Sadamu Komachi

Sadamu Komachi (小町 定, Komachi Sadamu^?) (born April 18, 1920) was an ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Participating in many of the Pacific War battles and campaigns as a member of several units, Komachi was officially credited with destroying 18 enemy aircraft. He was badly burned during the Battle of the Philippine Sea when his fighter was shot down near Guam by American carrier fighters. Nevertheless, Komachi survived the war.

Komachi participated in the last Japanese combat mission on 18 August 1945 when he attacked two B-32 Dominators on a photo reconnaissance mission over Tokyo. One bomber received damage and suffered one crew fatality, but both aircraft returned to Yontan Airfield, Okinawa.^[1]

In 1992 Komachi attended a symposium at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida about the Battle of the Coral Sea as a guest panelist.

References

• Hata, Ikuhiko; Yasuho Izawa, Don Cyril Gorham (translator) (1975 (original) 1989 (translation)). Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-315-6. 
• Sakaida, Henry (2002). Aces of the Rising Sun, 1937–1945. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-618-6.