kamakazie pilots !!!?

Question

why did there wear crash helmets ??

Answer 1

Two possible reasons:
Because they were going to crash.
Or:
There was a nip in the air

Answer 2

They wore leather (useless in a crash) helmets with radio headphones and microphones built in to obtain and give assistance to other Kamikaze pilots in locating "targets" NOT crash helmets in the true sense of the word!

Answer 3

Because they we ordered to die, in fact in some operations 40% of kamikaze planes failed to return and 60% of the accompanying fighters.
The real heroes were pilots like Eugene Esmonde who led his squadron of Fairey Swordfih against the Scharnhorst, Guisenau and Prinz Eugen in the English Channel, the escorting Spitfires did not turn up so off they went in 95 mph biplanes with 1 gun each against 40 or so Me 109s, he was given the option not to fly but duty overcame common sense and he and all but one squadron member died and achieved bugger all.
Previously the squadron operated against the Bismark and he was waiting to recieve his decoration for bravery from that operation when he died.
That is bravery, risking life and limb to save others yet wanting to live, not just uselessly killing yourself, Japs took to screwing cockpit canopies down at a later stage, but full retard and weak mixture soon wrecked the engines giving an excuse to land on a beach somewhere.
It is true at the end some Kamakazes could hardly fly but that was true of all Jap pilots at the end as tere was no fuel for training, conversly some regular units were detailed for Kamakaze missions, not suicide in American or Brit terms where the chance or survival were minimal but where the chances of death were 100%. There were explosive mtor boats and the Yamato, biggest warship in the world was sent on a kakakaze mission off Okinawa without even enough fuel to get back such was the certainty that it would be sunk and all the crew die.

Answer 4

I read a story in Readers Digest back around '60. The name of the story, and it was supposed to be true, was The Kamikaze pilot that flew 47 missions.
I know it is funny, it was true. This guy had the worst luck in the world. Every time he would take off for a mission something always happened. Engine quit after take off, ditch in the water. It was always something. You would think that the Japs would quit giving him airplanes.

Answer 5

They didn't. Nobody in those days wore crash helmets. They were more of a leather skull cap, mostly to keep the head warm. The cockpits weren't heated and far more heat escapes from the head than any other part of the body.

Answer 6

I have seen old films where some are wearing what looks like a leather hat. It is not a crash helmet and is more symbolic and custom, rather than safety.

Answer 7

Crash haemets,as we know it today, were unknown in those days . So kamikazee pilots did not wear them.

They were a sort of canvas material cap that served the following purposes1. it helped to hold their communication headphones in place. 2.it kept their goggles secured 3. it kept their heads and side of face warm.

Answer 8

They werent crash helmets, just a bit of false courage. Did you know they were only ever taught to take off and nothing else except how to point the plane at a ship.
They were never taught how to land the plane.

Answer 9

They wor the japanese flag for good luck because crash helmets hadent been designed

Answer 10

They wore a leather helmet for communication purposes.

Answer 11

Urban myth. They didn't wear any kind of helmet. They had a bandana around their heads with the rising sun on the front.