Seaplane A6M2-N from Tōkō Kōkūtai moored off the shore in the Aleutians. Note the lighter colouring of the

control surfaces. It is possible that some sort of waterproofing is stuck to the top of the wing to cover the edges

of the cannon hatches.

Commanding officer of Yokohama Kōkūtai Capt.

Miyazaki was formally in command of the unit

until October 1, 1942, when he was posthumously

promoted to Rear Admiral. According to the

testimony of one of Japanese prisoners,

Miyazaki committed suicide by explosive in

a dugout on August 8. One of his former

colleagues in the Geneva Naval Conference

negotiations, Rear Admiral William Ward Smith,

commanded Cruiser Division 9 at the time with

the cruisers USS Indianapolis and USS Louisville

during the Battle of the Aleutians.

Aleutians and Kurils

The first unit to engage the enemy with Rufes

was Tōkō Kōkūtai. Formed in late 1940, it was

deployed at the start of the war in the Pacific

during the conquest of the Philippines and the

Dutch East Indies. In June 1942, with six H6K

Mavis flying boats, this unit was deployed in

the capture of Attu and Kiska Islands in the

Aleutians. Protection for the invasion force

was provided by floatplanes from the seaplane

tenders Kamikawa Maru and Kimikawa Maru.

The command soon recognized that to fight

the Americans in the Aleutian area, fighter

Photo: ©Izawa

along with other units, engaged in ground

combat. Miyazaki's last radio message was,

“Enemy troop strength is overwhelming.

We will defend to the last man. Pray for our

success.” Improvising under harsh conditions,

the defenders under Miyazaki's command

performed superbly. In the first landing on

August 7, they inflicted 10% casualties on the

American troops, and the defenses on some

islands persisted until noon on August 9.

Five Rufe pilots were killed on Tanambogo Island

on August 8 in action against U.S. Marines. They

succeeded in setting fire to a Stuart tank of 1st

Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines. Of the

three tankers, two were killed and one was

wounded. Forty-two defenders were killed,

including the executive officer of the Yokohama

Kōkūtai, Lt. Cdr. Saburō Katsuta, who was last

seen on the tank’s turret.

Lt. Satō escaped to Halavo Island with about

forty men and was killed with thirteen of them

in a battle with members of the 2nd Marines

on September 19. Only one of his pilots was

captured, it was Warrant Officer Yomichio

Hirahashi.

Patrol flights continued from Shortland for

several days in late August under the command

of Ensign Kofuji, but on September 2, 1942, the

Yokohama Kōkūtai fighter unit was disbanded

and the personnel and remaining Rufe seaplanes

were taken over by the Kamikawa Maru.

Photo: ©Izawa

HISTORY

In this photo taken in August 1942, some of the fighter pilots of the 5th Kōkūtai are posing at the Kiska base. Rear row from the left: Sea2c Hachirō Narita, next to him stands

the most successful fighter pilot in the Aleutian area, PO2c Gi-ichi Sasaki, PO2c Saishi Okawa and the last airman is probably leader of fighter unit Kushichirō Yamada.

Front row from the left: Sea2c Minoru Minazawa and Sea2c Yoshio Suzuki. Sasaki and Okawa were killed during raids against Amchitka. The Rufe R-106 has a partially

visible convex cowling located on top of the main float. An E16A Jake seaplane can be seen in the background.

April 2023

INFO Eduard

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