List of Allied vessels struck by Japanese special attack weapons

There were more than 400 Allied vessels struck by Japanese special attack weapons in the last twelve months of World War II, including some vessels that were struck as many as six times in one attack. The one special weapon that is most often associated with World War II is the Japanese kamikaze aircraft. Kamikaze was used to describe the way the Japanese believed they would be victorious by destroying the Allied fleet by crashing aircraft into their ships. The word kamikaze originated as the name of major typhoons in 1274 and 1281, which dispersed Mongolian invasion fleets under Kublai Khan. The Allies referred to these special weapons as "suicide" attacks, and found it difficult to understand why an individual would intentionally crash an airplane into a ship, as the two cultures clashed in battle. Both Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army had Special Attack Units organized specifically for this mission. Aircraft were not the only special attack weapons. Attack boats, suicide divers, and several types of submarines were also used to destroy ships and landing craft as the Allied forces advanced toward Japan.

Kamikaze (神風, literally: "God wind"; common translation: "Divine wind") [kamikaꜜze], official name: Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (特別攻撃隊), Tokkō Tai (特攻隊) or Tokkō (特攻) were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy warships more effectively than was possible with conventional attacks. Numbers quoted vary, but at least 47 Allied vessels, from PT boats to escort carriers, were sunk by kamikaze attacks, and about 300 damaged. During World War II, nearly 3,000 kamikaze pilots were sacrificed. About 14% of kamikaze attacks managed to hit a ship. The Japanese high command exaggerated the effectiveness of the tokko attacks, claiming six aircraft carriers, one escort aircraft carrier and ten battleships had been sunk.

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