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Description
In contrast with the well-known kamikazes (most of whom were just young rookie pilots with only the basic knowledge on how to take off, fly straight, turn around and land), by the end of the war, some Japanese officers believed and defended the idea of creating a few (non-kamikaze) elite fighting squadrons made up of the best remaining Japanese aces (since Japan lost about the 75% of their best aces after the Battle of Midway) in a desperate attempt to try and re-gain the control of the war, or at least delay a much as possible the inevitable defeat.

Therefore, not all the Japanese were for those “Tokubetsu Kogeki Tai” or “special attack units”, referring to the “kamikazes”. This term (“kamikaze”) seems to have never been used by the Japanese themselves, and rather it was introduced by some American soldier. In this ideological conflict among the Japanese on which of these two methods (kamikazes/ non-kamikazes) was the best to stop the enemy, the kamikazes called their professional partners “cowards”, while these called their novice partners “lunatics”.

While most kamikazes piloted old-fashioned and almost completely useless Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters, the Japanese elite squadrons possessed some of the best fighters that the Japanese industry produced by the end of the war, such as the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (called “Frank” by the Americans), the Kawasaki Ki-100 Goshiki or the Kawanishi N1K2 Shiden, like the one in this drawing.

Here, a “George” (name given by the Americans to the N1K2 Shiden) tangles and struggles to escape from a Fleet Air Arm Grumman F6F Hellcat that chases him, while this, at the same time, is also being chased by another George that has come to assist his partner.

Description
In contrast with the well-known kamikazes (most of whom were just young rookie pilots with only the basic knowledge on how to take off, fly straight, turn around and land), by the end of the war, some Japanese officers believed and defended the idea of creating a few (non-kamikaze) elite fighting squadrons made up of the best remaining Japanese aces (since Japan lost about the 75% of their best aces after the Battle of Midway) in a desperate attempt to try and re-gain the control of the war, or at least delay a much as possible the inevitable defeat.

Therefore, not all the Japanese were for those “Tokubetsu Kogeki Tai” or “special attack units”, referring to the “kamikazes”. This term (“kamikaze”) seems to have never been used by the Japanese themselves, and rather it was introduced by some American soldier. In this ideological conflict among the Japanese on which of these two methods (kamikazes/ non-kamikazes) was the best to stop the enemy, the kamikazes called their professional partners “cowards”, while these called their novice partners “lunatics”.

While most kamikazes piloted old-fashioned and almost completely useless Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters, the Japanese elite squadrons possessed some of the best fighters that the Japanese industry produced by the end of the war, such as the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (called “Frank” by the Americans), the Kawasaki Ki-100 Goshiki or the Kawanishi N1K2 Shiden, like the one in this drawing.

Here, a “George” (name given by the Americans to the N1K2 Shiden) tangles and struggles to escape from a Fleet Air Arm Grumman F6F Hellcat that chases him, while this, at the same time, is also being chased by another George that has come to assist his partner.