KITS 10/2022

Zuikaku Fighter Squadron, aircraft carrier Zuikaku, October 1942

The appearance of the aircraft has been reconstructed

to the condition in which the Zuikaku fighters took part

in the Battle of Santa Cruz in October 1942. At that time,

the yellow identification stripe on the leading edge of

the wing was already in use. The Type 32 Zeroes was

tested aboard the Shōkaku and Zuikaku carriers from

July 1942. Some records indicate that smaller numbers

of these machines were used by both carriers as early as August 1942 during the fighting in the Solomon

Archipelago. During this period some of their fighters

operated from land bases, probably with Type 32s. During the Battle of Santa Cruz, on October 26, 1942, each

of these carriers had ten Type 32s in their armament

in addition to the Type 21s. Because of their faster dive

speed and shorter range, they were probably used

primarily for CAPs. The commander of the fighters

aboard the Zuikaku at the time was Lt. Ayao Shirane

(9 victories), who led fighter escorts in two raids on

the American task force during the battle. After the

Battle of Midway, the Japanese improved their CAPs

and patrolled in three flight levels during the Battle

of Santa Cruz. Yet they were unable to stop a group

of Dauntlesses from VB-8 and VS-8, which, without fighter escort, fought their way to the carrier Shōkaku

and damaged her. The commander of the patrolling

fighters from Zuikaku was Lt. Shigeru Araki, who was

killed a year later in combat over Rabaul.

CPO Takeo Tanimizu, Tainan Kōkūtai (II), Tainan airbase, Taiwan, September 1944

This aircraft bears a non-standard and heavily

weathered dark green paintjob. A production table of unusual finish was added probably after an

overhaul. The inscription on its side mentions aerial

combat and the shooting down of a B-24 bomber over

Kaohsiung on August 31, 1944, and the shooting down

of another B-24 during September 3. The name of the

airman is not listed, but he was the instructor of this

operational training unit, Chief Petty Officer Takeo

Tanimizu. Lt(jg) Ki-ichi Tsuda was photographed next

to the aircraft. Tainan Kōkūtai (II) shot down one B-24

of the 308th BG on August 31 and damaged another,

its wreckage was found in 1996 in Guangxi Province.

Takeo Tanimizu was born in April 1919 and completed

his flight training in March 1942. Aboard the aircraft

carrier Jun'yō, he took part in the attack on the Aleutians. He then served aboard the training aircraft carrier Kasuga Maru and in February 1943 was assigned

to the fighter unit of the Shōkaku. From November

1943 he fought in the defense of Rabaul. In March

1944, he was assigned to Tainan Kōkūtai (II) in Taiwan and had a near fatal patrol flight on November

3, 1944, during which a Mustang of the 74th FS shot

him down over a convoy entering the port of Amoy

in China. Tanimizu suffered burns and after a month

of treatment was assigned to Kōkūtai 203 in Japan.

He participated in the defense of Kyūshū and the

fighting over Okinawa. He achieved a total of 18

victories. Tanimizu died in March 2008.