Documentary: Nazi Mega Weapons: Kamikaze

Kamikaze for the most part was a weapon employed by the Japanese, however the Nazis also toyed with the idea.  The Nazi idea was to add a man to pilot the V-1 rockets, however the idea was quickly discarded.  However the Japanese used Kamikaze, suicidal attacks, to good effect.  This started with pilots flying their planes, which were loaded with bombs, into the Allied ships as early as 1944.  However the practice became prominent in the battle for the Philippines and Leyte Bay.  Also the battle for Okinawa was also contested by Kamikaze pilots.  A drawback of the tactic was that the crashing planes usually did not destroy the boats they were striking.  It is true some sank, but for the most part there just wasn't enough explosive fire power to cause the destruction needed.  The Japanese perfected a piggy back manned rocket.  This planes were stripped of everything except explosives and a rocket engine.  They did prove effective if they were able to complete a mission.  The rocket engines allowed them to go very fast just before striking a vessel.  The draw back here is that the vessels were piggy backed on slow planes, which were often blown out of the sky before the rockets could be released.  Another tactic employed was the use of Kamikaze torpedoes.  These torpedoes had a man in them who could manipulate the direction of the torpedo to increase accuracy.  These torpedoes were launched by submarine.  However ocean conditions often limited heir employment and sometimes it appears the man in the torpedo would drown before being able to complete his mission.