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Kamikaze Commando Raids

Discussion in 'Land Warfare in the Pacific' started by GrossBorn, Jan 28, 2008.

  1. GrossBorn

    GrossBorn Member

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    FWIW...I was not aware of these Japanese plans:

    In December, 1944, the Japanese began training a special outfit called the Yamaoka Parachute Brigade. 300 men were to be landed on the California coast near Santa Barbara and then fight their way to the Douglas and Lockheed aircraft factories in Los Angeles and destroy the facilities before being killed.
    In May, 1945, the project was changed from a submarine-carried operation on Los Angeles to an airborne assault on the Marianas. This attack was planned to include 2000 men and hoped to destroy the B-29 bases.
    The Americans became aware of these operations and Halsey launched a pre-emptive attack on August 4, 1945 in which over 400 Japanese aircraft were destroyed. The reason was that Halsey did not want to risk an inadvertent suicide attack on Tinian Island where the atomic bombs were being assembled.
    Both Japanese attacks were to involve suicide formations and were the most advanced of many Japanese kamikaze missions planned from 1944 to 1945.
     

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