Kamikazes
Today, historian Edward Reid will share Michal Moynihan’s vivid account of the kamikaze attacks on the British Pacific Fleet during World War II. "Kamikaze," meaning "divine wind" in Japanese, referred to the suicide pilots used by Japan in a desperate attempt to halt Allied advances in the Pacific. These pilots crashed their planes into enemy ships, turning their aircraft into weapons.The psychological toll on Allied forces was immense. They were used to combat but facing pilots who willingly sacrificed their lives was a new and deeply unsettling experience. Moynihan’s account details the destruction caused by two kamikaze planes that hit a British aircraft carrier, setting it ablaze. Despite the chaos, the crew’s resilience shone through as they extinguished the flames and resumed operations in under half an hour.While the physical damage from kamikaze attacks was severe, the psychological impact was equally profound. Allied sailors were haunted by the realization that the enemy was willing to die for glory, adding a new level of tension to naval warfare in the Pacific.This has been a production of Legacy Vision Media