His post says 6,000 (only saying one source claimed 10k). I think that figure is possible. Many would not be in great working order but they could fly. The pilots would not be very good but they where not expected to have to be in the air very long or even land.
Here some detail about the damage from the Kamikazes
"From Oct. 25, 1944 to Jan. 25, 1945 Japanese Kamikazes were able to sink 2 Escort Carriers, 3 Destroyers. They were also able to damage 23 Carriers, 5 Battleships, 9 Cruisers, 23 Destroyers and 27 other ships. There had also been 738 killed and another 1,300 wounded from the result of these attacks."
history.acusd.edu
____
Kamikazes Attempt to Ram B - 29s
motlc.wiesenthal.com
____
Kamikazes Attack Planned on US Fleet in JapaneseWaters
1. A vulnerable fleet
As the Japanese strategists in Tokyo had foreseen, General Ushijima's tactics of delay ensnared the American invaders in a prolonged and costly battle of attrition on Okinawa. As they also had anticipated, Ushijima's shrewd ploy pinned down the prodigious invasion armada, forcing it to act as bodyguard and lifeline for the soldiers fighting on land. Thus restricted, unable to disperse or to operate freely, the naval forces were highly vulnerable to aerial attack-exactly as Tokyohad planned. For the Japanese high command intended not only to defend Okinawa but to destroy great numbers of Allied warships and supply vessels that would be essential to an invasion of the home islands.
2. A giant suicide pact
The decision to expend the finest of Japan's young manhood in what amounted to a giant suicide pact was a desperate measure, but it seemed to be justified by recent experience. Conventional bombing of the US fleet had failed, primarily because such attacks required large numbers of seasoned pilots. The Kamikaze, introduced as a weapon in the battle for the Philippines in late 1944, had been more successful: Almost any pilot who was willing to die could manage to aim his airplane at an enemy warship.
3. "Heavenly operation"
The Japanese plan for the great Kamikaze offensive was named Ten Go (Heavenly Operation). It would consist of a series of mass - formation attacks, called kikusui (floating chrysanthemums): the name was meant to reflect the spiritual purity of the Kamikaze. On paper, the plan was to be executed by 4,500 Army and Navy aircraft. In addition, a small number of piloted buzz bombs would be used. These rocket - propelled cylinders, known as ohkas (cherry blossoms), lacked the fuel capacity needed for sustained flight; they would be carried to the attack zone strapped to the bellies of old Japanese bombers, which would launch them when in range of the targets.
___________
OKINAWA: A REHEARSAL FOR JAPAN'S INVASION
merchant-marine.com
__________
On June 30, 1945, Nazi Germany lay in ruins. Halfway around the world Gen.
Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Pacific,
was preparing to drive the final bloody strike into the heart of the Japanese
homeland. The Operation was code-named DOWNFALL..
The first step in DOWNFALL was Operation OLYMPIC. The proposed Nov.
1945 Invasion of Kyushu. The southernmost of the principal Japanese home
islands. Once under control Kyushu would serve as the "Launching Point"
for the Invasion of Honshu, the largest and most populated Japanese island.
Honshu also contained Tokyo, the capital city. This was phase two, known as
Operation CORONET.
KYUSHU
MacArthur selected Gen Walter Krueger, commanding general of the Sixth
Army, to command the Kyshu Invasion Force, consisting of three Army and
one amphibious (Marine) corps, totaling 14 combat divisions.
The 550,000-man invasion force would be delivered by approximately 3000
ships of Adm. Raymond Spruance's Fifth Fleet, including 66 aircraft carriers
and over 2,600 combat aircraft. At the same time, Adm. William F.
"Bull"Halsey's Third Fleet would support the invasion by blocking any
enemy attempts to reinforce Kyushu from Honshu and Hokkaido.
Sixth Army Intelligence estimated that approximately 735,000 enemy troops
occupied Kyushu and several small islands to the south. A force of 5000
Kamikazes were also ready to descend on the invaders. Moreover to think as
a collective suicide unit--Ishioku Tokko or "The hundred million as a Special
Force."
home.aol.com
_____________
And one more that is not mainly about kamikazes but does say " here were 5,350 kamikazes left and another
5,000 for orthodox use. Aircraft were to be readied on small grass strips in Kyushu, Shikoku, and
western Honshu, and in underground hangars and caves to be used for kamikaze operations against
the Allied amphibious forces invading Kyushu."
It's mainly about the last bombing run of the war and about the attempted coup to stop the surrender.
One quote I found interesting -
"In his book, The Two Ocean War, Samuel Eliot Morrison states: "It was a very near thing. That
night a military plot to seize the Emperor and impound his recordings of the Imperial Rescript (which
was to be broadcast the 15th) was narrowly averted. Attempts were made to assassinate Suzuki and
others. But the Emperor's message to his people went out in the morning...If these elements had had
their way, the war would have resumed with the Allies feeling the Japanese were hopelessly treacherous,
and with a savagery that is painful to contemplate.""
pw1.netcom.com |
