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OSPREY AIRCRAF T OF THE ACES • 13

Japanese Army
Air Force Aces
1937– 45
Henry Sakaida
 Related Titles - Aircraft of the Aces Series

epub ISBN PDF ISBN No. TITLE

9781780963518 9781780963501 29 Bf 109 F/G/K Aces of the Western Front
9781780963495 9781780963488 68 Bf 109 Defence of the Reich Aces
9781780963587 9781849083485 99 Aces of the Legion Condor
9781780960296 9781849084437 102 MiG-1/3 Aces of World War 2

OSPREY
PUBLISHING
ACE 13 imprint.qxd:Imprint 27/7/12 16:11 Page 1

First published in Great Britain in 1997 by Osprey Publishing,

Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK
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© 1997 Osprey Publishing Ltd.

All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research,
criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical,
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Transferred to digital print on demand 2009

First published 1997

5th impression 2008

Printed and bound by PrintOnDemand-Worldwide.com, Peterborough, UK

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Print ISBN: 978 1 85532 529 6

PDF e-book ISBN: 978 1 78200 573 5
ePub e-book ISBN: 978 1 78200 538 4

Editorial by Tony Holmes

Page Design by TT Designs, T&S Truscott
Cover Artwork by Iain Wyllie
Aircraft Profiles by Grant Race and Mark Styling
Figure Artwork by Mike Chappell
Scale Drawings by Mark Styling
Typeset in Adobe Garamond and Univers

Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank Yasui Kumoi for his meticulous translations of Japanese aces’ biographies. Thanks are also due to
Japanese aviation historians Dr Yasuho Izawa and Kazuhiko Osuo, Jiro Yoshida of the Zero Fighter Pilots Association, Takashi Sakurai,
Steve Blake, and Maru Magazine (Kojinsha Co).
The editor would like to acknowledge the efforts of profile artist Mark Styling in ensuring that the colour work that appears in this
volume is the most accurate ever seen in print, and Philip Jarrett and Jerry Scutts for the provision of extra photographs.

Editor’s Note
To make this best-selling series as authoritative as possible, the editor would be extremely interested in hearing from any individual
who may have relevant photographs, documentation or first-hand experiences relating to the elite pilots, and their aircraft, of the
various theatres of war. Any material used will be fully credited to its original source. Please write to Tony Holmes at 16 Sandilands,
Chipstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 2SP or email tony.holmes@zen.co.uk

Front Cover
Maj Yohei Hinoki, flying a Ki-100-I-Otsu of the Akena Flying School, scores a direct hit on the P-51D flown by Capt John W
Benbow of the 457th FS/506th FG over Nagoya Bay on 16 July 1945. The latter was leading the second element of Capt William
B Lawrence’s flight when Hinoki closed to within 20 metres of his target and delivered the fatal blow – the latter was forced to
attack from such close range due to severe propellor vibration ruling out the accurate use of his gunsight. On this day, the
USAAF’s Seventh Fighter Command sortied the 21st and 506th FGs from Iwo Jima on a long-range mission to Japan to destroy
airfields in the Nagoya area. Whllst in the process of completing their attacks, the P-51 pilots ran into Japan’s ‘Douglas Bader’
– the wooden-legged Yohei Hinoki, who commanded a unit equipped with a dozen deadly Ki-100s. Hinoki had lost his leg after
sustaining serious wounds during an engagement with a P-51A Mustang flown by future ace 2Lt Robert Mulhollem of the 530th
FS/311th FG over Burma on 27 November 1943. The Japanese ace finally exacted a measure of revenge for the loss of his leg
by downing Capt Benbow (who was lost without trace), who proved to be his last victory. Hinoki ended the war with at least
12 kills.
(Cover artwork by Iain Wyllie)

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