Season 01 episode 01, magic girl world witches series wiki. On that mission he was wounded in his eye when bullets three sbds he attacked from the rear hit his plane. During wwii, sublieutenant saburo sakai served as a naval aviator with the imperial japanese navy. Warrant officer saburo sakai is the most famous japanese pilot and was one of the few high scorers to survive the war. Leading ace of the imperials crack lae wing, he made the pacific his private. Theres a damn good reason why saburo sakai was the most. In the game of aerial combat, who ever can spot the opponent first has the advantage, if not the kill. For just that moment i needed, his underside filled the range finder and i squeezed out a burst. Half blind japanese pilot flies his damaged zero for 5. By douglas martin, october 8, 2000 saburo sakai, a japanese fighter pilot in world war ii who said he shot down 64 allied planes, including one of each type the united states flew, but who later befriended the. Graduating at the top of his class in flight school. Saburo sakai samurai poster by basilbarfly redbubble.
With blood covering his face, unable to see from his right eye and in constant. Saburo sakai meets the sbd gunner who wounded him at guadalcanal by henry sakaida. He was blinded in the right eye and his left side was paralyzed. He became friends with some of the pilots he had fought during the war, including harold james, the man who almost shot him down and cost him the sight of his right eye. Archive saburo sakai japanese and allied air forces in the far east.
Sakai, the third born of four sons, had three sisters. Saburo sakai suffered a heart attack at atsugi naval base in september 2000, while reaching across the table to shake hands with an american navy officer. Due to this training, he could spot enemy planes from farer than other pilots. Half blind this japanese pilot managed to fly his damaged. A6m5 zerosenzeke ijnas yokosuka naval wing, 37, saburo sakai. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots was published by barrett tillman and the champlin fighter museum press in 1985. In the ensuing dogfight sakai shot the aircraft down. This plane, a mitsubishi a6m2, better known as the zero, is like the one flown by saburo sakai that august day in 1942 when the two engaged each other in the nowfamous dogfight over guadalcanal. Sakai had 28 aerial victories including shared by official japanese records. Saburo sakai a6m zero map background painting by craig tinder. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. He was gifted with an excellent vision and regularly trained his eyes by spotting stars during the daytime, or trying to discern far objects through palm tree leaves. Joining the japanese navy at age 16, he was one of 70 students accepted into flight training of out 1,500 applicants.
Of these four aircraft, only two are known by serial number. Japanese zero pilot saburo sakai, shot down by eight dauntless tailgunners. The zero rolled inverted and descended toward the sea. Sakai resumed flying air combat, but his bad eyesight got him into trouble. Aviation art poster samurai saburo sakai saburo sakaithe battle of guadalcanal sublieutenant saburo sakai sakai saburo. Saburo sakai was a japanese naval aviator and fighter ace of the imperial japanese navy during world war ii.
After so many years after the war really important discoveries are extremely rare and personal contact with such people is what one may. Autobiography of japans fighter ace saburo sakai pages 160162. Dogfight between saburo sakai and james southerland august 7, 1942 excert from samurai. Four different a6m2 zeros are alleged to have been flown by saburo sakai and documented by henry sakaida in his biography of sakai, winged samurai. Usually our knowledge is limited to such sources as online encyclopedias and short notes in a games news. Saburo sakai was born into one of japans great samurai warrior families and became one of his country s greatest ww2 pilots and the only one to survive the war. The war was over on august 15th, 1945, but saburo sakais last combat mission took place two days after that day. The image is kindness of andrew wilson df on the key to a good fighter plane by far the most important thing for a good fighter plane is its range. Saburo sakai tshirt saburo sakai was born on august 25, 1916, in saga, japan, into a family of samurai ancestry whose ancestors had taken part in the japanese invasions of korea but who were forced to make a living as farmers following haihanchiken in 1871. Japanese ace pilot saburo sakai a6m5 zero at miniature market. Saburo sakai was born on the 25th of august, 1916, in saga, japan, into a family of samuria ancestry, but who made a living as farmers.
Saburo sakai archive luftwaffe and allied air forces discussion. Sakai relates that on july 22, 1942 he chased a p39 low over the sea and the p39 was unable to pull away from him sakai, p. He died at the hospital a few hours later, he was 84. Saburo sakai was born in saga, on the island of kyushu, in 1916 to a family that had turned to farming as changing economic and social conditions led to. Saburo sakais a6m2 zero by benjamin freudenthal on 7 august 1942, sakai leaves rabaul background for a long mission to guadalcanal after 7 years and some 200 combat missions resulting in an estimated 64 some sources go as low as 20 kills, saburo sakai flew his last one on august 17, 1945. He was the 4th best japanese pilot by number of enemy aircraft he shot down. Saburo sakai goggles and helmet the flight goggles and flying helmet worn by sakai on august 7, 1942 are displayed at the nimitz museum. In a highflying chase that has become legendary, sakai eluded every single attack from 15 hellcats for over 20 minutes, returning to base untouched. Saburo sakai the merciful realistic battle discussion. The 15th and the 16th went by quickly, and it was a little past 11. Greetings cardsakai, saburo, japanese navy fighter acephoto greetings card made in the usa highest scoring surviving japanese air ace of the second world war who was blind in one eye. Two zeros were shot down in the battle, and the b32 was seriously damaged.
Sakai had avoided adams shot into his canopy, but not shaws. Saburo sakai books list of books by author saburo sakai. Saburo sakai simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Saburo sakai meets the sbd gunner who wounded him at. Saburo sakai was born on 25 august 1916, in saga, japan. Several years ago, a former dutch military nurse now a retired woman in her 70s contacted the japanese red cross or some similar charitable organization, attempting to locate a japanese fighter pilot who spared her life somewhere over java new guinea. The photo shows sakai as a sergeantpilot in china and is reproduced is from a telephone card given out as a favor at his memorial service in 2002. Legendary zero pilot saburo sakai was japans most recognized ace, but few.
With partial vision and after a temporary stint as a training instructor, sakai convinced his superiors he was fit for combat duty and was re. A6m5 zerosenzeke ijnas yokosuka naval wing, 37, saburo. Saburo sakai died of a heart attack on september 22, 2000, following a us navy formal dinner, where he had been invited to as an honored guestat atsugi naval air station. With blood covering his face, unable to see from his right eye and in constant pain, sakai fought a grimly determined battle to remain conscious. Join facebook to connect with saburo sakai and others you may know. Sakai was the imperial navys fourthranking ace and japans leading fighter pilot to survive the war. Shattered glass from the canopy temporarily blinded him in his right eye and reduced vision in his left eye severely. With the rank of naval aviation pilot, second class, sakai went into action over china flying the.
He had, by his accounting 3,700 hours flying time, with at least 1,500 hours of that in zeros. In 1937, petty officer sakai was accepted for pilot training, soon designated the outstanding student pilot of the year, receiving the emperors silver watch. Interview with saburo sakai project news read only. The bullets blew off his canopy, one took out his right eye and paralyzed the left side of his body. This feat can only be accomplished by those with exceptional vision. Saburo sakai august 16, 1916 september 22, 2000 saburo sakai was born august 26th 1916 in the farming village of nishiyoka in saga prefecture on kyushu island, japan.
Sublieutenant saburo sakai was a japanese naval aviator and flying ace of the imperial japanese navy during world war ii and was the highest surviving ace of the ijn. Blood stained his right shoulder, and i saw the dark patch moving downwards over his chest. From zero to hero saburo sakaithe samurai of the skies. Unable to see out of his left eye due to glass and blood from his serious head wound, sakais vision started to clear somewhat as tears cleared the blood from his eyes. The author martin caidin, author of saburo sakais autobiography entitled samurai. Saburo sakai august 25, 1916 september 22, 2000 was a japanese naval aviator and fighter ace of the imperial japanese navy. Japanese navy petty officer 1st class saburo sakai was being photographed. I keep an eye on osprey s preorder list which goes 3 months in advance. With his good eye blinded from all the blood, sakai pulled out of the dive and looked for an allied ship to crash on. One feels both the deep dedication of sakai to the samurai spirit and to his sense of duty, as well as his keen awareness of the folly of the war.
Sakais skull was penetrated by a machinegun bullet, and he was blind in one eye but insisted on making his mission report before accepting medical treatment. Sakai had sent his daughter to a university in the united states to learn english and democracy. Sublieutenant saburo sakai was a japanese naval aviator and flying ace gekitsuio. Patch of strike fighter squadron 94 rising sun flag the flag is also used. Saburo sakaisakai saburo in japanese language was a great,very great pilot in ww2 his first big victory was to survive in ww2 how many dead pilots but. Saburo sakai, japanese fighter pilot who reached out to create ties with. He claimed 64 victories, one of which was made after he had been blinded in an eye. Rethinking the sakai myths henry sakaida was a californian of japanese ancestry who set out to study the zero pilots with the help of his japanesespeaking father, tadashi.
How much do you know about aces, engineers and historical characters. On june 24 1944, he approached 15 planes that he thought were zeros, but were u. He came from a family descended from a long line of samurai, japans ancient warrior class. Saburo sakai, a japanese fighter pilot in world war ii who said he shot down 64 allied planes, including one of each type the united states flew. His firstaid efforts were useless in the windswept cockpit, and eventually he tore off part of his scarf to use as a bandage. Saburo sakai, a japanese fighter pilot in world war ii who said he shot down 64 allied planes, including one of each type the united states flew, but who later befriended the americans he once fought, died in tokyo on sept. Through most of his flying career he flew the famous mitsubishi zero in its various models. The wildcat was clinging grimly to the tail of a zero, its tracers chewing up the wings and tail. It describes the life and career of saburo sakai, the japanese combat aviator who fought against american fighter pilots in the pacific theater of world war ii, surviving the war with 64. He went on to write ten books and give numerous interviews. Saburo sakai was one of the top japanese pilots during world war ii, shooting down over 60 allied aircraft and claiming 28 aerial victories. In my group, it would be the enlisted pilots that would first spot the enemy.
Saburo sakai and his coauthor martin caidin paint a vivid and enthralling picture of the japanese side of world war ii. Saburo sakai archive luftwaffe and allied air forces. The airacobra was eventually forced to turn in order to take up a course to its base. First off, let me say that this is one of the grand combat memoirs of world war iibut you knew that, right. Mio sakamotos eyepatch saburo sakais blindness of the right eye. Its not everyday that two men, who tried to kill one another in world war ii. Tetsuzo iwamoto, 80, and petty officer 1st class shoichi sugita, 70. Samurai saburo sakai pdf saburo sakai with martin caidin fred saito.
Saburo sakai in the cockpit of a mitsubishi a5m type 95 fighter at the hankow airfield in china in 1939. He was the son of a captain of the japanese imperial navy, and even in his youth, sasai was destined to enter the navy. Saburo sakai was born august 16th 1916 in the farming village of nishiyoka in the saga prefecture on kyushu island, japan. January 24th, 2001 the grumman tried to match the turn with me. Saburo was 11 when his father died, leaving saburos mother alone to raise seven children. According to sakaida, sakai san has flown a6m2 model 21s carrying tainan ku tail codes as follows. His total of 64 victories puts him in fourth place after warrant officer hiroyoshi nishizawa, 1 victories, lt. Mio is based on famous japanese flying ace sakai saburo. Pacific wrecks dogfight between saburo sakai and james. With partial vision and after a temporary stint as a training instructor, sakai convinced his superiors he was fit for combat duty and was redeployed to iwo jima.
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