*That doesn’t sound right about the kamikaze planes. Why would the Japanese bother to modify the landing gear, and how could the pilots not know what was going on?*
It’s the Japanese mind-think. A superior officer tells you to jump you don’t ask how high. You just jump. You don’t ask what’s going on. Taking off the landing gear was the message they weren’t coming back. The west will never understand and there will always be wars.
Could you provide a reference for this information about removing the kamikaze planes’ landing gear? I read a memoir by a kamikaze pilot many years ago, and I don’t remember anything about that. The pilots didn’t need any hints like their landing gear falling off; they knew quite well what was expected.