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PO1c Saburō Sakai, Tainan Kōkūtai, Lakunai airfield, Rabaul, New Britain island, August 1942

Saburō Sakai is best known Japanese fighter pilot, thanks to his memoirs and meetings with Allied airmen after World War II. He was born in 1916 and served

from September 1938 with the 12th Kōkūtai in China. In October 1941, he was assigned to the newly organized Tainan Kōkūtai in Taiwan and took part in campaign

heading South until he was wounded on August 7, 1942 off Guadalcanal. After recovering, he served as an instructor with Ōmura Kōkūtai, and later, despite bad

eyesight, was combat deployed with Yokosuka Kōkūtai on Iwo Jima. At the end of war he served with Kōkūtai 343 (II) and Yokosuka Kōkūtai. He is listed as an ace

with 64 victories, but Sakai himself claimed the number of his victories was lower. With the first two units he actually achieved 12 individual victories, 8 shared

and 4 probables. The V-128 was also flown by PO2c Arita and PO1c Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, who is credited with 87 victories. The color of the stripes is chosen from

Sakai's recollection, but there are other interpretations, such as a black or yellow stripe on the fuselage. During a fighter escort to Guadalcanal on August 7, Sakai

shot down Wildcat "F12" from VF-5 piloted by "Pug" Southerland in an epic dogfight. Sakai was later severely wounded in the face by fire from VB-6 Dauntless near

Tulagi Island. After nearly five hours and more than 1,000 km, he managed to land back at Rabaul.

Sakai died in 2000 after formal dinner with members of the US Navy.

ACCESSORIES USED:

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A6M2 wheels (Brassin)

A6M2 engine PRINT (Brassin)

A6M undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)

A6M2 seat PRINT (Brassin)

A6M2 exhaust PRINT (Brassin)

A6M2 langing flaps PRINT (Brassin)

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INFO Eduard - FEBRUARY 2022

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