Fools Rush In

‘Fools’ Rush In…

Missiles with human guidance systems . . . the incredible story of the Japanese rocket powered suicide planes . . .

By mid 1944 the war in the Pacific had turned sour for the Japanese forces. In June, the Imperial Japanese Navy suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the US Navy in the Battle of the Philippines Sea, losing three aircraft carriers and the best part of 400 aircraft. T he Americans called it the ‘Great Marianas Turkey Shoot’.

Captain Eiichiro Jyo, commander of the light aircraft carrier Chiyoda which had been damaged during the fight, noticed a growing loss of morale among the carrier pilots. The consensus of opinion seemed to be that they were doomed to die uselessly against overwhelming odds if they continued with only orthodox bombing and torpedo attacks. They were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country, to do so was an honour, but to throw them away without even a chance of achieving a positive result was of no use at all.

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