Which other countries had "suicidal" aircrew in WW2?

[MiTasol]

We have all read, ad nauseum, how the Japanese pilots were "suicidal" because they stripped armour and other safety items from their aircraft to gain performance.

It turns out that, according to this book, Australian Catalina crews were equally "suicidal" as they removed not only armour but also fuel tank sealing. This leads to the question --

Which other countries had "suicidal" aircrew in WW2?

American pilots at Midway who took off knowing they had insufficient fuel to make it back to safety comes to mind. There must have been others.

 

[SaparotRob]

Fairey Battle crews the SECOND time they went up?

 

[Crimea_River]

You are mixing two definitions of "suicidal" and so are inviting a wide range of responses. There is a big difference between accepting CERTAIN death as in the case of the Kamikaze pilots and pushing safety envelopes as in the case of removing armour.

 

[GrauGeist]

Any sober soul that climbed into the cockpit of a certain Bell product?

On a more serious note, would the P-40 and P-36 pilots at Pearl Harbor qualify by trying to get aloft while under attack?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I would not classify these Australian pilots/crews or the American pilots as suicidal. They are accepting certain risks to accomplish a mission, but their mission was not to die to accomplish the mission.

 

[pbehn]

The crews of 617 squadron could be said to fill that criteria, though they didnt see it that way. Having already cheated the statistics to survive and become noted as good at what they were doing, they accepted a posting to a squadron that performed a lot of high risk and high loss missions, like the Dambuster raid, on the raid to sink the Tirpitz they were almost intercepted, if they had been they were dead meat, with only a rear turret and extra fuel tanks on board.

 

[GrauGeist]

Instead of "Suicidal", perhaps say "Determined to succeed in spite of the odds"?

A good (non aviation) example of this would be the 7 USN Destroyers that attacked a Japanese force of 4 Battleships and 8 Cruisers during the Battle of Samar Strait.

 

[Frog]

The closest non Japanese Kamikaze example would be Sonderkommando Elbe.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

The closest non Japanese Kamikaze example would be Sonderkommando Elbe.

Except their purpose was not to die either. They were supposed to bail out.

 

[fastmongrel]

The final attack on the Heavy Cruiser Hipper by the Destroyer HMS Glowworm might be considered suicidal

HMS Glowworm (H92) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Snautzer01]

Except their purpose was not to die either. They were supposed to bail out.

Fieseler Reichenberg Re IV (Fi 103)

ww2aircraft.net

One way trip.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Fieseler Reichenberg Re IV (Fi 103)

ww2aircraft.net

One way trip.

One way trip, with the pilot expected to bail out.

 

[SaparotRob]

Well my two favorite "against the odds" were posted. I wish I could remember the Polish destroyers that seemed determined as well. There was a Merchant Marine freighter that counter attacked an IJN merchant cruiser. I think that may have been "pissed-off" big time rather than suicidal.
It was a YouTube vid on "History Deserves To Be Remembered ". I can't remember the names. Senility isn't as fun as I thought it would be.

 

[Snautzer01]

One way trip, with the pilot expected to bail out.

I have some docs i will put up when i am back home.

 

[fastmongrel]

HMS Jervis Bay attacking the Admiral Scheer to protect a convoy is another action that might be suicidal

HMS Jervis Bay - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[pbehn]

HMS Jervis Bay attacking the Admiral Scheer to protect a convoy is another action that might be suicidal

HMS Jervis Bay - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

And HMS Rawalpindi, a converted passenger liner which took on the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau the captain was heard to say "We'll fight them both, they'll sink us, and that will be that. Good-bye". The captain was Ludovik Kennedy's father.

HMS Rawalpindi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[GrauGeist]

There was a Liberty ship that fought back against two German surface raiders in the South Atlantic, I beleive the skipper actually turned into them to bring the fight.
Don't recall names (I think one raider was the Stier?), the Liberty ship being sunk but not before damaging the Stier and setting it on fire.

 

[SaparotRob]

HMS Jervis Bay attacking the Admiral Scheer to protect a convoy is another action that might be suicidal

HMS Jervis Bay - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Perhaps that's being "Nelsonian".

 

[pbehn]

Perhaps that's being "Nelsonian".

He was, the action of Capt Fegen and Jervis Bay bought time for the convoy to scatter, 80% made it to safety. Fegen was wounded and went down with the ship, but not all crew did, about one quarter survived and were picked up.

 

[swampyankee]

One way trip, with the pilot expected to bail out.

...but unlikely to be able to do so.