The Kamikaze Hunters

An extraordinary story of courage, valor, and dogged determination, the vivid account of how a few brave young pilots ensured lasting peace during World War II. In May 1945, with victory in Europe established, the war was all but over. But on the other side of the world, the Allies were still engaged in a bitter struggle to control the Pacific. And it was then that the Japanese unleashed a terrible new form of warfare: the suicide pilots, or Kamikaze. Drawing on meticulous research and unique personal access to the remaining survivors, Will Iredale follows a group of young men from the moment they signed up through their initial training to the terrifying reality of fighting against pilots who, in the cruel last summer of the war, chose death rather than risk their country's dishonourable defeat―and deliberately flew their planes into Allied aircraft carriers. 16 pages of photographs plus maps