteries off Normandy, France, 6 June 1944. Bunker Hill and Franklin were both hit while conducting operations with fully fueled and armed aircraft spotted on deck for takeoff, an extremely vulnerable state for any carrier. YP-387 sunk by collision, 20 May 1942. Allied pilots became adept at destroying enemy aircraft before they struck ships. 7 November 1944. 14 December 1943. PT-338 grounded, 27 January 1945, and destroyed as a result of grounding, not in enemy waters, Semirara Island, Philippine Islands, 31 January 1945. USS Golet (SS-361) sunk by Japanese warships off north Honshu, Japan, 14 June 1944. Such situations occurred in both the Axis and Allied air forces. USS Atlanta (CL-51) scuttled off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, after being damaged by gunfire from Japanese warships during the Battle of Guadalcanal,  USS YMS-350 sunk by a mine off Normandy, France, 2 July 1944. PT-164 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, Rendova Harbor, Solomon Islands,  USS St. Augustine (PG-54) sunk after collision with S.S. Camas Meadows off Cape May, New Jersey, 6 January 1944. LCT(5)-413 sunk off northern France, June 1944. They never returned, but there is no record of an enemy plane hitting an Allied ship that day. PT-509 destroyed by ramming of a German minesweeper in the English Channel, 9 August 1944. Destroyer (DD) By 1945, however, the U.S. Navy was large enough that damaged ships could be detached back home for repair without significantly hampering the fleet's operational capability. One, under heavy fire and trailing smoke, aborted the attempt on White Plains and instead banked toward USS St. USS LST-738 sunk by Kamikaze aircraft off Mindoro, Philippine Islands, 15 December 1944. USS LCI(L)-1 sunk off Bizerte, Tunisia, 17 August 1943. USS LST-349 sunk after running aground off Ponza, Italy, 26 February 1944. USS Drexler (DD-741) sunk after being hit by two Kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 28 May 1945. Captain Motoharu Okamura, in charge of the Tateyama Base in Tokyo, as well as the 341st Air Group Home, was, according to some sources, the first officer to officially propose kamikaze attack tactics. by Bill Gordon. - To do this would… [35] The destroyer USS Laffey earned the nickname "The Ship That Would Not Die" after surviving six kamikaze attacks and four bomb hits during this battle. USS LCS(L)(3)-127 sunk off California, 5 March 1945, and stricken from the Navy List, 30 March 1945. In fact, this ship was the second destroyer to bear the Irish sailor's name. USS Sentinel (AM-113) sunk by German aircraft off Licata, Sicily, 12 July 1943. The names of the four sub-units within the Kamikaze Special Attack Force were Unit Shikishima, Unit Yamato, Unit Asahi and Unit Yamazakura. USS Dorado (SS-248) probably sunk in error by US aircraft in the Caribbean Sea,  LCT(5)-242 sunk off Naples, Italy, 2 December 1943. USS Corry (DD-463) sunk by a mine off Utah Beach, Normandy, France, 6 June 1944. She was a prototype for the Mitsubishi Ki-15 ("Babs"). USS Reuben James (DD-245) sunk after being torpedoed by German submarine U-562 south of Iceland, 31 October 1941. YP-336 destroyed by grounding in the Delaware River, 23 February 1943. USS Gudgeon (SS-211) missing off the Marianas Islands, 18 April 1944. One Corsair and 10 Grumman Avengers were destroyed. The word 'kamikaze' means 'divine wind' or 'heavenly wind'. 97 examples: A mercenary is, almost by definition, not kamikaze material. In a 2010 book, the historian Robin Rielly said that about 60 U.S. ships were sunk by kamikazes, and over 400 were damaged by them. [33] The speedy Ohkas presented a very difficult problem for anti-aircraft fire, since their velocity made fire control extremely difficult. USS Aaron Ward (DD-483) sunk after being bombed by Japanese aircraft off Tagoma Point, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 7 April 1943. ► USS William D. Porter (DD-579) ‎ (1 P, 6 F) Media in category "Ships sunk by kamikaze attack" The following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total. Providential storms dispersed the fleets on both occasions and reinforced the Japanese belief that their gods would forever protect them. PT-239 destroyed by fire in port, Lambu Lambu, Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands,  Glowing in the morning sun. [50], The tokkōtai pilot's manual told pilots to never close their eyes, as this would lower the chances of hitting their targets. In 1942, when U.S. Navy vessels were scarce, the temporary absence of key warships from … PT-153 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, near Munda Point, New Georgia, 4 July 1943. LCT(6)-579 sunk off Palau, Caroline Islands, 4 October 1944. [2] Kamikaze attacks were more accurate than conventional attacks, and often caused more damage. USS Long (DMS-12) sunk by Kamikaze attack in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 6 January 1945. [18], In August 1944, it was announced by the Domei news agency that a flight instructor named Takeo Tagata was training pilots in Taiwan for suicide missions. Ceremonies were carried out before kamikaze pilots departed on their final mission. All of the pilots raised both of their hands, volunteering to join the operation. It was an honour to die for Japan and the Emperor. LCT(5)-23 sunk at Algiers, Algeria, 3 May 1943. Two 100 kg (220 lb) bombs were attached to two fighters, and the pilots took off before dawn, planning to crash into carriers. [12] One example of this may have occurred on 7 December 1941 during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Seki became the 24th kamikaze pilot to be chosen. Details of Oite wreck The Oite wreck was a Kamikaze Class Destroyer and was sunk on 18th February 1944, haivng survived the first day of Operation Hailstone. USS YMS-385 sunk by a mine off Ulithi, Caroline Islands, 1 October 1944. This ship was sunk by a kamikaze during operations in Leyte Gulf October 23, 1944. PT-121 destroyed by Australian aircraft, mistaken identification, Bangula Bay, New Britain, 27 March 1944. USS Darter (SS-227) stranded on Bombay Shoal, off Palawan, Philippine Islands, and destroyed to prevent capture, 24 October 1944. The 1st Air Fleet commandant, Vice Admiral Takijirō Ōnishi, decided to form a suicide offensive force, the Special Attack Unit. USS Montgomery (DM-17) scrapped after being damaged by a mine off Palau, Caroline Islands, 17 October 1944. USS Harder (SS-257) sunk by Siamese destroyer Pra Ruang off Caiman Point, 24 August 1944. The tradition of death instead of defeat, capture and shame was deeply entrenched in Japanese military culture; one of the primary values in the samurai life and the Bushido code was loyalty and honor until death. LCT(5)-486 sunk off northern France, 7 June 1944. PT-320 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands,  This account of all ships sunk by kamikazes provides several examples. USS Colhoun (DD-801) sunk after being hit by four Kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 6 April 1945. USS LST-472 sunk by Kamikaze attack off Mindoro, Philippine Islands, 15 December 1944. USS YMS-103 sunk by a mine off Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 8 April 1945. When Japan began to suffer intense strategic bombing by Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, the Japanese military attempted to use suicide attacks against this threat. USS Gamble (DM-15) damaged by aircraft bombs off Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands,  "In our present situation I firmly believe that the only way to swing the war in our favor is to resort to crash-dive attacks with our planes. USS Crow (AMc-20) sunk by erratic running aircraft torpedo in Puget Sound, Washington, 23 August 1943. USS LCI(L)-20 sunk off Anzio, Italy, 22 January 1944. 17 September 1945.. USS Shark (SS-174) probably sunk by Japanese destroyer Yamakaze east of Menado, Celebes, 11 February 1942. Japan was losing pilots faster than it could train their replacements, and the nation's industrial capacity was diminishing relative to that of the Allies. Lo – were followed by an immediate expansion of the program, and over the next few months over 2,000 planes made such attacks. PT-145 grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture, Mindiri, New Guinea, 4 January 1944. Australian journalists Denis and Peggy Warner, in a 1982 book with Japanese naval historian Sadao Seno (The Sacred Warriors: Japan's Suicide Legions), arrived at a total of 57 ships sunk by kamikazes. USS S-27 (SS-132) lost by grounding on a reef off St. Makarius Point, Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, 19 June 1942. USS LST-342 sunk by Japanese submarine RO-106 west of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 18 July 1943. [citation needed], Before the formation of kamikaze units, pilots had made deliberate crashes as a last resort when their planes had suffered severe damage and they did not want to risk being captured, or wanted to do as much damage to the enemy as possible, since they were crashing anyway. USS Swallow (AM-65) sunk after being hit by a single Kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 22 April 1945. USS PGM-27 destroyed by grounding during typhoon at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 9 October 1945. 13 September 1944. According to a U.S. Air Force source, the kamikaze attackers sunk 34 Navy ships, damaged 368 others, killed 4,900 sailors, and wounded over 4,800. USS Grunion (SS-216) missing off Kiska, Aleutian Islands, at the end of July 1942. USS Rich (DE-695) sunk by a mine off Normandy, France, 8 June 1944. Aircraft Carrier (CV) Light rapid fire anti-aircraft weapons such as the 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikon autocannons were highly effective,[32] but heavy anti-aircraft guns such as the 5"/38 caliber gun (127 mm) had the punch to blow kamikazes out of the air, which was preferable since even a heavily damaged kamikaze could complete its mission. That it is PT-218 destroyed by enemy mine, off Point Aygulf, France, Mediterranean Sea, 16 August 1944. Their motivations in "volunteering" were complex and not simply about patriotism or bringing honour to their families. USS LST-523 sunk by a mine off Normandy, France, 19 June 1944. USS Grayling (SS-209) probably sunk by Japanese freighter Hokuan Maru west of Luzon, Philippine Islands, 9 September 1943. Landing Ship, Medium (LSM) In January 1943 the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, and Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Navy agreed that the formation of a joint committee to assess enemy Naval and merchant shipping losses during World War II would be desirable. USS S-39 (SS-144) lost by grounding south off Rossel Island, Louisiade Archipelago,  USS Hutchins (DD-476) seriously damaged by a Japanese suicide boat, 27 April 1945, in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, and not repaired after the end of the war. 14 destroyers, including the last ship to be sunk, This page was last edited on 3 December 2020, at 01:22. Converted Patrol Vessels 1 August 1943. USS PGM-18 sunk by a mine off Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 7 April 1945. On 6 April 1945, waves of aircraft made hundreds of attacks in Operation Kikusui ("floating chrysanthemums"). Battleship (BB) Two others dove at USS Fanshaw Bay but were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire. USS LST-359 sunk by German submarine U-870 northeast of the Azores, 20 December 1944. USS Johnston (DD-557) sunk by Japanese warships off Samar, Philippine Islands,  Many Japanese felt that to be enshrined at Yasukuni was a special honour because the Emperor visited the shrine to pay homage twice a year. USS LST-158 sunk by aircraft off Licata, Sicily, 11 July 1943. USS Sturtevant (DD-240) sunk by a mine off Marquesas Key, Florida, 26 April 1942. YP-270 destroyed by grounding, 30 June 1942. USS Walke (DD-416) sunk by gunfire and torpedoes from Japanese warships off Savo, Solomon Islands, 14 November 1942. Early successes – such as the sinking of USS St. USS YMS-365 sunk by a mine off Balikpapan, Philippine Islands, 26 June 1945. USS PE-56 sunk by German submarine U-853 off Portland, Maine, 23 April 1945. They caused severe damage to other warships of the Allies as well. The Nakajima Ki-115 Tsurugi was a simple, easily built propeller aircraft with a wooden airframe that used engines from existing stocks. PT-79 sunk in error by the USS Conyngham (DD-371) and USS Lough (DE-586) near Talin Point, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 1 February 1945. LCT(5)-175 sunk, 21 February 1945. USS Mindanao (PR-8) sunk by Japanese aircraft off Corregidor, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 5 May 1942. Eagle (PE) LCT(6)-714 sunk off northern France, June 1944. USS PC-460 sunk by collision with a submarine in the Gulf of Panama, 24 January 1942. Britain's post-war economic situation played a role in the decision to not repair damaged carriers, while even seriously damaged American carriers such as USS Bunker Hill were repaired, although they were then mothballed or sold off as surplus after World War II without re-entering service. [59][60] Some persons who obeyed the policy, such as Kiyokuma Okajima, Saburo Shindo and Iyozo Fujita, were also critical of the policy. LCT(5)-185 sunk off Bizerte, Tunisia, 24 January 1944. USS Barbel (SS-316) sunk by Japanese aircraft southwest of Palawan, Philippine Islands, 4 February 1945. Search This wiki This wiki All wikis | Sign In Don't have an account? USS Runner (SS-275) missing off the Kuril Islands, 26 June 1943. 19 June 1945. PT-165 lost in transit, tanker torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-17, 100 miles south of Noumea, New Caledonia, 24 May 1943. Many warships of all classes were damaged, some severely, but no aircraft carriers, battleships or cruisers were sunk by kamikaze at Okinawa. LCT(6)-582 sunk in the Azores Islands, 22 January 1944. USS LCS(L)(3)-33 sunk by shore batteries off Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 19 February 1945. USS Gwin (DD-433) sunk after being torpedoed by Japanese destroyers in Kula Gulf, Solomon Islands, 13 July 1943. Lo, plowing into the flight deck. He had expressed his desire to lead a volunteer group of suicide attacks some four months before Admiral Takijiro Ohnishi, commander of the Japanese naval air forces in the Philippines, presented the idea to his staff. Like all Army and Navy servicemen, the kamikaze would wear their senninbari, a "belt of a thousand stitches" given to them by their mothers. USS Blue (DD-387) scuttled after being torpedoed by the Japanese destroyer Kawakaze in Savo Sound, Solomon Islands, 22 August 1942. USS SC-1067 foundered off Attu, Aleutian Islands, 19 November 1943. By 1945, large numbers of anti-aircraft shells with radio frequency proximity fuzes, on average seven times more effective than regular shells, became available, and the U.S. Navy recommended their use against kamikaze attacks. LCT(5)-35 sunk off Anzio, Italy, 15 February 1944. USS Tide (AM-125) sunk by a mine off Normandy, France, 7 June 1944. PT-555 damaged by a German mine off Cape Couronne, Mediterranean Sea, 24 August 1944, and sunk by US gunfire, 8 September 1944.. [52][50], The manual was very detailed in how a pilot should attack. "[46], As time wore on, modern critics questioned the nationalist portrayal of kamikaze pilots as noble soldiers willing to sacrifice their lives for the country. Probably sunk by the Japanese submarine I-25, 30 July 1942. From this manual, pilots were told to "attain a high level of spiritual training", and to "keep [their] health in the very best condition". [30], In early 1945, U.S. Navy aviator Commander John Thach, already famous for developing effective aerial tactics against the Japanese such as the Thach Weave, developed a defensive strategy against kamikazes called the "big blue blanket" to establish Allied air supremacy well away from the carrier force. USS LCI(L)-416 sunk off northern France, 9 June 1944. USS Beatty (DD-640) sunk after being torpedoed by German aircraft off Cape Bougaroun, Algeria, 6 November 1943. As time went on, Americans claimed, Shinto was used increasingly in the promotion of nationalist sentiment. The important Japanese base of Saipan fell to the Allied forces on 15 July 1944. USS LCI(L)-553 sunk off Northern France, 6 June 1944. He was promoted posthumously to Vice Admiral and was given official credit for making the first kamikaze attack. Motor Mine sweepers (YMS) USS Block Island (CVE-21) sunk after being torpedoed by German submarine U-549 northwest of the Canary Islands, 29 May 1944. Attack on HMAS Australia—21 October 1944" (j-aircraft.com), "Divine Wind The Japanese secret weapon – kamikaze suicide attacks", "HyperWar: Antiaircraft Action Summary--Suicide Attacks [Chapter 2]", "United States of America 20 mm/70 (0.79") Marks 2, 3 & 4", American Merchant Marine at War (website), 2006, "Chronological List of U.S. PT-347 destroyed by U.S. Navy aircraft, mistaken identification, near Cape Pomas, New Britain Island, 29 April 1944. Some of these escort pilots, such as Zero pilot Toshimitsu Imaizumi, were later sent out on their own kamikaze missions. For horizontal attacks, the pilot was to "aim at the middle of the vessel, slightly higher than the waterline" or to "aim at the entrance to the aircraft hangar, or the bottom of the stack" if the former was too difficult. During World War II, nearly 4,000 kamikaze pilots were sacrificed. USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95) sunk by Kamikaze aircraft off Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 21 February 1945. Lo would be the first U.S. ship to be sunk by a kamikaze attack. PT-123 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing, off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands,  USS Henley (DD-391) sunk after being torpedoed by the Japanese submarine RO-108 off Cape Cretin, New Guinea, 3 October 1943. USS O'Brien (DD-415) torpedoed 15 September 1942 by Japanese submarine I-15 north of Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands, and foundered off Samoa en route to base, 19 October 1942. USS LST-577 sunk by Japanese submarine RO-50 east of Mindanao, Philippine Islands, 11 February 1945. USS LCI(G)-365 sunk by Japanese suicide boat in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 10 January 1945. [24] The poem reads: If someone asks about the Yamato spirit [Spirit of Old/True Japan] of Shikishima [a poetic name for Japan]—it is the flowers of yamazakura [mountain cherry blossom] that are fragrant in the Asahi [rising sun]. USS Amberjack (SS-219) probably sunk by Japanese torpedo boat Hiyodori and Japanese subchaser No. Axell and Kase see these suicides as "individual, impromptu decisions by men who were mentally prepared to die". The following sources also give numbers of total ships sunk by kamikaze aircraft: Lambert (1997, 6) - 56 ships sunk Nagatsuka (1973, 205-12) - 49 ships sunk Yasunobu (1972, 171) - 49 ships sunk Ozawa (1983, 91) - 47 ships sunk Tokkou: Kyokugen no tatakai no subete (2007, 54) - 40 ships sunk USS Asheville (PG-21) sunk by Japanese warships south of Java, Netherlands East Indies, 3 March 1942. USS Hull (DD-350) foundered during a typhoon in the Philippine Sea, 18 December 1944. Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki, the commander of the IJN 5th Air Fleet based in Kyushu, participated in one of the final kamikaze attacks on American ships on 15 August 1945, hours after Japan's announced surrender.[41]. PT-41 destroyed to prevent capture on road to Lake Lanao, Mindanao, Philippine Islands, 15 April 1942. USS LSMR-194 sunk by Kamikaze attack off Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 4 May 1945. On 19 June 1944, planes from the carrier Chiyoda approached a US task group. U.S. carriers also suffered considerably heavier casualties from kamikaze strikes; for instance, 389 men were killed in one attack on USS Bunker Hill, greater than the combined number of fatalities suffered on all six Royal Navy armoured carriers from all forms of attack during the entire war.