The practice
run dive would most likely replace the mission, am I not right?
Classic example of a military tactic that was of little technical use, but of great psychological value both for the home front and against the enemy - I understand that the suicide concept of the Kamikaze was more unsettling (= alien) to US Navy men than the actual damage they did.
A couple of years ago I saw a then current Japanese (TV?) movie about Kamikaze pilots (never intended for release in the west and for good reason too, keep on reading) - it told a story of women and girls that grew up in WW II in a village where Kamikaze pilots were trained, handsome young men with a sense of fun and duty. Onne of the very aoung ones falls in love with one of the pilots, but she is too young for him and of course he has greater sacrifices to bring for the Tenno. There was a second plot within the movie, one woman still living today - never married of course - and still holding up the heritage and history of those "fine young beautiful and honorable men", little shrine with artefacts/momorabilia from them and all. And then there is this horrible Japanese-kitschy scene towards the end of the movie where she walks as an old lady in a park - yes, cherry blossoms - at night and the glowworms around her take the shape of those pilots and wave her and she reminisces how she "never met finer men in my whole life".
I was amazed how unreflected the whole thing was - unthinkable that a German post-war movie would portray German soldiers of WW II as good spirits who did the right thing honorably. Even where no personal guilt would be attributed, it would always be pointed out that their cause was utterly wrong. There was zilch of that in the Japanese movie.
