KITS 04/2022

Lt. Toshio Suzuki, Kōkūtai 601(I), HIJMS Zuikaku, Tawi Tawi base, Philippines, June 1944

This Nakajima-built machine was piloted by Lt.

Toshio Suzuki. He was in command of a squadron of

eleven HIJMS Zuikaku A6M2 fighter-bombers. His unit

was part of Kōkūtai 601(I). In mid-1944, the affiliation to the Zuikaku´s Carrier Air Group (Hikōkitai) was

identified by the code 312 on the tail surfaces. The

white numbers on the hinomaru were used during

training operations and were usually chalk painted. Toshio Suzuki was born in Mitsukaidō in Ibaraki

Prefecture and graduated from the Etajima Naval

Academy in 1941. As a cadet, he was assigned aboard

the cruiser Suzuya. After completing flight training,

he was assigned to Kōkūtai 601(I) in May 1944 and

promoted to Lieutenant. Squadrons of Kōkūtai 601(I)

were divided into CAGs on boards of Taihō, Shōkaku

and Zuikaku. In addition to Suzuki's fighter-bombers,

Zuikaku had 24 A6M5 “Zeke” fighters, a dive-bomber

squadron with 18 D4Y “Judy” and three D3A “Val”, 14

B6N “Jill” torpedo bombers, and a reconnaissance

squadron with several “Judy” and “Val” machines.

Kōkūtai 601(I) engaged in the Battle of the Philippine

Sea on June 19 and suffered devastating losses. Lt.

Suzuki led a ten-man A6M2 formation in the second

wave, along with four A6M5 fighters and four “Jill”

bomber crews. However they failed to find their target, and the American fighters shot down one bomber and eight A6M2s, including Suzuki's. Taihō and

Shōkaku were sunk after a submarine attack, and

Zuikaku was damaged by bombing.

1st Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kōgekitai, Shikishima-tai, Mabalacat airfield, Phillipines, October 1944

The Nakajima-built “02-888” belonged to first official

Kamikaze unit in the history of the Japanese Naval

Air Force. As part of the 1st Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kōgekitai, a total of nine groups of airmen were organized, mostly from Kōkūtai 201. Their target was Task

Force Taffy 3 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Shikishima unit was named after the poetic term used

for the island of Yamato (Honshū), or also old Japan.

Its commander was Lt. Yukio Seki. He was born in 1921

and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1941. He

first served on the battleship Fusō, then experienced

the Battle of Midway on the seaplane carrier Chitose.

In 1943 he completed basic flight training and later

received training on carrier bombers. In September

1944, he was assigned in the Philippines to Kōkūtai

201, which specialized in skip bombing with A6M fighters. The unit suffered heavy losses during September and October. Replacements were taken over

in Mabalacat from other units, including Hikōtai 602

(Kōkūtai 381), from which machine “02-888” appears

to have originated. On October 25, Lt. Seki led one

of seven groups of Zero pilots equipped with bombs

who sacrificed themselves in an attack on American

vessels. Seki's fighter escort was provided by legendary fighter pilot Hiroyoshi Nishizawa of Kōkūtai 203.

Lieutenant Seki or one of his wingmen hit the aircraft

carrier USS St. Lo, which sank after 30 minutes. Of

the 889 crew members, 113 were killed or missing

and about thirty others died of their injuries.

Ôita Kōkūtai, Ôita Airport, Japan, early 1944

This Nakajima-built machine served with the training unit Ôita Kōkūtai. It bore orange paint on the

undersurfaces and had a non-standard dark green

paint on the undercarriage covers and part of the

undersurfaces. The characters in the Katakana “O”

and “Ta” are the unit markings. The machine carries

warning stencils on both sides of the fuselage. The

vertical rectangle reads “87A” as a warning that the

aircraft uses 87 octane fuel instead of the 91 octane

54

INFO Eduard

fuel used in Sakae 12 engines in combat units. In the

horizontal rectangle is the warning “būsuto” (boost).

It draws attention to the lower boost pressure limit

associated with 87 octane fuel. Exceeding it threatened engine damage. The late production A6M2s from

Nakajima may have had the engine cowling painted

black instead of antiglare blue-black. The outer fuselage sections below the cockpit canopy and canopy

frames may have been painted in interior green or

camouflage dark green. The Ôita Kōkūtai was established in 1938 and was used for training until March

1944. Many famous aviators passed through its ranks.

Combat veterans were also assigned to this unit as

instructors, such as Kaneyoshi Mutō, who served with

the unit after his combat duty in China and five victories of his total 28.

April 2022