China-Burma-India WWII

(1921–)

Imperial Japanese Army Fighter Pilot

The youthful Anabuki emerged as the leading ace of the Imperial Japanese Army’s (IJA) air force during World War II, one of only a handful of pilots to be publicly decorated. During his most intense combat he single-handedly shot down three B-24 bombers and two P-38 fighters over Burma.

Satoshi Anabuki was born in Japan in 1921, the son of farming parents. Like many young men of his generation, he expressed interest in flying and passed through the Army Youth Preparatory Flight Program. It should be noted that the imperial army (rikugun) maintained it own aerial service, totally independent from the better-known naval (kaigun) air arm. Anabuki gained admittance to the Tokyo Army Aviation School in April 1938 and three years later was assigned to the 50th Sentai on Formosa as a fighter pilot. At that time his squadron was equipped with the Nakajima Ki 27, a slow but highly maneuverable fighter craft. Allied intelligence assigned it the codename Nate. When World War II commenced, Anabuki participated in the air campaign against American forces stationed in the Philippines. On December 22, 1941, he claimed his first kill, a Curtiss P-40 belonging to the 17th Pursuit Squadron. American fighter pilots such as Ed Dyess and Boyd D. Wagner fought bravely but were outnumbered and outgunned by Japanese aviators. On February 9, 1942, Anabuki shot down two more P-40s, one of the handful of Americans fighters still operational. Shortly after, he transferred back to Japan and transitioned to a new and better aircraft, the Nakajima Ki 43 Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon), better known to the Allies as Oscar. Anabuki dubbed his machine Kimikaze after his wife, Kimiko.

In June 1942, the 50th Sentai transferred to Rangoon, Burma, then the principle theater of IJA air operations. This meant almost daily contact with aircraft of the Royal Air Force staging out of India. In time Anabuki acquired the reputation of a shrewd fighter pilot who possessed excellent flying skills and fanatical bravery. On December 24, 1942, while taking off in response to a British raid upon his airfield, Anabuki’s Hayabusa was damaged and had to fight with its landing gear still extended. Nonetheless, in the ensuing fray he managed to claw down three British Hawker Hurricane fighters. As the months rolled by, American air strength in the China-Burma-India theater also increased, and the Japanese found themselves locked in combat with aircraft that were more modern than their own. On January 24, 1943, Anabuki destroyed his first Consolidated B-24 Liberator, a massive four-engine bomber that was heavily armed and dangerous to engage. But despite their losses, the Americans kept showing up in ever greater numbers.

The defining moment in Anabuki’s flying career occurred on October 8, 1943, over Rangoon. The 50th Sentai was scrambled to meet an incoming raid by American aircraft, but Anabuki’s fighter was delayed by faulty spark plugs. Several minutes later, he roared skyward alone, only to lose sight of his compatriots in the heavy mist. Flying on, he looked around in vain until encountering a force of 11 B-24s and two Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter escorts. Anxious to engage the enemy, young Anabuki single-handedly dove Kimikaze straight down upon the enemy formation. Four successive passes then added two of the lumbering bombers and both fighters to his tally. However, Anabuki severely injured his left hand, and gasoline vapors began filling Kimikaze’s cockpit. He remained determined to fight. “To go into combat now may mean my demise,” Anabuki reflected. “Mother forgive me! But then I thought I heard her say ‘Charge, Satoshi, and the way will open.’ I had no regrets. The enemy was there. I will charge.” Struggling for consciousness, he made a final ramming attack upon a third B-24, hitting the giant bomber’s tail, bouncing off, and landing on the rear of its fuselage! Kimikaze flew piggyback in this manner for several minutes, and Anabuki confessed, “I was seriously worried about being carried to their base like this!” The fighter slid off its opponent’s back and the bomber began spiraling to the ground. Anabuki managed to restart his struggling fighter before crash-landing on the beach. He was the first Japanese pilot to down so many American aircraft in a single action.

The norms of Japanese military behavior are predicated upon group effort, with little attention to individuals. Therefore, awards for bravery were usually granted to entire units, rather than pilots, although individuals who die in combat might be commemorated posthumously. However, Anabuki became an object of such public acclaim that the High Command singled him out for good conduct—a distinction rarely accorded to live individuals. He thus became the first IJA pilot to receive a certificate of merit. They also reasoned that a pilot of such prowess would be better utilized as an instructor. Anabuki protested his rotation back to Japan, but in 1944 he joined the Akeno Fighter School with a rank of master sergeant. There he was credited with imparting a personal tactic known as the “Anabuki run,” whereby a Japanese pilot would climb, roll into a inverted position, and suddenly dive upon enemy aircraft, firing at a range of 300 feet. He also frequently served as a ferry pilot, bringing badly needed Nakajima Ki 84 Hayates to army units stationed in the Philippines. The Americans were then approaching those islands with their carrier forces, and in the course of several skirmishes Anabuki bagged six of the formidable Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters. After the fall of the Philippines, he commenced home-defense duties flying the superb Kawasaki Ki 100, one of Japan’s best interceptors. He was closely engaged in combat until the end of the war, including among his final kills a giant Boeing B-29 Superfortress for a total of 51 kills in 173 missions. This established him as the leading IJA air ace, although Anabuki’s score has since been pared down to 39.

After the war, Japan was stripped of military forces and forbidden to possess military aircraft. This policy was amended in the wake of the Korean War (1950–1953), and the Japan Self-Defense Force was created in the mid-1950s. Like many former army personnel, Anabuki was allowed to join, and he flew helicopters for many years. Retired from service, he lives in Japan.

Bibliography

Bueschel, Richard M. Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa I-III. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military/Aviation History, 1995; Coox, Alvin D. “The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Air Forces.” Air Power History 27 (June, 1980): 74–94; Harvey, A. D. “Army Air Force and Navy Air Force: Japanese Aviation and the Opening Phase of the War in the Far East.” War in History 6 (1999): 147–173; Sakaida, Henry. Imperial Japanese Navy Aces, 1937–45. Oxford: Osprey, 1999; Scott, Peter. Emblems of the Rising Sun: Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Unit Markings. Aldershot, Hants, UK: Hinoki, 1999; Stanaway, John. Nakajima Ki-43 “Hayabusa”: Allied Code Name Oscar. Bennington, VT: Merriam Press, 2000.