Arkansas (BB 33) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE UNERRING TRACK OF AA FIRE, SEE ]UST ABOVE WATER, FINALLY DOWNS THE KAMIKAZE (CIRCLE) BEFORE HE STRIKES

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KAMIKAZES!! Jap suicide planes, the Kamikazes, the Divine Wind boys were the most dangerous weapons the Japs had during the last months of the war. The Arky ' s real taste of their power came on April 12, 1945, the heaviest Jap air raid of the war, when hundreds of Jap suicide planes came in to break up the naval assault forces that were battering Okinawa defenses from the sea. M i THE SKIES DARKEN WITH SMOKE FROM AA FIRE, AS THE KAMIKAZE (CIRCLE) GLIDES INTO THE SEA

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TIRED PILOT RETURNS, LANDING ON SLICK ' 1 AFTER HOURS OVER THE TARGET FLIGHT QUARTERS!! Hovering over the targets, the fly-boys in the OS2U ' s directed the fire of our main and secondary batteries during the Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations. Without their accurate spotting, the efficiency of shooting would have been greatly re- duced. A SPLIT SECOND BEFORE PLANE IN MOTION LEAVES CATAPULT