suicide attack; kamikaze attack
Abbreviation of 特別攻撃 (special attack). Historically refers to Japanese WWII suicide attacks, but can also be used in modern contexts for any self-sacrificial assault.
See also: 特別攻撃
The pilot carried out a suicide attack on the enemy ship.
The special attack units were organized in the final stages of the war.
He volunteered for a suicide mission.
Many young men died in suicide attacks.
特攻 refers specifically to a military suicide attack (like kamikaze missions), while 自爆 is broader and can also describe civilian bombings or purely figurative self-sabotage.
神風 originally means the divine winds that repelled the Mongol invasions and only later became a nickname for 特攻 pilots, so it is not a precise military term the way 特攻 is.
Standard kanji spelling for the abbreviation of 特別攻撃.
Abbreviation of 特別攻撃 (tokubetsu kōgeki, 'special attack'). The term became widely known during WWII for Japanese suicide attack units.