MovieChat Forums > Wake Island (1942) Discussion > Did the Japanese really shoot Parachutin...

Did the Japanese really shoot Parachuting pilots?

posted 17 years ago by electrictroy
7 replies | jump to latest

It's sometimes hard to tell what actually happened, and what is Hollywood Fiction.

[–] m1rock 17 years ago

I'd say they probably did. I think both sides did.

Just a slight correction regarding historical fact.
Americans could not shoot Japanese descending in Parachutes, for the simple fact that Japanese did not wear Parachutes. If they were hit, and knew they were going down, their code of conduct ( Bushido) dictated that they try and crash into the enemy.
Later codified for the "Kamikazies".

[–] m1rock 16 years ago

Many did not wear parachutes but some did. I believe they had them but many simply decided not to wear them. I have seen combat footage of Japanese with parachutes (and one trying to deploy a parachute but not succeeding as it was ripped from his body) though so to say they did not have them would be false.

[–] vawlkee_2000 16 years ago

I hate to disagree with you but most of the time the japs DID wear 'chutes!...I'm a WWII historian and can positively prove that in MOST cases they did.
Yeah, you're right about 'em doin' the crash and burn bit - after a fact...Point is, they did wear parachutes almost all the time.

[–] rmax304823 16 years ago

Later in the war they certainly did. So did we.

[–] TorontoJediMaster 14 years ago

There were instances of this happening, on both sides in the Pacific War.

I saw an interview once, with a former USAAF fighter pilot, who had served in the European Theatre. He said that he saw a German fighter shoot at the bailed out crew of an American bomber. He then quite frankly admitted that he went after this German, shot at him, forced him to bail out, and methodically strafed him in his parachute until he either ran out of ammunition or, was forced to leave him to re-engage in the battle.

So, I think it happened on all fronts, but was probably more common in the Pacific Theatre due to the genuine hatred the two sides generally had for each other. (As opposed to the European Theatre where there could be -sometimes, but always- a professional respect between the combatants.)

[–] rmax304823 14 years ago

I guess I agree that it happened on both fronts but I doubt it was very common in Europe -- more like an individual moral act, or immoral. There is an account of a P-51 pilot disabling a German fighter. The pilot bailed out and didn't immediately pull the cord. As he zipped past the American airplane, he was in an upright position and holding a salute.

The Pacific was, as you say, a different matter. My main source was Lopes' "Into the Teeth of the Tiger," in which the author admits that both sides routinely shot the other in parachutes.