Admiral Matome Ugaki’s Final Kamikaze

Japanese admiral Matome Ugaki, who commanded kamikaze operations during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, personally flew on one of the final suicide missions of the war. After Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender on August 15, 1945, Ugaki refused to accept the decision and organized one last kamikaze sortie. That evening he boarded a Yokosuka D4Y “Judy” dive bomber and took off with several volunteers on a suicide mission toward American ships near Okinawa. The aircraft never returned, and Ugaki was presumed killed in the attack.

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