Giretsu Kuteitai History . After USAAF B - 29 Superfortress strategic bomber s began attacks on Tokyo from bases in the Mariana Islands , the 1st Raiding Brigade of the " Teishin Shudan " was ordered to form a commando unit for a “ special operations ” mission to attack and destroy the bombers on the Aslito Airfield on Saipan . Captain Michiro Okuyama , commander of the Brigade ' s engineering company and trained in sabotage and demolition was selected as mission leader , and he selected an additional 126 men from his own team ( 1st " Teishin - Dan " 1st Regiment 4th Company ) to form the first " Giretsu " Airborne Unit . It was initially organized with a command section and five platoons and one independent squad , based at the IJA air academy at Saitama . The group unit also included eight intelligence officer s and two radio men from the Nakano School . Tactics . The " Giretsu " operations were to be undertaken at night , beginning with air strikes by bombers . After this , commando units would be inserted onto the target airfield by crash landing their transports . The fact that there was no provision for extraction of the strike force , along with the rejection of surrender in Japanese military doctrine at the time , meant that the " Giretsu " ground operations were effectively suicide attack s . Operations . The attack against the Marianas was scheduled for 24 December 1944 , but was called off after American raids damaged the planned refueling airfields on Iwo Jima . After the Marianas raid was cancelled plans were made to attack airfields on Iwo Jima captured by the United States Marine Corps in March , but these too were cancelled when the Iwo Jima garrison fell . On 1 April , US forces landed on Okinawa , and American fighters based on Okinawa ' s west coast intercepted and shot down many kamikaze aircraft attacking the American fleet . In the middle of April , the Sixth Air Army requested the deployment the " Giretsu " Special Forces to neutralize these airfields , in what was designated " Operation " Gi - gou " " . On 18 May , this was authorized . On the night of 24 May 1945 , 12 Ki - 21 - IIb s of " Daisan Dokuritsu Hikotai " ( " 3rd Independent Squadron " : 32 crew members commanded by Captain Chuichi Suwabe ) were dispatched for a strike , each with 14 commandos . Eight were assigned to Yontan and four to Kadena . Four aircraft aborted the mission with engine problems , and three more were shot down , however five managed to crash - land at Yontan airfield during the confusion caused by a diversionary attack by some 50 IJAAF and IJN bombers and fighters . Only one plane landed successfully . About 10 surviving raiders , armed with submachine gun s and various explosives then wreaked havoc on the supplies and nearby aircraft , killed two US servicemen , destroyed 70 , 000 gallons of fuel and nine aircraft , and damaged 29 more before being annihilated by the defenders . One survivor joined the Thirty - Second Army Headquarters around 12 June . A second large - scale attack on bases in the Marianas with the specific intent of destroying B - 29 Superfortress bombers was again planned with 60 transports and 900 commandos for the nights of 19 – 23 August 1945 ( Operation " Ken - gou " ) . On 15 August , Japan surrendered and the operation was canceled . Uniforms and equipment . " Giretsu " personnel wore special hand - made camouflage uniforms and carried special equipment . Most were armed with Type 100 submachine gun s , Type 99 rifle s , Type 99 light machine gun s , and Type 30 bayonet s , Type 89 Grenade Discharger s , Type 99 Grenade s and Type 99 mine s , as well as Type 94 8 mm Pistol s .