Glider
Captain
I recognise that this is a digression but I came across this claim in an account of the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. It was written by Mr. IIZUKA Tokuji who took part in the attack.
I mention it here as its to do with a Val dogfighting with a P40 during the attack.
The carrier bombers of the Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu of the First Air Fleet had received superior training so they were instructed to attack the vessels in the harbor. The training level of the crews on the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku was somewhat less than the other four carriers therefore they had been assigned the airfields as targets. It turned out that one airfield, a small one near to Wheeler, was left untouched. So, when the Second Wave arrived, these P-40s, about ten undamaged ones, came up to intercept us.
Pilot GOTOH Gen, in the Akagi dive-bomber group and who had participated in the attack with us, engaged one of these P-40s in an air duel. Both ended up shooting each other down off Honolulu. The enemy plane went down and so did ours. Because we had observed this air duel, both were credited as having been shot down. About two years ago, a part of the plane piloted by GOTOH was salvaged out of the ocean. Author HENMI Jun wrote in her book that the piece found was identified as being from the GOTOH plane.
Attached is a link to the entire article and I recommend it to anyone, I found it fascinating as you don't often find eye witness accounts from the Japanese side. Another must read part is the pre war training which involved totally unexpected items such reading the palms of future pilots, you cannot make it up.
Kanbaku War Notes
I mention it here as its to do with a Val dogfighting with a P40 during the attack.
The carrier bombers of the Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu of the First Air Fleet had received superior training so they were instructed to attack the vessels in the harbor. The training level of the crews on the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku was somewhat less than the other four carriers therefore they had been assigned the airfields as targets. It turned out that one airfield, a small one near to Wheeler, was left untouched. So, when the Second Wave arrived, these P-40s, about ten undamaged ones, came up to intercept us.
Pilot GOTOH Gen, in the Akagi dive-bomber group and who had participated in the attack with us, engaged one of these P-40s in an air duel. Both ended up shooting each other down off Honolulu. The enemy plane went down and so did ours. Because we had observed this air duel, both were credited as having been shot down. About two years ago, a part of the plane piloted by GOTOH was salvaged out of the ocean. Author HENMI Jun wrote in her book that the piece found was identified as being from the GOTOH plane.
Attached is a link to the entire article and I recommend it to anyone, I found it fascinating as you don't often find eye witness accounts from the Japanese side. Another must read part is the pre war training which involved totally unexpected items such reading the palms of future pilots, you cannot make it up.
Kanbaku War Notes