Sadamu Komachi
| Sadamu Komachi | |
|---|---|
 Komachi aboard the carrier Shōkaku in early 1942. | |
| Born |
18 April 1920 Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | 15 July 2012 (aged 92) |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch |
 Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN) |
| Rank | Warrant Officer |
| Unit |
Shōkaku Ōmura Air Group 204th Air Group 253rd Air Group Yokosuka Air Group |
| Battles/wars |
World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor Indian Ocean raid Battle of the Coral Sea Battle of the Eastern Solomons Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands Solomon Islands Campaign Operation Hailstone Battle of the Philippine Sea |
Sadamu Komachi (小町 定 Komachi Sadamu, 18 April 1920 – 15 July 2012) 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 Air engagement of WW2 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.
Komachi died of natural causes on 15 July 2012. He was 92.[2]
References
- ↑ "The Last to Die | Military Aviation | Air & Space Magazine". Airspacemag.com. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
- ↑ 訃報 [Obituary]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). July 18, 2012. 社会面 [society and local news].
- Sources
- 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. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - Sakaida, Henry (2002). Aces of the Rising Sun, 1937–1945. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-618-6.
|