Strana 41
Tainan Kōkūtai (II), Tainan airbase, Taiwan, summer 1944
Kōnoike Kōkūtai, Kōnoike airbase, Japan, 1944
The designation of this training unit is the
Katakana characters "Ta" and "I". The dark
green paint on the upper surfaces indicates that
the aircraft has been overhauled. The machine
was acquired from funds raised by the Tokyo
Fruit and Vegetable Commercial Association.
The second Tainan Kōkūtai was established
in April 1943 as an operational training unit.
Its home base was again Tainan, as with the
previous unit of that name, which became
Kōkūtai 251 in late 1942. When Allied air raids
on Taiwan began in the second half of the war,
the airmen of Tainan Kōkūtai (II) joined in its
defense. They fought both four-engine bombers
and their escort fighters based in China as
US Navy aircraft. Its first commander was
Capt. Shigematsu Ichimura, who was
commander of the 14th Kōkūtai in China in 1940.
The most famous instructor who served with the
unit was CPO Takeo Tanimizu, an ace with 18 kills
to his credit. In January 1945, a special attack
unit was organized from part of the Kōkūtai
and participated in Kamikaze missions.
The Kōnoike Air Group was established in
mid-February 1944 and conducted training
activities until mid-December 1944. Among its
instructors were, for example, Warrant Officer
Shigeo Sugi-o, who had over 20 victories to
his credit, Warrant Officer Momoto Matsumura
(13 victories), and Lieutenant Sumio Fukuda
(11 victories). The latter two perished in October
1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf as members
of carrier-based fighter units. Already during
the fighting in the Philippines, Kōnoike Kōkūtai
selected a number of volunteers from its ranks
for special attack (Kamikaze) missions. The final
phase of training for these Kamikaze pilots was
completed in Taiwan. The Kōnoike base had two
main runways measuring 1,800 and 1,400 meters
in length and also had a number of smaller
runways. During the autumn of 1944, the Kōnoike
airfield became the first of several bases for
the 721st Air Group, which was preparing for
the deployment of MXY-7 Ōka rocket aircraft.
In mid-February 1945, the airfield was the target
of a devastating air raid by U.S. Navy aircraft.
Some concrete shelters still survive in the area
around the base to this day.
KITS 07/2025
INFO Eduard
41
July 2025