KITS 07/2022

CPO Koshirō Yamashita, 12th Kōkūtai, Hankow airfield, China, September 1940

This is an early production A6M2 Zero Type 11 with

longer rear canopy glazing, curved air intake under

the engine cowling and higher mounted exhausts.

It was Koshirō Yamashita's personal plane. At the

time he flew with the Zeros at 12th Kōkūtai he was

already thirty years old, yet he became the most

successful ace of that unit. From 1927 he served as

a fireman at the Yokosuka Naval Barracks. He became a fighter pilot in 1932. During the war against

China, he served aboard the aircraft carriers Akagi

and Ryūjō. In May 1940, he was assigned to the 12th

Kōkūtai and scored five victories on September 13

during the first engagement of Zeroes against the

enemy. His personal aircraft, 3-165, was piloted in

this action by PO2c Toshiyuki Yoneda and Yamashita

flew the 3-171. During the fighting in China, Yamashita scored a total of ten victories. He later served

as an instructor with Kasumigaura, Tainan and Tsuiki

Kōkūtai. In January 1944, he was assigned to Kōkūtai

201 on the island of Palau and was killed on March 30

in combat with US Navy aircraft.

Lt. Mitsugu Kofukuda, 14th Kōkūtai, Hanoi airfield, French Indochina, October 1940

This is a late production A6M2 Zero Type 11 with shorter rear canopy glazing, standard air intake under the

engine cowling and lower mounted exhausts. Mitsugu

Kofukuda graduated from the Naval Academy in 1931.

After fighter training, he served in several units, including the aircraft carriers Kaga and Ryūjō. From June

1938 until the end of the year, he served in China with

the 12th Kōkūtai. A year later he was assigned to the

14th Kōkūtai, which received Zero fighters in the fall of

1940. After moving to the Hanoi base in French Indo-

china, Kofukuda's unit was able to engage in combat

over southern China with new fighters. Lt. Kofukuda

with his Zero 9-182 led a fighter escort in a raid on

Kunming on October 7, and his six-man formation managed to shoot down 13 enemy aircraft. In June 1942

he held the position of Hikōtaichō with the 6th Kōkūtai,

which was to be based at Midway. The unit participated

in the fighting for Guadalcanal from August 1942 and

was redesignated Kōkūtai 204. From the spring of 1943

until the end of the war, Kofukuda served mostly with

the Yokosuka Kōkūtai. He participated in the testing

of the Heinkel He 100 and in the development of the

Mitsubishi J2M Raiden and A7M Reppu fighters. At the

end of the war he was promoted to the rank of Commander. After the war he changed his name to Terufumi Kofukuda and worked for the police. He joined the

JASDF in 1954 and retired in 1967 with the rank of Lieutenant General. He died in July 1995 at the age of 86.

PO2c Hideo Ôishi, 12th Kōkūtai, Hankow airfield, China, March 1941

This is an early production A6M2 Zero Type 11 with

longer rear canopy glazing, curved air intake under

the engine cowling and higher mounted exhausts. Hideo Ôishi, after serving on the aircraft carrier Hōshō,

began his combat activities in 1938 aboard the aircraft carrier Sōryū. He was then assigned to the 12th

Kōkūtai and was among the pilots who delivered the

new Zero fighters to the Chinese battlefield in the su-

July 2022

mmer of 1940. During the famous battle of September

13, 1940, Zero 3-173 was piloted by PO3c Hatsumasa

Yamaya who scored two victories. Ôishi became famous on October 4, 1940, when, during aerial combat

south of Chengdu, he landed with three other pilots

at an enemy base and attempted to set fire to the

parked aircraft. The 3-173 is marked with 14 victories

achieved by various pilots. Ôishi shot down two pla-

nes with it on March 14, 1941. After the disbandment

of the 12th Kōkūtai, Ôishi served with several units

as an instructor and returned to combat in June 1944

with Kōkūtai 201 in the Philippines. He was killed in

action over Cebu on September 12, 1944. He achieved

a total of six victories.

INFO Eduard

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