
Historical Information | |||||||||
Caption | USS Steamer Bay under attack near the Philippine Islands, 5 Jan 1945; note special attack aircraft flying past her stern ww2dbase | ||||||||
WW2-Era Location Name | Philippines | ||||||||
Date | 5 Jan 1945 | ||||||||
Photographer | Unknown | ||||||||
Source Information | |||||||||
Source | ww2dbaseUnited States Navy | ||||||||
Related Content | |||||||||
More on... |
| ||||||||
Photos on Same Day | 5 Jan 1945 | ||||||||
Licensing Information | |||||||||
Licensing | Public Domain. According to the United States copyright law (United States Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105), in part, "[c]opyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government". Please contact us regarding any inaccuracies with the above information. Thank you. |
||||||||
Metadata | |||||||||
Added By | C. Peter Chen | ||||||||
Photo Size | 324 x 254 pixels |
Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Please help us spread the word: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Visitor Submitted Comments
2.
C. Peter Chen says:
5 Jan 2014 06:30:45 PM
Leigh, first of all, thanks for visiting WW2DB!
In Japanese, suicide attack units are named "tokubetsu kogekitai", which translates to "special attack units".
What westerners traditionally referred to as "kamikaze" is actually the alternate pronunciation of "shinpu" (divine wind), which is the official name of suicide attack unit of Japanese Naval Aviation only.
While "special attack", "shinpu", and "kamikaze" are all correct in their own contexts, WW2DB chose to use the official name directly translated from Japanese.

5 Jan 2014 06:30:45 PM
Leigh, first of all, thanks for visiting WW2DB!
In Japanese, suicide attack units are named "tokubetsu kogekitai", which translates to "special attack units".
What westerners traditionally referred to as "kamikaze" is actually the alternate pronunciation of "shinpu" (divine wind), which is the official name of suicide attack unit of Japanese Naval Aviation only.
While "special attack", "shinpu", and "kamikaze" are all correct in their own contexts, WW2DB chose to use the official name directly translated from Japanese.
3. Mgr. Tomáš Bouzek says:
5 Jan 2017 01:05:45 PM
Full support, "special attack plane" is correct. During battle for Okinawa, their were also call kikusui. How was is with this name? I like "tokubetsu kogekitai". :-)
5 Jan 2017 01:05:45 PM
Full support, "special attack plane" is correct. During battle for Okinawa, their were also call kikusui. How was is with this name? I like "tokubetsu kogekitai". :-)
4. frank kelley says:
11 Nov 2019 02:30:55 PM
My father, Frank A Kelley Jr. was on the Steamer Bay although not named in the list of servicemen on board. He was a Ltjg. Anyway I can find out more about this ship?
11 Nov 2019 02:30:55 PM
My father, Frank A Kelley Jr. was on the Steamer Bay although not named in the list of servicemen on board. He was a Ltjg. Anyway I can find out more about this ship?
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
Search WW2DB

News
- » The Emperor of Japan Planned to Honor WW2-era Japanese POWs in Mongolia (4 Jul 2025)
- » US State Lawmaker John Winter Caught Using Racial Slur "Jap" and Apologized (11 Jun 2025)
- » Köln/Cologne Evacuated After Discovery of WW2 Bombs (4 Jun 2025)
- » Race, Holocaust, and African-American WW2 Histories Removed from the US Naval Academy Library (7 Apr 2025)
- » US Government Plans to Purge WW2 Information (17 Mar 2025)
- » See all news
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,178 biographies
- » 337 events
- » 45,089 timeline entries
- » 1,245 ships
- » 350 aircraft models
- » 207 vehicle models
- » 376 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 261 facilities
- » 470 book reviews
- » 28,480 photos
- » 365 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."Winston Churchill
Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!
5 Jan 2014 02:54:44 PM
Why are what have always been known as kamakazi now refered to as special attack aircraft? ls it the new term or your phrase?