Strana 87
BUILT
A6M5 Zero Type 52, probably c/n 4271, Lt. Yukio Seki, 1st Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kōgekitai,
Shikishima-tai, Mabalacat airfield, Phillipines, October 1944
In October 1944, as part of the 1st Kamikaze
Tokubetsu Kōgekitai, the first nine groups of
kamikaze pilots were organized, mostly from
Kōkūtai 201, including the Shikishima unit.
Its CO was Lieutenant Yukio Seki. He was born
in 1921 (NA 70th class, 1941), he initially served
on the battleship Fusō then experienced the
Battle of Midway aboard the seaplane tender
Chitose. In September 1944, he was assigned to
Kōkūtai 201 in the Philippines, where he helped
train pilots in skip bombing. After suffering
heavy losses, the unit received replacement
aircraft from other formations at Mabalacat,
including Hikōtai 602 (Kōkūtai 381), from which
aircraft 02-112 originated. On October 25, Seki
led one of seven groups of Zero pilots in an
attack on Taffy 3 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf,
escorted by fighter ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa
from Kōkūtai 203. The aircraft, most likely
piloted by Seki, struck the escort carrier USS
St. Lo, which sank after 30 minutes. Of the
889 crew members, 113 were killed or went
missing, while about thirty others later died
from their injuries. One of the survivors, ACOM
Earl F. Roberts, found a A6M5 Mitsubishi Co. tail
data plate no. 2968 before abandoning the ship.
From this, it is estimated that the aircraft's
serial number was likely 4271 and that it was
manufactured between late October and early
November 1943.
INFO Eduard
87
June 2025