KITS 04/2023
Kōkūtai 452, Bettobi Lake, Shumshu Islands, Kuriles, July 1943
This aircraft was taken over by Kōkūtai 452 in
Japan after evacuation from Aleutians. The top of
the main float did not have purge system cover.
At the unit level, the aircraft received a coat of
dark green paint. The aircraft probably had a late
production stencil on the fuselage. Among the
successful pilots of this unit was Warrant Officer
Kiyomi Katsuki. He served on the seaplane tender
Chitose at the start of the Pacific War as a F1M
biplane pilot. In January 1942, he claimed shared
destruction of Dutch PBY flying boat. In the
Solomon Islands area, he shot down a Dauntless
on October 3 and during the following day, while
defending his own ship, he rammed a B-17 of the
72nd BS. The entire crew of Capt. David C. Everitt
was killed, but Katsuki and his observer survived.
Katsuki received a written commendation from
the unit commander. He achieved two more
victories during the same day. After retraining
to A6M2-N, he was assigned to Kōkūtai 452 and
claimed B-25 and B-24. With N1K Rex at Kōkūtai
934 he shot down a B-24 in January 1944. He
achieved two more victories as Zero pilot with
Kōkūtai 381 over Balikpapan and Singapore. At
the end of the war, he served with Kōkūtai 352
in Japan.
Kōkūtai 802, Emidj Island, Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands, October 1943
This late production aircraft was finished in
a factory applied dark green paint. After relocation
to the Marshall Islands area in March 1943, Kōkūtai
802 under the command of Lt.(jg) Yamazaki was
primarily engaged in anti-submarine patrols and
the pursuit of four-engine bombers. Long-range
April 2023
reconnaissance was carried out by another part
of this unit, which was armed with H8K Emily
flying boats. In September 1943, the designation
of its aircraft was changed to Y4 in connection
with the transition to the subordination of the
22nd Kōkū Sentai (Air Flotilla). The identification
markings on the tail surfaces of Rufe seaplanes
changed from red to white during service in
the Marshall Islands. In October, fighter unit of
Kōkūtai 802 was integrated into Kōkūtai 902, and
in November, the fighter unit clashed with US
Navy aircraft during a raid on Truk.
INFO Eduard
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