KITS 12/2022

Iwakuni Kōkūtai, Iwakuni airbase, Japan, 1944

The markings of this training unit are the Katakana characters "I" and "Ha". The Iwakuni Kōkūtai was

established in July 1940 and was used to train pilots for naval units operating from land bases until

August 1944. It was then disbanded and re-established in March 1945. Fighter aces Akio Matsuba

(18 victories), Momoto Matsumura (13 v.) or veteran

of the aircraft carrier veteran Sōryū Ki-ichi Oda

(9 v.) passed through its ranks as instructors. Hiroshi

Shibagaki came through the unit as a student pilot,

achieving thirteen victories in Rabaul with Kōkūtai

201 and 204. Another successful graduate became

a Lt.(jg) Kagemitsu Matsu-o. In August 1943, he

was assigned to Rabaul to Kōkūtai 253 and, with

more than ten kills to his credit, became the only

Naval Reserve officer to achieve ace status.

Lt.(jg) Takeyoshi Ôno, Kōkūtai 251, Rabaul airbase, New Britain, May 1943

Originally manufactured with grey paint on all surfaces,

the machine carries a specific design of green camouflage applied in field conditions. The green paint was

probably applied with a mop or broom. Kōkūtai 251 was

renamed in November 1942 from the legendary Tainan

Kōkūtai fighter unit. However, due to heavy losses, it had

to be withdrawn to Japan at the end of the year. When

it prepared for another combat deployment to Rabaul

in the spring of 1943, only 11 of its original pilots remained. However, the Allied airmen were an even

tougher opponent than in 1942, and Kōkūtai 251 lost 17

aircraft during its first three combat sorties in May and

June. The commander of the 1st Chūtai was Lt.(jg) Ôno.

He was born in 1921 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. He graduated from the 68th Naval Academy Class

in 1940 and after pilot training was assigned to Tainan

Kōkūtai. He achieved his first victory on 27 August 1942

at Buna in combat with a P-39 and added four more

victories by the end of 1942. By the time he returned

to Rabaul in May 1943, he had already been appointed

as Buntaichō and often led the entire unit in combat.

He achieved a total of eight victories, but was killed

in aerial combat at Rendova on June 30, 1943.

Kōkūtai 251, Rabaul airbase, New Britain, May 1943

For most naval fighter units that applied green paint

in field conditions, the method of painting was similar within the unit. The exception is Kōkūtai 251,

which used very varied patterns of green paint. The

unit designation code was U1, but this was repainted

on the machines at the time of deployment to Rabaul.

December 2022

U1-109 was photographed on May 23, 1943 flying in

a formation of six Zeros during a patrol over New Britain. The photographs were taken by war correspondent Hajime Yoshida. The U1-109 flew as the wingman

of the first Shōtai leader, who was the controls of

U1-105, which is incorrectly attributed to Nishizawa.

Kōkūtai 251 lost a total of 34 pilots during its deployment to the Rabaul and Solomon Islands area from

May to the end of August 1943. In September 1943, its

status was therefore changed to a night fighter with

twin-engine Irving aircraft, and its remaining Zer

pilots were assigned to other units in Rabaul.

INFO Eduard

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