Ok back to Green Hell
New Guinea / Solomons
May 1943
Ki-43 units -1st Sentai (Ki-43-I, rotated out in September 1943), 11th Sentai (rotated out in May 1943) 24th Sentai (rotated out in October 1943), 59th Sentai (Ki-43-I, rotated out in October 1943, then again in Feb 1944), 14th Hikodan (arrived in September 1943), 13th Sentai (Ki-45 and Ki-43-I, withdrawn end of November 1943), 248 Sentai (arrived November 1943), 63rd Sentai (arrived January 1944), 33rd Sentai (arrived Feb 1944), 77th Sentai (arrived Feb 1944) (All Ki-43-II except where stated),
Other fighters - 68th Sentai (Ki-61), 78th Sentai (Ki-61)
The author sets the tone for the next section by noting:
"JAAF fighter units were locked in a desperate battle with Allied air forces in the New Guinea area, and they would eventually suffer losses several times those sustained in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theatre. Their victory claims would also be over-inflated by a similar margin. JAAF fighter pilots would claim many victories at times when Allied losses were nil. As it happens, USAAF fighter pilots in New Guinea and the South West Pacific area also tended to over-claim to a greater extent than their counterparts in the CBI."
One comment on overclaiming by yours truly. I think a lot of the overclaiming was unintentional, and it was exacerbated in this area for a couple of reasons. First, aircraft like the Ki-43 were tougher than people generally assumed, and could be used evasively very effectively to escape from attack, thanks to their maneuverability. Same goes for planes like the P-40. Earlier aircraft on both sides in the region were more vulnerable to damage. The early Ki-43s did not have armor or self sealing tanks. Some Allied aircraft like the early A-20 also didn't have SS tanks, and others had less effective or only partly protected SS tanks, lighter armor, and / or lacked things like redundant control systems. So they were easier to disable with less rounds. Damage showing smoke, oil, or say, a fire which usually spelled doom for enemy aircraft in early 1942 may not bring down a similar looking aircraft in 1943. Evasion, such as erratic skidding, split-S into a power dive etc., may look like a doom plunge, when in fact it was just an escape.
An American 23rd FG P-40 pilot's account from China from another Osprey book (
Ki-43 vs P-40 China 1944) on page 53 conveys how this may happen:
[the language may be offensive to some, it's a wartime combat pilot so take with a grain of salt]
"I fired at plenty of Jap fighters that day, and while I was squaring away for a sure kill a Nip let me have it with all he had. Holes appeared in the canopy, and oil and smoke filled the cockpit. In a flash I knew I had let myself become a 'sitting-duck' for some Jap pilot. I rolled the airplane over on its back and headed for Mother Earth, knowing that my would-be killer would not follow me down in a high dive, as the Jap aeroplanes were not capable of withstanding terrifically high diving speeds. I found that my wheels and flaps would still function, and I was able to make a safe landing on our own field. Not until I viewed the holes in my aeroplane did I realize what a lucky boy I had been. Except for five small needle-like steel splinters which had entered my right leg, I was still all in one piece."
So in this case, the JAAF pilot would be justified to assume he shot the plane down. He hit it multiple times, saw smoke and oil coming out of the plane, saw it flip over and head strait down at high speed in what looked like a death-plunge, but was really an escape maneuver. The plane did more or less make a forced landing, but because it landed under power and on it's wheels, it was not recorded as such, and it was apparently quickly repaired and put back into action. These WW2 combat aircraft, including the later Japanese ones, were
tough. Quite often aircraft on both sides would sustain damage like that and their pilots would manage to limp them home long distances to fight again.
Finally, the hideously difficult terrain on land in New Guinea and many of the Solomon Islands, plus the fact that a large percentage of destroyed aircraft ended up sinking into the sea, meant followup verification of wrecks was a big challenge. Overclaiming was a problem that built upon itself. If you believed that a few bullet strikes that left an enemy aircraft smoking or leaking oil had actually brought it down, you would not necessarily try as hard (and put yourself at extra risk) to finish off an enemy aircraft that you may have only lightly damaged. Inflated claims for destruction of enemy aircraft affected planning and confused leadership. So it was a significant problem for both sides. Anyway, back to the story.
In May 11th Sentai rotated out of New Guinea, with the newly arrived 24th Sentai (equipped with the more capable Ki-43-II) taking the lead. One Warrant Officer from 24 Sentai named Ogura claimed a B -24 and two P-38s in May and June (the latter allegedly with the use of only 32 rounds), but was wounded in the latter fight and spent a month in the hospital. The 59th Sentai, operating out of Timor in Indonesia, was involved in the first JAAF raids against Darwin at this time. This was at the time when No 1. RAAF under the very capable ace Clive Caldwell was defending Darwin with Spitfire Mk Vs, and had so much trouble. On June 20, 22 x Ki-43s from 59 Sentai escorted 18 x Ki-48 on a raid against Darwin. RAAF Spitfires shot down 3 x Ki-48s, while the Ki-43 pilots shot down 2 x Spitfires, claiming 9. After this raid 59th Sentai was moved east to replace 11th Sentai.
The author notes here that 60% of JAAF aircrew at Wewak reported sick during summer 1943, most with malaria or aomebic dysentery.
On 15 August, 22 x Ki-43 from 59th Sentai plus 14 x Ki-43 from 24th Sentai escorted 7 x Ki-48 attacked Allied airfields at Fuba. (As with many of these raids it seems like more of a fighter sweep). They encountered 30 Allied fighters including P-38s, P-40s, and P-39s. Some C-47s transports were operating in the area and were also attacked by the Ki-43s. One P-38 and 4 x P-39 were shot down, plus 2 x C-47 of the 374 TCG (one 'vanished into the surrounding mountains and was never found'). Nango also claimed a P-40 which put oil all over his aircraft. He thought his plane was damaged and was going to make a suicide plunge, but he realized his aircraft was not actually damaged. No JAAF fighters appear to have been lost in this action. On 16 August there was another raid in which 24th and 59th Sentai claimed 39 kills, though no Allied losses are indicated here.
On the night of 16/17 August a large raid of over 50 x B-17s and B-24s raided the JAAF field at Wewak. This apparently was very accurate bombing and destroyed most of the 3rd Chutai of the 59th Sentai. A second wave of B-25s came early in the morning and destroyed even more from 1st Sentai, totalling in 50 aircraft destroyed and another 50 damaged. 1st Sentai returned to Japan for refit while 13th Sentai took over their remaining Ki-43s. In August fighting in the air was also intense with 3 Sentais losing a total of 20 pilots, making 34 claims, but apparently only shooting down 5 x P-38s.
On 2 September 1943 cargo ships unloading vital supplies at Wewak were attacked by 30 x B-25s escorted by 30 x P-38s. They were intercepted by Ki-43s and Ki-61s. One vessel was sunk and two others hit. 3 x B-25Ds were shot down (6 claimed, along with 5 P-38s) for the loss of 4 x Ki-43 and 2 x Ki-61. On 3 Sept - 22 Sept 1943 Allied forces landing at Finschafen were attacked by JAAF forces resulting in further losses for JAAF (he does not give details here). At the end of September 59th Sentai was pulled back to Manilla for refit, with 14 Hikodan taking over their remaining fighters. On 2 Oct 24th Sentai was pulled back to Japan and turned over their remaining 11 x Ki-43 to 13th and 68th Sentai.
On 11 Oct Ki-43s of 14 Hikodan were attacked by 4 x P-47s from the 348th FG. The author makes the evocative observation that "
JAAF groundcrew who had been watching the air battle heard the rumbling of 0.50 -in machine guns and the sound of unfamiliar engines." This was the first action between Ki-43s and P-47s in this theater. 2 x Ki-43s were lost, one to future ace Neel Kearby (who claimed four!).
The author notes again that at this point most JAAF crews had malaria or dysentery but only those with a high fever were grounded. Morale was low.
On 16 Oct Ki-43s from 13th Sentai joined with Ki-61s from 68th Sentai to claim 5 x B-25, for 2 x Ki-43 and 1 x Ki-61 lost. From 20 Oct JAAF became involved in trying to supply IJA troops on Finschhafen. On 23-25 Oct JAAF bombers were dropping suplies at dawn, one was shot down on the 24th so they decided to use the 'heavy' Ki-49 bombers. On 27th 25 x JAAF fighters (Ki-43 and Ki-61) escorted 9 x Ki-49 bombers (carrying cargo), and were intercepted by P-39s. The JAAF lost 2 x Ki-43s from the 13th Sentai and 3 x Ki-49s, and claimed 13 US fighters but only one P-39 was lost. This shows the P-39 could be effective in this Theater!
On 31 Oct 59th Sentai returned with new Ki-43-II. On 6 Nov 22 x Ki-43-II from 59th Sentai and 30 x Ki-43-II from the newly arrived 248th Sentai, and another 15 from the 13th Sentai (67 x Ki-43 total) plus 9 x Ki-61 from the 78th Sentai, all escorting 10 x Ki-21 on a raid against Nadzab airfield. They engaged Allied fighters making several claims, and losing 1 x Ki-21.
On 9 November 20 x Ki-43 from 59th Sentai engaged 80 Allied bombers and fighters, while another group of 35 JAAF fighters engaged 40 Allied planes. They claimed 25 Allied planes destroyed, but 3 x Allied fighters were lost (type not indicated) for 7 x Ki-43s, with another 2 crash landing. One JAAF pilot WO Kazuo Shimizu attacked six P-40s single handedly, claiming one. More supply missions followed over Finschhafen from 22-26 Nov, claiming "a handful of Allied aircraft" and losing 6 x Ki-43s. 13th was withdrawn on Dec 1, with 16 pilots remaining.
On 1 Dec 20 x Ki-43 and 14 x Ki-61 intercepted 40 Allied heavy bombers escorted by P-47s. USAAF claimed 11 JAAF fighters, but only one was lost. On 15 Dec Allied forces landed at Arawe on New britain. JAAF bomber raid escorted by 59th Sentai attacked the transport ships, but were intercepted by P-38s. Capt Nango of 59th Sentai noted in his diary
"We are being made fools of by the P-38s. it is difficult to keep on fighting them with the Ki-43s". On 16 Dec, 5 x JAAF bombers and 5 fighters (mix of Ki-43 and Ki-61) were shot down by P-38s. On 21 Dec 68th Sentai CO (and ranking ace) Capt Shogo Takeuchi was killed when his engined seized on the return flight home after fighting F4F pilots while flying a Ki-61 over New Britain.
More allied amphibious landings followed in Dec 1943 and Jan 1944, which were attacked by JAAF forces. At this point the author notes JAAF was often at a numerical disadvantage. On 15 January four JAAF Sentais made a fighter sweep over Nadzab. JAAF figher pilots claimed eight kills, including three P-40s, but there were no actual losses on the Allied side. On 16 January there was another major clash, in which JAAF claimed 2 but lost 5 x Ki-43s. On 23 January Capt Nango, CO of 59th Sentai was killed fighting a big formation of B-24s and their escorts. JAAF claimed 18 Allied aircraft but lost 7 fighters. On 14 February a Ki-43 Ace WO Kazuo Shimizo scored two unusual kills using
Ta Dan incendiary / framentation bombs in mid air, claiming 2 x B-25 and 2 x P-47 (it's unclear if any Allied planes were actually lost here). 59th was rotated out back to Japan after this on 16 Feb.
On 5 March 77th Sentai engaged 3 x P-47s over Wewak, shooting down US 21 victory ace
Col Neel Kearby as he was trying to shoot down a Ki-48 bomber. His wiki (linked) confirms he was shot down and killed by a Ki-43 on 5 March. From 11-15 March 77th Sentai claimed nine Allied planes, losing 4 pilots. The author notes that 63rd and 77th Sentai lost most of their Ki-43s to bombing attacks while they were on the ground. On 16 March, Wewak was considered to be overwhelmed by constant Allied air attacks and was evacuated, with the remaining JAAF units relocating to Hollandia.
On 11 April 20 x JAAF Ki-43s and Ki-61s engaged B-25s and P-47s over Wewak. They claimed 3 x P-47s from the 58th FG (new in Theater) which seem to be actual victories.
On 12 and 16 April Hollandia was bombed by USAAF heavy bomber. Then on 21 April USN aircraft bombed the field. Only 6 x Ki-43s came up to fight and 5 were destroyed. The surviving Ki-43 was then destroyed by bombing. USN warships also shelled Hollandia on the 21st, followed by an amphibious landing on 22 Apirl 1944. The author notes that 7,000 IJA troops fled Allied troops and went into the New Guinea jungle, of whom 5,000 troops and 70 pilots died trying to escape new Guinea. 63rd, 68th, 77th, 78th and 248th Sentai were all disbanded with the fall of Hollandia.
In April 1944 13th Sentai got some new Ki-43-II and moved to Noemfor Island. These were mostly destroyed during Allied landing operations on Biak. 13th and 24th Sentai, both heavily reduced, were evacuated to the Celebes in the East Indies in July. 13th Sentai was issues some Ki-84s and then sent to the Phillipines in July.