KITS 06/2023
c/n 5289, PO1c Takashi Hirano, Akagi Fighter Squadron, December 1941
This Zero was manufactured by Mitsubishi,
finished on August 9, 1941. It was one of the
aircraft that were equipped with additional
aileron mass balance. The design of the Roman
numeral on this aircraft differed slightly on the
right and left side of the tail. During the attack
on Pearl Harbor it was flown by Takashi Hirano
as a wingman of Lt. Cdr. Shigeru Itaya who led
43 Zero fighters, including nine from Akagi. Itaya’s
own Akagi formation shot down one sightseeing
and three training aircraft. Then, at John Rodgers,
Hickam and Ewa airfields, they destroyed about 25
aircraft and also attacked incoming B-17s. Hirano
first shot down a Piper Cub near the Nuuanu
Pali mountain pass in cooperation with Itaya’s
second wingman. Piper pilot Marcus F. Poston
bailed out. Itaya and his wingmen damaged and
set afire a B-17C of the 7th BG flown by the crew
led by Capt. Swenson. The bomber broke in half
on the ground and the fighters strafed its fleeing
crew. Hirano mortally wounded the passenger,
1st Lt. (Dr.) William R. Schick, Flight Surgeon of
the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron. However, the
Hirano struck the ground, lost its auxiliary tank,
damaged the propeller, and suffered an engine
stall. Flying low between buildings, he then hit an
obstacle, killing both himself and four American
soldiers. A map was found in the wreckage of
the Zero and with this information the Americans
attempted to search for the Japanese task force.
c/n 5404, PO3c Yoshirō Hashiguchi, 3. Kōkūtai, Kendari airfield, Dutch East Indies, March 1942
This aircraft left Mitsubishi factory on November
10, 1941 and was equipped with ailerons without
additional mass balance. Its pilot was Yoshirō
Hashiguchi (born 1918, Fukuoka). He completed his
flight training in September 1938 and after further
training with several units was assigned to the
12th Kōkūtai in China in June 1939. However, he
was wounded in a Chinese raid on his unit’s base
and after recovering he became an instructor with
the Suzuka Kōkūtai in January 1940. In November
June 2023
1941 he was assigned to the 3rd Kōkūtai and
successively fought in the Philippines, the Dutch
East Indies or Guadalcanal and participated also
in the raids on Australia. He returned to Japan in
June 1943 and served as an instructor with the Ôita
Kōkūtai. In December he was assigned to Kōkūtai
601 as a member of the carrier fighter squadron
of the IJN Shōkaku and survived the Battle of the
Philippine Sea. In July 1944 he was transferred to
Hikōtai 164 as part of Kōkūtai 653 and took part in
the Battle of Cape Engaño aboard the IJN Chiyoda
on October 25. He made several operational
sorties during the battle but remained missing
after the sinking of the carrier. The total number
of Hashiguchi’s victories is not precisely known but
is reported to be in excess of ten. At the time of his
death, he held the rank of Chief Petty Officer and
was posthumously promoted to Warrant Officer.
INFO Eduard
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