Why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets

[Bounty Hunter]

i was just thinking to myself *as i do* why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets i was just wondering wot is the need for it.

(i dont mean to affend people)

 

[Glenn]

Well, they needed to survive long enough to get to the target. It wouldn't have done them any good to be brain damaged before they got anywhere near where they were supposed to be, now would it?

 

[Buddha Smoker]

i was just thinking to myself *as i do* why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets i was just wondering wot is the need for it.

(i dont mean to affend people)

It's all about the hair....hair is very important even before you get ready to crash..

 

[Uncle Frank]

Just Guessing......

probably on some planes, your radio (sometimes O2)
worked through the helmet? Sometimes, probably just training kicking in; you put on certain gear when you flew
in training, without thinking, put it on for the last flight?
On TV & in the movies, they often tie a banner(has a special name) of cloth around their head with a poem, family names, comrades&friends names, Japanese flag, etc. .
And like Buddha said, wouldn't want to have a bad hair day on your way out! Plus, those helmets looked SOOOO macho!!

Frank

 

[Buddha Smoker]

And like Buddha said, wouldn't want to have a bad hair day on your way out! Plus, those helmets looked SOOOO macho!!

Frank

I rest my case...

 

[Timsan]

Flying in full uniform in full honor.

 

[Foxtrot Uniform]

Don't forget that the helmets had goggles.

 

[playaa]

LOL, well the purpose is navigation, oxygen, im sure other things as well.. But mind you, they had to fight first they didnt just crash immediately, They did do some shooting until they was hit, or out of bullets or reached their target.

 

[Buddha Smoker]

LOL, well the purpose is navigation, oxygen, im sure other things as well.. But mind you, they had to fight first they didnt just crash immediately, They did do some shooting until they was hit, or out of bullets or reached their target.

I wonder if they carried hair spray too :?

 

[Riven]

I wonder if they carried hair spray too :?

THey have helmet not to mess their hair cut and glasses not to lose their makeup.

They were first plane pilot. I can guess that their planes were not as much confortable as planes are now. As it was said, they had radio, in helmets, and they had not to be hurt before crashing on any ennemi ship. I don't think it was to protect them from any bullet (or birds lol), but from shock during the flight. Helmets were made of leather (correct ?), you can knock one kamikaze with a rock... imagine a gun.

 

[Mandylion]

Most helmets in WWII were soft, and so were more like caps. The Japanese ones seem to have had the radio lined through the helmet, as did other air corps. They were not for protection from getting hit on the head or similar in construction to todays combat helmets.

Also, they were often fur-lined. It can get cold in a non-pressurized cockpit high up, even in the tropics.

But mind you, they had to fight first they didnt just crash immediately, They did do some shooting until they was hit, or out of bullets or reached their target.

Early in the kamikaze years, yes you are right, but when things started going poorly, they were just instructed to fly into things. Dogfighting takes a lot of skill (and so does shooting at ships effectivly). If a rookie with a few hours flight instruction and no dogfighting tactics training tried to go up against a seasoned Navy pilot and his wingman, they would never get to do their kamikaze attack run.

 

[Eito]

Well, if I was a soldier getting sent to the front lines and was positive I was going to die, I'd still put on my armor...

 

[Mandylion]

I see your point Eito, but armor wasn't worn by fighter pilots unless you count flack [sic?] jackets as armor. Why waste a good flack jacket on a pilot who is not coming back?

 

[Zero-sen]

Flying in full uniform in full honor.

Bingo,
The Kamikaze pilots identified themselves with the samurai and so, wore their full flying uniform when going on their final sorties. This is also why they drank sake and wore their hachimono and also were given a katana before boarding their fighters or whatever aircraft they were assigned.

As for wearing body armour the only pilots (and i stress PILOTS, other aircrew such as B-17 gunners etc also wore armour) who actively carried out this practice were the fighter pilots in the Luftwaffe when attacking the 8th airforce bomber wings.

 

[kage]

Most of them flew from an airfield down to Kagoshima to refuel.A lot from the Maebaru which is now a Jietai base Then it was out to find a the fleet or a lone ship. Helmet, Radio etc.

A poem composed by a Kamikaze pilot:If only we might fall like Cherry blossoms in the spring so pure and radiant.

 

[rko]

I've read they carried a katana instead of a parachute

 

[Zero-sen]

I've read they carried a katana instead of a parachute

That tradition was generally true but varied from unit to unit. The carrying of parachutes was not allowed but the Katana was standard equipement for the kamikaze crews.

 

[kage]

I've read they carried a katana instead of a parachute

You mean machine made Gunto?

 

[Bounty Hunter]

Well, if I was a soldier getting sent to the front lines and was positive I was going to die, I'd still put on my armor...

I respect that

Thanks for posting and sharing your ideas

 

[Davey]

kamikaze had a white scarf and a katakana with them also? wasnt?

smart qeustion about the helmet i think...

 

[-Rudel-]

Aborting your mission and returning to base:

In the event of poor weather conditions when you cannot locate the target, or under other adverse circumstances, you may decide to return to base.

They were told "not to be discouraged. Do not waste your life lightly. You should not be possessed by petty emotions. Think how you can best defend the motherland. Remember what the wing commander has told you. You should return to the base jovially and without remorse"

So you need the hemut for comm reasons to RTB.

 

[phelonious]

it is kind a funny question, though