Junichi Sasai
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Lieutenant Commander Junichi Sasai was a Japanese naval aviator and fighter ace of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Sasai was killed leading his fighter squadron during an attack on Hen
Sasai in May 1941
Sasai standing before a crashed Curtiss P-40 in the Dutch East Indies, 1941.
"V-174", a Zero Model A6M3 Type 32 of the Tainan Kōkūtai.
Zero Type 21 at Rabaul with Hanabuki volcano as background. The volcano's continuous activity was a good visual guide for the pilots.
Tainan Air Group
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The Tainan Air Group was a fighter aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The flying portion of the unit was heavily involved in
Junichi Sasai
…Lieutenant Commander Yoshio Tashiro, was also a naval aviator, serving as a flying boat commander. On December 10, 1941, Ensign Sasai, as a member of the Tainan Air Group, which would become one of the Navy's premier fighter units, participated in the Pacific War's opening actions in the Philippines during the attack on…
Enlisted fighter pilots of the Tainan Air Group pose at Lae in June 1942. Several of these aviators would be among the top Japanese aces, including Saburō Sakai (middle row, second from left), and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa (standing, first on left).
Saburō Sakai, seriously wounded by a bullet which creased his skull, arrives back at Rabaul on August 7.
Aircraft of the 251 Air Group over the Solomon Islands, 1943