4chan XII: Siempre está bien tener dos váteres

Defensive fire

Massive barrages of overlapping anti-aircraft fire provided an effective means of defense.

Hundreds of pounds of lead and steel would fly through the air every second in a desperate attempt to stop them.

Unfortunately, it wasn't always enough

This particular clip is of the USS Intrepid (CV-11) on November 25th, 1944.

Some were stopped at the last second

...other times they missed

...and sometimes they didn't

This is the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17). She was struck twice by Kamikaze planes within 30 seconds.

They managed to sneak through radar detection by tailing American aircraft returning to the fleet. The attack couldn't have happened at a worse time, since fully loaded planes were sitting on the flight deck. 346 crew were confirmed killed, 43 missing, and 264 wounded.

Many of the casualties were the result of burning aviation fuel and toxic fumes being sucked into the compartments below through the ventilation system. Water was pumped into the ship to extinguish the flames, but this caused her to list heavily and she risked capsizing. A skeleton crew remained onboard when the order to abandon ship was given, and they managed to save her from sinking.

This video documents the attack and shows the gruesome aftermath of crew that attempted to escape.

Destruction of the SS John Burke

This massive explosion is the detonation of the SS John Burke cargo ship, carrying 10,000 tons of ammunition.

On December 28th, 1944, a group of Kamikaze pilots spotted a convoy without air cover near the Bohol Islands, and promptly dove through the clouds towards the ships below.

One of them flying an Aichi D3A dive-bomber plummeted through heavy anti-aircraft fire towards the SS John Burke, slamming onto the deck and penetrating into the cargo hold. The crash instantly triggered an explosion which totally obliterated the ship, killing all onboard.

American fighters shooting down Japanese aircraft

The best defense against these suicide attacks was to intercept them in the air before they got close.

With this in mind, flying ace John Thach developed an extremely effective tactic to defend against this new threat called the Big Blue Blanket. Its name refers to the blue-painted F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair fighters that were to remain in the air at all times to protect a convoy.

Less valuable ships like destroyers would be positioned several miles from the fleet to provide advanced radar warning and to direct the Blue Blanket to attack incoming enemy aircraft.

In some rare circumstances, some Japanese pilots would miraculously survive crash landing into the water after being shot down. Occasionally the Americans would attempt to rescue them, but more often than not they would refuse assistance.
This is one such example, showing a Japanese pilot in the water committing suicide with a hand grenade rather than be taken prisoner. It is a bit graphic, so here is the direct link.
i.imgur.com/lf9quV2.gifv