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  The Mitsubishi Ki-15 Karigane airplane, the real "Kamikaze (神風号, Kamikaze-gō)"

  By Bruce Pennington · Posted 14 minutes ago

  Really cool, thanks for posting.     The topic has come up a couple times, recently, so I'll post this here, though it probably should go in the Books discussion thread.   "The Divine Wind", by Captain Rikihei Inoguchi and Commander Tadashi Nakajima, Bantam War Book, 1958.   Inoguchi and Nakajima were instrumental in making the Special Attach Units happen.   A couple of fascinating statements at the beginning of the book:   "On the eve of war there was a fear in Japan that revolution was imminent.  Admiral Yamamoto maintained that while civil war would not be fatal to the nation, an external war that had no chance of success would spell disaster.  Accordingly, he was vigorously opposed to the idea of going to war.  At the same time he said that as a result of the domestic situation, the evolution toward war was inevitable. .... " Vice Admiral Shigeru Fukudome   "...in an Imperial conference on September 6, 1941...a way was left open on the chance that satisfactory diplomatic arrangements could be achieved without recourse to military means.  Even if we could not win a military victory, it was incumbent upon us to resort to arms in order to remain loyal to the Japanese spirit, which had to be preserved at all costs.   After the agenda had been approved, Admiral Nagano, representing the high command, commented on this point: "It is agreed that if we do not fight now, our nation will perish.  But it may well perish even if we do fight.  It must be understood that national ruin without resistance would be ignominy."   They did a good job telling the story of how they found themselves clearly losing, yet so passionate about their cause that they would resort to this last ditch effort.  People often recoil at the Kamikaze, or Special Attack Force, concept and find it hard to comprehend, but it's not really that hard once you learn more about the people involved and the predicament they found themselves in.   And honestly, it's not that hard to understand for a warrior.  My wife, to this day, doesn't understand those of us who feel called to join the armed forces (even police force), because to her, there is nothing more important than self preservation.  Yet even for her, if her child (or favorite dog) is in danger, she would throw caution to the wind and rush protect them, not even thinking of her own safety.  The authors discuss this a bit, and mention how most people and/or soldiers are willing to risk their lives, but deep down believe they have a chance to survive.  The Kamikaze shocks the senses because the observer knows that person is making this effort knowing there is no way out.  But to the pilots of the time, they realized that for Japan, there was no way out.  The massive, overwhelming forces of the US in the Pacific made that clear.  It was amazing to read how, when briefed on the idea at first, 100% of the pilots volunteered, and those who were turned away, for whatever reason, were truly hurt.  But even this was really the strongest in the front line forces.  The military back home, in their relative safety, weren't as easily convinced.  It was seen, too, in the new pilot trainees, after all the veterans were lost.  The new guys had more skittishness, until they spent some time out on the front.   This reminds me of the book written by Japan's top ace, Saburo Sakai, "Samurai!".  He was unwilling to fly a Kamikaze mission.  Possibly this is because of his skill and success.  In his mind, there is always the chance of surviving to fight another day.
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  Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal recipient

  By svapr · Posted 1 hour ago

  Hello, thank you very much for the full answer.  
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  Post your favorite tipstaff or truncheon (for fun and in memory of Mervyn!)

  By Nightbreak · Posted 1 hour ago

  Some of the staves that I've watched go by at auction or sale the last few years.  None of them ended up in my collection, sadly, despite what I thought were fine attempts at purchase.  Others were just too damaged or unknown to me to take the risk.   BurntIsland in Fife - George IV   George III Dysart tipstaff - Top was too worn down for me to appreciate the asking price.   EHC Treasurer's Staff - William IV.  Very nice condition.  Almost too nice.   Southouse and Portington - Unknown monarch.   Another William IV Edinburgh High Constable's staff.  Notice the town crest upside down from the Coat of Arms in comparison to the Treasurer's staff.  A somewhat common sight with staves from here and Fife, but I always wonder if that's inaccurate, or if I'm looking at a magistrate's staff instead.   William IV EHC "Medical" staff to a surgeon.  Is such a thing even real?  No one would tell me while the auction was on, making bidding a bit fraught.
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  Kriegsmarine Admirals ID thread and photo Database

  By Kriegsmarine Admiral · Posted 2 hours ago

  Studio portrait of Konteradmiral Erich Förste. He was promoted to Konteradmiral on 01 November 1939; to Vizeadmiral on 01 September 1941; and to Admiral on 01 March 1943. During WW2 he held the following positions: - Commandant of the Battleship „Gneisenau“ (21 May 1938-25 November 1939) - Chief of the Central Department, Kriegsmarine-Shipyard Kiel (06 December 1939-03 February 1941) - Chief of Staff of the Kriegsmarine Shipyard Wilhelmshaven (04 February 1941-21 September 1941) - Admiral Aegean (27 September 1941-31 January 1943) - Commanding Admiral Aegean (01 February 1943-22 February 1943) - Commanding Admiral of the Naval Station of the North Sea (01 March 1943-21 June 1943) - Commander-in-Chief of the Naval High Command North Sea (22 June 1943-10 July 1945)
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  Wurtemberg Olga order

  By Stogieman · Posted 3 hours ago

  Good Morning! Very beautiful and scarce! Thanks for sharing!