Approximately how many Japanese kamikaze pilots died in combat attacks during World War II?

In World War II, about 3,800 Japanese kamikaze pilots died in combat situations. Kamikazes were suicide pilots who attacked Allied warships in the Pacific Ocean. The word kamikaze means "divine wind". It refers to an event in Japanese history where an enemy fleet was destroyed by a typhoon in the 13th century.

In 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese were defeated in many important battles. They lost many ships and airplanes. In 1943 and 1944 Allied forces moved towards Japan. They pushed the Japanese back to the Philippines, a very important island group for Japan. The Japanese military found itself and Allied forces located between the oil fields of Southeast Asia and Japan.

The Japanese were not able to replace the many ships and planes that they lost in battles in the latter phase of the war. They did not have the industries which existed in America. Japanese admirals realized that it was almost impossible to win against the Allied troops with less aircraft and good pilots dying.

For obvious reasons, Japan decided to form special attack units. Pilots volunteered for missions. It was their task to crash into Allied ships and kill as many sailors as possible. The first suicide attacks took place in October 1944.

Kamikaze attacks were successful at first. The Japanese built cheap planes with older engines. After takeoff, pilots dropped their landing gear. The gear was recovered and reused. The kamikazes killed over 7000 American and Allied sailors.