Saburō Sakai was a Japanese naval aviator and flying ace of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Sakai had 28 aerial victories, including shared ones, according to official Japanese records, though he and his ghostwriter Martin Caidin claimed much higher numbers.
Sakai posing in front of the hinomaru on his Mitsubishi A5M Type 96 fighter (Wuhan, 1939).
Saburō Sakai as a petty officer wearing a life jacket
Sakai in flightsuit
Rabaul, 8 August 1942: A seriously-wounded Sakai returns to Rabaul with his damaged Zero after a 4 h 47 min flight over 560 nmi (1,040 km; 640 mi). Sakai's skull was creased by a machine-gun bullet, he was blind in one eye, and his face was swollen and burned by exposure to the wind through his shattered canopy. Sakai walks towards the flight operations building as he insisted on making his mission report before accepting medical treatment.
Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2. Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefecture to the southwest.
Nijinomatsubara pine forest and a corner of Karatsu city, Saga
A reconstruction of a Yayoi period building at the Yoshinogari site
Karatsu Castle
Saga Castle (Shachi gate)
