Yukio Seki
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Yukio Seki was a Japanese naval aviator of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. As a kamikaze pilot, Lieutenant Seki led one of the three fighter groups of the second official kamikaze atta
Yukio Seki in 1939
The men of the first kamikaze unit to make an attack on a US ship are offered a ceremonial toast of water as a farewell. Yukio Seki, the leader of the unit, is shown with a cup in his hands, and Vice Admiral Takijirō Ōnishi, who organized the first kamikaze unit, is in the middle of the photo facing the five men of the Shikishima Unit. The man offering the cup is likely Seki's officer, Asaichi Tamai
Near miss on USS White Plains.
Kamikaze
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Kamikaze, officially Shinpū Tokubetsu Kōgekitai, were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in
Kamikaze was a reference to the two typhoons that sank or dispersed Kublai Khan's invading Mongol fleets.
Lt. Yoshinori Yamaguchi's Yokosuka D4Y3 (Type 33 Suisei) "Judy" in a suicide dive against USS Essex on 25 November 1944. The attack left 15 killed and 44 wounded. The dive brakes are extended and the non-self-sealing port wing tank trails a mist of fuel, smoke and hydraulic fluid.
Navy Kamikaze pilot in the rank of a Lieutenant receives sortie orders. Over 90% of the Navy's Kamikaze pilots were between 18 and 24 years of age.
Model 52c Zeros ready to take part in a kamikaze attack (early 1945)