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
特攻隊は、戦争末期に組織された。
The special attack units were organized in the final stages of the war.
The pilot carried out a suicide attack on the enemy ship.
彼は特攻を志願した。
He volunteered for a suicide mission.
多くの若者が特攻で散った。
Many young men died in suicide attacks.
特攻 is the broader term for any suicide attack, while 神風 refers specifically to Japan's WWII kamikaze air units.
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.
special attack unit; kamikaze unit; suicide squad
tokkōfuku; bōsōzoku-style long jacket
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.