KITS 04/2022

c/n 3372, cf. Kiku-ichi Inano, Tainan Kōkūtai, Tainan airfield, Taiwan, November 1941

This aircraft, released by Mitsubishi on October 21,

1941, became the first Zero in repairable condition to

fall into Allied hands. The legendary Tainan Kōkūtai

was established on October 1, 1941, at the Tainan base.

Most of the unit participated in combat over the Philippines, Borneo and the Dutch East Indies. A smaller

part, under the command of Lt. Kiku-ichi Inano, was

transferred to French Indochina in late November and

temporarily became part of 22. Kōkū Sentai HQ fighter squadron. The “V-172” fighter was Inano's personal

machine. During the transfer to Saigon on November

26, Inano flew aboard a transport aircraft and his

Zero was piloted by PO1c Shimezō Inoue. Inoue and

his wingman with Zero “V-174” lost their bearings in

poor weather and made an emergency landing on the

coast of the Leichou Peninsula. Both pilots were taken

prisoner by the Chinese. Inoue was repatriated after

the war. He returned to his home village with shame

over his capture, suffered from depression, and died in

a war veterans' hospital. With great effort, the Chine-

se managed to transport the Zero “V-174” to Liuchow

base, where they began repairs. The machine was given Chinese national insignia and number P-5016. It

was also tested by pilots of the American 75th FS. In

1943, the aircraft was transported to the USA, where it

received the designation EB-2, later EB-200. Lt. Inano

returned to Tainan Kōkūtai in July 1942, participated

in combat over New Guinea and Guadalcanal. From

October 1944 served as Hikōtaichō of Tainan Kōkūtai

(II) in Taiwan.

Lt. Zenjirō Miyano, 3. Kōkūtai, Poeleti airfield, Timor, March 1942

This aircraft, manufactured by Mitsubishi, was photographed in April 1942 in Rabaul with partially repainted markings that originally belonged to Lieutenant

Miyano. The bands and stripes may have been in dark

blue or black color. Zenjirō Miyano served from 1939

with the 12th Kōkūtai in China and was appointed

as a Buntaichō with the 3rd Kōkūtai in October 1941.

He participated in the campaigns in the Philippines

and the Dutch East Indies. During a raid on Broome,

Australia, on March 3, 1942, Miyano attacked a Dutch

civil DC-3. The pilot was Capt. Ivan Smirnov, a World

War I Russian fighter ace. With one engine on fire,

he managed to make an emergency landing, but the

Zero pilots killed four passengers on the ground. In

April 1942 Miyano was transferred to the 6th Kōkūtai,

which was to be based at Midway. Part of his unit

was on the way to Midway aboard the carrier Jun´yō,

which participated in the attack against Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians. Miyano also participated in the

raid. His unit was based at Rabaul from August 1942

and was redesignated Kōkūtai 204 in November.

From March 1943 Miyano took position of Hikōtaichō.

He was one of the innovators of combat tactics and

was the first to introduce the finger-four formation

in Japanese naval aviation. Miyano achieved a total

of 16 victories and was killed on June 16, 1943, over

Guadalcanal during escort of dive bombers.

Kaga Fighter Squadron, Kisarazu base, Japan, April 1942

In early 1942, the aircraft carrier Kaga took part in

attacks on Rabaul, Kavieng, targets in New Guinea

and Port Darwin. In March, her aircraft participated

in attacks against ships off Java. Due to hull damage caused by a reef in early February, Kaga was

undergoing repairs at Sasebo from March 22, 1942.

The Mitsubishi-built “AII-106” was photographed at

Kisarazu in April 1942. It bears the patriotic donation

inscription (Hōkoku) No. 532 and the name of the do-

April 2022

nor (Yamanobe-gō). It may be the name of a company

or the donor's surname. It is likely that this aircraft

participated in the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942.

Nine fighters from Kaga flew in the first attack wave,

led by Lt. Iizuka. They reported twelve victories. During the exhausting combats to cover their own task

force, the Kaga’s fighters claimed 32 aircraft destroyed. After the carrier was hit, some of them landed

aboard the HIJMS Hiryū. Two took part, as escort,

in the raid on the USS Yorktown. The Kaga's Fighter

Squadron lost six pilots during the battle, four of

them during combat air patrol. However, elite ground

personnel suffered heavy losses when the ship was

sunk. Also aboard the HIJMS Kaga were fighter pilots

and mechanics from the 6th Kōkūtai, who were to be

based at Midway Atoll after its capture. Some of them

also took part in the air battle.

INFO Eduard

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