WWII44 wrote:A campaign about the 343rd Kokutai, Tinian Kokutai, 64th Sentai, or 244th Sentai would be kind of cool I think.
This is one of the reasons why I hang around here. Interesting stuff. For the benefit of a wider audience, I offer these details:
343rd Kokutai =
343rd Naval Air Group:
The 343rd Naval Air Group (第三四三海軍航空隊 Dai San-Yon-San Kaigun Kōkūtai) was an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific campaign of World War II. Created in 1944 due to the desperate situation of Japan in the closing stages of the war, the 343rd was composed of the best surviving ace fighter pilots the Imperial Navy had at the time, with Captain Minoru Genda in command. This unit was equipped with the best airplane Japan had, the Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden Kai, nicknamed George by the Allies, this aircraft could compete with Allied planes at the time, the F6F Hellcat, the P-51 Mustang and the F4U Corsair. This unit achieved success however it was far too late to have any effect in the war.
Tinian Kokutai = the 121st Kokutai Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) based at Ushi Point Airfield which became
North Field once the Americans took Tinian:
Assaulted on July 24, 1944 by United States Marines from Saipan, which had just been taken the previous month, the airfield was almost totally destroyed by the American naval bombardment and air attack prior to the assault by the 4th Marine Division. The Japanese were taken by surprise, with several aircraft being captured relatively intact inside a hangar. The offensive was regarded as one of the best-executed amphibious operations of the war. Ushi Point airfield fell to US forces on July 26 and was almost immediately handed over to the care of US Navy Construction Battalions, or Seabees. 1,500 Seabees landed with the initial forces on Tinian in July 1944 and immediately set to work repairing the damaged Japanese Ushi Point Airfield, even before the fighting had ended.
[Heh, this recalls what I just said in beta about Ledo Road. Sure, fighting on the island was not over but I wager the Seabees were not bulldozing within enemy range!]
64th Sentai was commanded by
Tateo Katō, a famous Japanese ace:
. . . the 64th Sentai, based at Guangzhou, China, and equipped with the latest Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa fighters . . . participated in the early stages of the war, especially distinguishing itself during the Battle of Malaya. The 64th Sentai was based at Duong Dong airfield on Phu Quoc Island to provide cover for the Japanese invasion fleet bound for Malaya, and to attack ground targets in Malaya and Burma. The 64th Sentai had its first combat experience against the Flying Tigers on 25 December 1941, escorting a bomber raid on Rangoon. Under Katō's command, the unit recorded over 260 aerial victories over Allied aircraft
Tateo Katō died in combat in 1942 and was a hero to the Japanese people. A
biopic of him was released in 1944!
244th Sentai was another famous Japanese air unit but was harder to find information about. They were listed in an article about the
Kawasaki Ki-61:
Major Teruhiko Kobayashi JAAF's youngest Sentai commander. Also had an air-to-air B-29 ramming unit. Sentai claimed 73 B-29s shot down plus 92 damaged. Most famous of the Home Defence Sentais. Captain Nagao Shirai considered the ranking ace of 244 Sentai and possibly leading B-29 "killer" of JAAF (11 B-29s plus two Grumman F6F Hellcats destroyed, six other aircraft damaged using Ki-61 and Ki-100. Captain Chuichi Ichikawa nine B-29s plus one F6F destroyed, six B-29s damaged. Major Teruhiko Kobayashi, three B-29s plus two F6Fs destroyed.
Yes, interesting possibilities. For modders, if not The Artistocrats.