Corncob Corsair

Air Classics, Jul 2001 by O'Leary, Michael

SAVED FROM OBLIVION BY THE CHAMPLIN FIGHTER MUSEUM, THIS SUPER CORSAIR IS DESTINED FOR A NEW HOME IN SEATTLE

By late 1944 and early 1945, as Chance Vought Cosair--equipped aircraft carriers sailed towards Japan to press America's hard-won victories on the Home Islands, the Japanese came up with a new and diabolical plan to stop the American advances. With the Japanese air arms being virtually eliminated--Corsairs were coming off the production line at the start of 1945 at the rate of one every 85 minutes-- a new scheme was put into effect whereby the Kamikaze would be unleashed against the American fleets.

This mad dream took into account the sacrifice of thousands of young aircrew who would fly anything from the latest fighters to the oldest trainers on a one-way mission against the Americans and, in Japanese view, sweep the sea of the heathen invader. Arrogant Admiral Takijiro Onishi took over command, in October 1944, of the First Air Fleet in the Philippines. Onishi was faced with the task of diverting American forces in their attempt to capture the Philippines, Japan's last major base in the Pacific as well as being an important link in the supply chain to the Home Islands. American carriers, always a sore point for the enemy since the ships had escaped the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, were the prime targets in the Philippine invasion. If the carriers could be destroyed, then the Americans would have to turn tail and run.

Onishi, one of the prominent figures in the Pearl Harbor attack, concocted the crazed Shimpu Tokubetu Kogekita - The Divine Wind - in which waves of Kamikazes would expend themselves against the US Fleet. The first group of one-way warriors consisted of 24 pilots who would fly Zeros that had been fitted with 500-lb bombs. The pilots were volunteers and the whole procedure had something of a pseudo-mystical/religious tone. The idea was rushed towards fruition but was not ready as the Americans steamed into Leyte Gulf, carrier planes blasting targets on land as well as sea. It was a blood bath from the start - the immense battleship Musashi was tom to pieces by 30 bomb strikes and 26 torpedo hits, going to the bottom with 1200 of its crew. The Myoko took torpedo hits and had to pull out of the fighting but not before severely mauling an American destroyer unit that had attempted to block its retreat. The confrontation turned into a disaster for the Japanese, the surviving fleet severely depleted.

On 25 October, the Divine Wind was ready and the Americans were totally unprepared for this new form of warfare. Nine of the suicide mission Zeros took off from Mabalcat airfield and headed for the milling fleet. Four of the Zeros were flying as air cover for the five fitted with bombs on a one-way mission. The pilots wore colorful hachimaki scarves around their foreheads - as ancient Samurai warriors had done to keep their long hair from their eyes during combat. Pilots had taken Buddhist rites before launch and Onishi was on hand with a bit of propaganda to stir the troops - "You are already Gods without earthly desires!"

The main target was, of course, the carriers. The Zeros, arriving over Leyte Gulf, picked out the huge ships and immediately attacked. The carrier force was in the process of launching aircraft for strikes around the rapidly expanding American beachhead. Lieutenant Seki plunged straight into the deck of the St. Lo, fully loaded fighters exploded as the Japanese aircraft impacted and the immense fuel storage tanks of the carrier began to burn, explosions rocked the ship drawing the other suicide planes to the target. Wreathed in flames, the St. Lo began to sink as the surviving crew abandoned ship.

The American fleet was stunned it was clearly visible that the Japanese fighters plunged into their target on purpose and not by accident. The Pacific fighting had taken a new and terrible turn and the Kamikazes were a totally alien idea to the American culture, a fact that surrounded the suicide planes with even more horror.

Elated by the initial success, Kamikaze missions were increased at an alarming rate. The Japanese were convinced that these attacks would do more damage than standard fighter or bomber missions and virtually all surviving aircraft were earmarked for the Divine Wind.

Most of the enemy fell to the guns of the Hellcats and Corsairs and to the very heavy antiaircraft barrages. However, the enemy did get through and the results were devastating. During the Okinawa campaign, 17 American warships were sunk while another 198 were damaged (most heavily) by the Kamikaze. The Japanese lost 930 aircraft during these attacks but the Americans had been mauled in a way that had not happened since Pearl Harbor.

Once again, with the invasion of the Home Islands as a looming reality, battle front information was relayed back to American factories for equipment update and modification. The carrier-based Corsairs were almost incapable of responding rapidly enough to the threat of the incoming suicide planes and the facts were related to Vought who began plans for a low-altitude, high-speed Corsair variant.