KITS 12/2022

Rabauru Kōkūbuntai, Lakunai airfield, Rabaul, New Britain, second half 1943

This aircraft was finalized with grey paint on all surfaces. On the combat unit level, it was supplemented

with dark green paint, which had peeled off in many

places during operational service. When green paint

was applied in field conditions, it may not have been the

only paint used for Japanese aircraft. At Rabaul it may

have been paint from captured RAAF stocks, or paint

intended for Japanese warships. In the second half of

1943, the markings of fighter units at Rabaul changed,

and numerals ranging from 1 to 9 began to be used,

the assignment of which to individual units has not yet

been reliably determined. Aircraft with these markings

are unofficially assigned to a combat group called

Rabauru Kōkūbuntai (Rabaul Air Force). There are several theories to explain the meaning of these numerical

designations. One is the assignment of numerical codes

to the parts of the fighter units operating in Rabaul at

the time. These were Kōkūtai 201 (code designations

1 to 3), Kōkūtai 204 (4 to 6) and Kōkūtai 253 (7 to 9).

According to this theory, machine 6-171 would therefore

belong to the third Buntai within Kōkūtai 204. But other

explanations are also possible. There is an indication

that the Zeroes filmed in January 1944 at Rabaul with

code 9 on the tail surfaces belonged to Kōkūtai 204.

Ensign Tetsuzō Iwamoto, probably Kōkūtai 253, Rabaul, New Britain, late 1943/early 1944

This aircraft has repainted white trim of hinomaru

on the fuselage and upper surfaces. Tetsuzō Iwamoto was the most successful naval fighter ace with 14

victories from combats over China with 12th Kōkūtai.

As a member of fighter unit of HIJMS Zuikaku during

the Pearl Harbor attack he took part patrol the vicinity

of the carriers during first wave. In 1942, he took part

in battles in the Indian Ocean and Coral Sea with his

plane EII-102. From the summer of 1942 he served as

an instructor in Japan. From March 1943, he participated in patrolling in the Kuril Islands with Kōkūtai 281.

In November he was transferred to Rabaul to Kōkūtai

204 and later to Kōkūtai 253. At that time he used machines number 102 and 104. It is possible that machine

number 7-104 is his personal mount. In February 1944

he participated from Truk Atoll in the interceptions

of B-24 bombers. In June 1944 he was transferred to

Japan and from the autumn of that year as member

of Kōkūtai 252 he he took part in battles from bases

in Taiwan and the Philippines. By the end of the war,

he was serving with Kōkūtai 203 and participated in

the battle for Okinawa. He achieved rank Lieutenant

(junior grade) and passed away in 1955. Iwamoto

is credited with 80 victories, but in his war diary,

there were 202 successful attacks on enemy aircraft

recorded by him.

Lt. Cdr. Saburō Shindō, Kōkūtai 582, Buin airfield, Bougainville Island, June 1943

This plane with factory applied green camouflage and

long cannon barrels was personal mount of Lt. Cdr. Shindō. He was born in 1911 and graduated from the Naval

Academy in 1929. He was assigned to the Ômura Kōkūtai

in 1935 and a year later went to the aircraft carrier Kaga.

In 1940, he served in China with the 12th Kōkūtai during

combat trials of the A6M2 fighter. Under his command,

the first combat engagement occurred on September 13,

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INFO Eduard

resulting in 27 victories without loss. In November 1940,

Shindō was transferred to the 14th Kōkūtai in Hanoi.

From April to December 1941 he was the Buntaichō of

the Akagi fighters, but had to be hospitalized after the

attack on Pearl Harbor. During the Pearl Harbor attack

Shindō led fighter escort of thirty-six Zeros in the second

wave. After recovering, he was appointed commander of

Tokushima Kōkūtai in April 1942. From November 1942,

as Hikōtaichō at Kōkūtai 582, he was involved in the

fighting over Guadalcanal. From July 1943, he was

Hikōtaichō with the Kōkūtai 204 in the same area. In late

1943 and early 1944, he led fighters of the aircraft carrier Ryūhō and later served with Kōkūtai 653 and 203

in the defense of Taiwan, the Philippines, and Japan.

At the end of the war, he was Hikōtaichō at Tsukuba

Kōkūtai. Shindó-san passed away in 2000.

December 2022