Looking forward to this!
Crazy to think someone would actually climb into this willingly
Doubt they really had a choice in the matter.
Yeah, it was probably along the lines of, "University Student, in service of your Emperor, it has been decided you are going to be dropped from a Bomber. This can go two ways."
A very interesting subject and cool looking model.
There are a few documentary's and books on the Kamikaze program which sheds some light on the training and tactics. I originally thought everyone jumped at the chance for the one way trip. According to some sources the officer who created the first Kamikaze program survived the war. The link is a single source but interesting read none the less.
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/11/kamikaze-pilots-chosen/
Cheers James
To add a bit to this story, Saburo Sakai and some of his fellow aviators were sent on a ( non volunteer )Kamikaze mission but returned to base, being unable to find the target. He had at least 28 victories ranking him fourth for the war for Japan
The aircraft was very simple, being made from "non-strategic" materials (mainly wood and steel). To save weight, it was to use a jettison-able undercarriage (there was to be no landing), so a simple welded steel tube undercarriage was attached to the aircraft.[2] This, however, was found to give unmanageable ground-handling characteristics, so a simple shock absorber was then incorporated. The cross section of the fuselage was circular and not elliptical as were most planes of this size and type; such a fuselage was easier to make.
Tsurugi had an instrument panel with some flight instruments; rudder pedals in addition to joystick type control column, and also a place for a radio. Flight controls included both ailerons and elevators and (in production versions) flaps.
The Ki-115 was designed to be able to use any engine that was in storage for ease of construction and supply, and to absorb Japan's stocks of obsolete engines from the 1920s and 1930s. The initial aircraft (Ki-115a) were powered by 858-kilowatt (1,151 hp) Nakajima Ha-35 radial engines. It is not known if any other engine was ever actually fitted.
After testing the first production aircraft were fitted with the improved undercarriage and two rocket units. These may have assisted with take-off[2] or may have been designed for the final acceleration towards the targe