KITS 12/2021

PO1c Yoshikazu Nagahama, Kaga Fighter Squadron, second attack wave

The nine Zeros of the aircraft carrier Kaga were led in the second wave by Lt. Yasushi Nikaidō and destroyed six and ten aircraft

respectively at Hickam and Wheeler field. PO1c Nagahama, who had served on Kaga since 1939, took part in the attack. During

the raid on Darwin on February 19, 1942 he scored five victories in one combat sortie. As first he shot down a Catalina from

Patrol Wing 10. Unable to find his formation, he attacked five P-40s from the 33rd PS alone, shooting down four of them and then

setting another flying boat afloat on fire. Other Kaga fighters apparently attacked the same P-40s. During the Battle of Midway,

Nagahama took part in the first attack wave, and after his return, he participated in the destruction of the Devastators from the

USS Hornet. He took part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons while aboard Zuikaku. During a patrol on August 26 he shared

destruction of Catalina from VP-14 (damaged as well on December 7, 1941). During the Battle of Santa Cruz on October 26 he

shared several victories over F4Fs, including Lt. (jg) Paul Landry of VF-72. Nagahama was killed in an accident on September 6,

1943 in Japan while on duty at Tsuiki Kōkūtai. He is credited with 10 (or 13) victories and achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer.

c/n 3277, Lt. Fusata Iida, Sōryū Fighter Squadron, second attack wave

In the second attack wave, Sōryū sent nine Zeros under the command of Lt. Fusata Iida against Kaneohe airfield and destroyed

six flying boats. On return flight Iida signaled that he was running out of fuelBecause of that he returned and decided to crash his

aircraft into a hangar at Kaneohe, but missed the target. Iida's flight hood was returned to his relatives in 1999 by the daughter of

Mr. Sam Chun, who took it off from Iida´s head after the crash. His body was buried with military honors and he was posthumously promoted two grades. There is also testimony that Iida did not believe in the success of the war against the US and his

Zero was not low on fuel. There is now a memorial at the site of the crash. Due to the ground fire and attacks of P-36 pilots from

the 45th FS, Iida's formation lost two more Zeros and one suffered serious damage. Two P-36s were shot down. Iida was born

on December 2, 1913. He first served as an instructor with the Kasumigaura Kōkūtai, and in September 1940 he was assigned to

the 12th Kōkūtai in China, which tested Zero fighters in combat. In a raid on Chengdu on October 26, his formation claimed ten

aircraft without loss. Nevertheless, Iida expressed his disapproval of the way the war against China was being conducted. From

September 1941, he served as Buntaichō of the aircraft carrier Sōryū's fighters until December 7, 1941.

INFO Eduard - December 2021

eduard

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