KITS 04/2022

c/n 1503, Warrant Officer Kan-ichi Kashimura, Kōkūtai 582, Buin airfield, Bougainville Island, March 1943

Nakajima machine built ca August 1942. Its wreckage

was found on Pavuvu Island and it is believed that

W. O. Kashimura was lost with it on March 6, 1943.

He remained missing after an air battle off Russel

Island while escorting bombers, probably shot down

by S/Sgt Robert H. Bahner, SBD gunner from VMSB132. American crew described color of Kashimura´s

Zero as “greenish yellow”. Kashimura served successively with Ômura, Tokosuka and Kanoya Kōkūtai

from 1934. In late 1937, he was transferred to 13th

Kōkūtai in China. During the battle near Nanchang on

December 9, 1937, he shot down one enemy aircraft

and collided with another. Kashimura's A5M lost big

part of port wing, but he managed to regain control

just above the ground. He flew about 600 km back

to his base in Shanghai and managed to make an

emergency landing. The circumstances of this action

were detailed in the Japanese press and his aircraft

was displayed in Japan. In March 1938, Kashimura was transferred to the Yokosuka Kōkūtai, but he

returned to the Chinese battlefield in late 1939 and

served three months with the 12th Kōkūtai. He then

returned to the Yokosuka Kōkūtai. During the Doolittle

Raid, Kashimura was in the air but mistook a B-25

bomber for a Japanese aircraft. In December 1942, he

was transferred to Kōkūtai 582 stationed in Rabaul.

He was considered an excellent aviator and theoretician but used very harsh training methods. He had a

total of 12 victories including 10 in China.

Jun´yō Fighter Squadron, Buin airfield, Bougainville Island, April 1943

This aircraft, manufactured by Nakajima, was photographed in April 1943 during Operation “I-gō”. The

code “2-1” is the designation of the 2nd Carrier Division

(Kōkū Sentai), which HIJM Jun'yō was 1st carrier. The

horizontal bar below the code identifies the leader

of a Shōtai, which was usually a formation of three

machines. In early 1943, an improvised green paint

was applied to the Zeros. The colors chosen and the

execution of the paint varied from unit to unit. During

this period, among the notable fighter pilots of the

unit were Buntaichō Lt. Yasuhiro Shigematsu (10 v.),

W. O. Tomita Atake (10 v.), and W. O. Shizuo Ishi-i (29

v.). The aircraft carrier Jun'yō was completed in May

1942, whereupon she participated in the attack against the Aleutians, took part in the Battle of Santa Cruz,

and escorted army convoys bound for New Guinea. In

April 1943 her Air Group operated independently from

Rabaul and surrounding bases, including Buin, then

withdrew to Truk. From July the Air Group was again

based in Buin until September 1, 1943, when its fighter

pilots were taken over by the decimated Kōkūtai 204.

In November of that year the Jun´yō Air Group was reformed and in January 1944 moved again to Rabaul,

where it fought for a month. Jun´yō participated also in

the Battle of the Philippine Sea and then remained in

Japan until the end of the war. Jun´yō Fighter Squadron scored more than 90 confirmed victories.

Hikōtai 303, Kōkūtai 203, Musashi airbase, Paramushir Island, Kuril Islands, April 1944

This Nakajima-built aircraft was assigned to one of the

formation leaders of Hikōtai 303, part of Kōkūtai 203,

established in April 1943 from the training Atsugi Kōkūtai. At that time, this unit was armed with Zeros and

“Gekkō” (Irving) night fighters. From April 1944 it defended the northern part of the Kuril Islands. From May,

Kōkūtai 203 fighters clashed with American crews of

Ventura and Liberator bombers. In some cases, the

Americans had to make emergency landings on So-

April 2022

viet territory. Among the experienced aviators of this

unit was Japan's most successful naval fighter pilot,

Hiroyoshi Nishizawa. He served with Kōkūtai 203 from

March 1944 and was assigned to its Hikōtai 303 in July.

However, he did not record any victories in the Kuril

Islands area. In this period Nishizawa wrote document

about air combat basics due to high losses of naval

aviation units and the inexperience of the new unit commanders. Since the fall of 1944, Kōkūtai 203 had seen

combat at Okinawa, in the Philippines, and in Taiwan.

At the time of the fighting in the Philippines, Hikōtai

303 was temporarily assigned to Kōkūtai 201. In 1945,

Kōkūtai 203 was deployed in the defense of Japan, and

its structure expanded up to five Hikōtais by the end

of the war, with a total of 240 fighter aircraft. Kōkūtai

203 was also involved in fighter escorts of Kamikaze

formations, including G4M “Betty” bombers with Ōka

rocket powered aircraft.

INFO Eduard

53