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Saburo Sakaï was born in the countryside, in 1916, in a poor family
of the Soga region. Son of a samurai, he joined the navy in 1933 to escape
the shame of academic failure. The young man was posted at the battleship
Kirishima
and he was mesmerized by the ballet of airplanes that passed
around...
Saburo
Sakaï, young pilot in 1938. |
...
He managed to become pilot cadet despite twice failing the
entry tests and finished first of his class. The young and
inexperienced pilot eagerly joined the fray in the Chinese
campaign of the thirties.
He participated in the 2 Ku (squadron) and he earned
a victory during his first combat. Rather than being congratulated,
however, Saburo Sakaï was harshly punished by
his superior because he had not followed instructions.
Quite
often he got into trouble with his hierarchy and in 1942 he
didn't hesitate to personally fight the officers who thought
they could do without pilots from the ranks. In the JNAF,
soldiers were treated according to their rank, and unlike
the allied pilots, the Japanese weren't always officers. The
rank and file always got the same meal and was tobacco was
banned. Therefore, some day, Saburo Sakaï told his winger,
Toshiaki Honda to steal food from the officers and
allowed his men to smoke despite the rules. Hence, the squadron
commander was forced to do away with that system and the improvements
were officially implemented.
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THE
START OF THE PACIFIC WAR AND THE "ZERO" MYTH
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After
the successes of the 1938-39 campaigns, the Japanese feel
that nothing may withstand them, steeping the whole country
in fanatical nationalism. Indeed, between 1938 and 1942, nothing
resists the imperial Japanese armies. In China and Manchuria
the enemies are wiped out and top brass think that Japan can
conduct a war on a regional scale in Asia and kick out the
so-called western imperialists. In the summer of 1941, the
Japanese brass already consider a clash with the United States
and Great Britain unavoidable.
Japan wants to play a role as super-power but is thwarted
by a major problem : its domestic lack of natural resources
and their presence in the colonies of the western powers.
While talks with the American government are under way, Admiral
Yamamoto prepares a devasting attack, the one of December
8, 1941. The attack struck a heavy blow to the American
navy, but the American carriers weren't in that day. Nevertheless,
in that December month, JNAF considers itself invincible.
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Concurrently
with Pearl Harbor, they launch their assault of the
Philippines, Hong Kong and the Dutch East Indies (now
Indonesia). Half of the American planes is destroyed
on the ground. After a second raid on December 10, the
American Air Force in the Philippines is reduced to
dust.
The Japanese Mitsubishi fighter "Zero"
stands out as the best fighter of its time. The plane
sets a distance record of a 1000 km round-trip between
Formosa and the Philippines. Because such distance was
unheard-of for a single-engined aircraft, the Americans
thought them taking off from carriers.
In the Dutch East Indies, the RAF aircraft are cut to
pieces. Saburo Sakaï mentions it in his life story
: "The Brewster Buffalo and Dutch Hawks were mere
clay pigeons, rudimentary and inferior aircraft. They
never had a chance against our "Zeros". The
Java campaign ended in the first week of March 1942
with the surrender of thousands of allied soldiers.
In January 1942, it's the turn for New Guinea, Rabaul,
Kavieng and others...
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A
squadron of "Zeros",
at Saïgon, in Indochina... drawing by B. Freudenthal |
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At
that moment, Saburo Sakaï was assigned to
the Taï N'an Ku and based in Rabaul. Combat with
Australians and Americans intensifies and the resistance
to Japanese expansion increasingly strengthens. The
battle of the Coral Sea, May 7, 1942, forces the Japanese
to abandon their projected invasion of Port Moresby.
Next comes the battle of Midway, a pivotal event of
the Pacific war...
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THE
TURNING POINT : THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY
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In
1942, the American number crunchers have decoded
the cryptography of the Japanese Imperial Navy
and Admiral Nimitz, heading a numerically
smaller force, took them by surprise. From June
3 to 6, 1942, the Japanese neglect aerial reconnaissance
and are hit back by the bold strikes of American
strategists. There are some individual feats,
like Iyozoh Fujita, downing ten attackers,
but Admiral Yamamoto pays a heavy toll
for his sloppy tactics : the JNAF loses one
tenth of its best pilots in the battle of Midway.
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The
Americans suffer heavy losses too, in particular
23 Devastator torpedo bombers of the first assault
wave downed by Japanese fighters. However, this
sacrifice turns away the attention of the Zeros,
leaving the carriers unprotected against the
second wave of Dauntless dive bombers. The Soryu,
Akagi, Kaga and finally the Hyriu
are sunk, and on the other side "only"
the Yorktown goes down.
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August
7, 1942, the Americans land in Guadalcanal,
dealing another blow to the Japanese at
Rabaul. This last island was named "the
fighter pilot graveyard" by the Japanese,
because of fierce combat, but also because
malaria mosquitos and various tropical
diseases were decimating the JNAF. Unlike
the Americans, who treated their bases
with DDT, the Japanese had no similar
solution to clean their bases chemically,
putting them at crucial disavantage. They
didn't have quinine either, the anti-malaria
drug. In such difficult situation Saburo
Sakaï, the most experienced pilot
of his "Buntaï", intercepted
a Hudson with seven of his companions,
July 22, 1942. The twin-engined machine
was piloted by the Australian Warren
F. Cowan and Saburo Sakaï
thought he would easily shoot him down.
However, after a short pursuit, Cowan
made a U-turn and a frontal attack, one
to eight, scattering the Zeros. After
a long chase, Saburo finally brought him
down. As the sole witness of this daring
action, the Japanese pilot sent in 1997
his testimony to the Australian Minister
of Defense, while asking that Cowan and
his crew be cited posthumously for his
courage. His request was rejected.
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On
his first long-distance mission
to Guadalcanal, 7th August,
1942, Saburo Sakaï downed the
Wildcat of Lt. Southerland of the
VF-5, an ace to be, who fortunately
parachuted down. Joining his Buntaï,
the Japanese pilot dodged a surprise
attack by the single- engined Dauntless
bomber of Lt. H. Adams of the VS-71.
The American pilot lodged a bullet
in the cockpit of the Zero, narrowly
missing the pilot's head. In this
combat, Saburo downed the "Dauntless",
killing the tail gunner. Next, Saburo
sighted some putative Wildcats and
he launched his attack. Actually
these were "Avenger" bombers
with watchful tail gunners. The
Japanese ace had been spotted when
he dived towards the American aircraft
: "... Steadily the distance
gets shorter : 500, 400, 300 meters.
When seeing every detail, I realized
being trapped ! Untill now I'd supposed
they were fighters. Big mistake
! Those are torpedo bombers, Avengers.
Little wonder they narrowed their
spacing. They had spotted us and
closed ranks for mutual protection.
And me, the abominable moron, I'm
only 90 meters away ! I can clearly
see the turrets, each with a 12,7
machine gun, 16 altogether, all
trained at me ! (From "Japanese
wings at war" by M. Okumiya,
J. Horikoshi, M. Caidin). The American
guns start firing at that very moment.
Saburo Sakaï is seriously wounded
in the chest, leg, and most of all
in the right eye by splinters of
the cockpit. Saburo shifts his silk
shawl under his cap to stop the
bleeding and returns to the base
in an epic four and a half hour
flight, while everybody has given
up on him.
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August
7 , 1942
: S. Sakaï flies away with
two companions for a long distance
mission to Guadalcanal. Oil painting
by Benjamin Freudenthal. 100 x 50
cm prints avalaible by clicking
here |
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About
his arrival he says : "Guesstimating
altitude and descent speed from
the top of the coconut palm grove
that I see vaguely, I'm gliding
towards the landing strip. I'm
piloting as if in fog, untill I
feel the wheels touching the ground.
Having cut the engine, the propeller
stops almost immediately. I precieve
the slowdown of the rolling
"...
I appeared like coming from
another world to my frightened
pilots...." |
machine.
The undescribable feeling
of being back on earth filled
my mind and entire body. The
moment of reckoning. that
only a pilot may experience.
"I'm back". This
exciting thought chases all
others. I feel overwhelmed
by sleep again, probably because
of me being more relaxed.
But now I don't struggle against
it anymore and I'm swallowed
by a red fog. I don't remember
what's going on out there.
Nevertheless, before losing
conciousness, I hear voices
crying my name while hands
are seizing me.
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They
scream : " Saburo ! Saburo
Sakaï ! He can't die
! Men climb on the wings of
the Zero : commander Kozono,
chief of staff, lieutenant
commander Nakajima, group's
chief and the lieutenant Sasaï,
my squadron commander. They
unfasten my parachute and
my seat belt, lift me and
carefully lay me on the ground.
I was told later that my face
was so gory and terribly swollen,
that I appeared like coming
from another world to my frightened
pilots who preferred not to
look.
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The
leather helmet of saburo sakaï
with the silk shawl. The 12,7
mm bullet came very close
to his right eye which was
wounded by the broken glass...
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A
Zero at Rabaul with the Hanabuki
volcano as background. Its
continuous activity was a
good visual guide for the
pilots. |
Sunishi
Sasaï. he was Saburo
Sakaî's commander. This
pilot was very respectful
towards his comrades. |
At
Rabaul, A6M3
Zeros coming from the carrier
"Zuikaku", are preparing
for a mission. |
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THE
END OF ADMIRAL YAMAMOTO and
the Japanese illusions
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Like
many injured Japanese aces, saburo
Sakaï was appointed as instructor
after his convalescence. And as
time goes by, he teaches less and
less to more and more classes with
younger and younger students. April
18, 1943, the Americans intercept
a coded message and launch a P-38
squadron with a special task. Admiral
Yamamoto is killed on his way with
the Mitsubishi "Betty".
The escorting Zeros are too surprised
to resist, but Kenji Yanagiya downs
one of the attackers. For the Japanese,
this is really the begining of the
end. Continuously pounded by the
Americans, Rabaul is little by little
abandoned by the occupiers. In their
reconquest of the Pacific, the Americans
don't even bother to land there
and they leave it alone.
Anyway,
in 1944 the war is lost for the
Japanese. Tetsuo Iwamoto, the flying
ace with more Rabaul victories
than anybody else, talked turkey
: Till the start of 1943 there was
still hope and we combated fiercely.
But afterwards, it was merely to
safe the honor. We didn't like to
be taken for cowards. We thought
ourselves superfluous and that we
all were going to die. There was
no hope for survival, it just wasn't
on anybody's mind.
Without
hope of changing the course of the
war, the Yokosuka Kû
resorted to suicidal kamikaze attacks
when ordered to do so. Saburo
Sakaï belonged to this
squadron. June 5, 1944, he leaves
with his two wingers on a one-way
mission ; nine Zeros escorting eight
torpedo bombers just for the sacrifice...
A one way ticket to nowhere. Before
reaching their target, the formation
is attacked by Grumman Hellcats.
All torpedo bombers are shot down
rapidly, even though Saburo Sakaï
takes
out one of the American fighters.
He returns to the base with his
two teammates, pallid and out of
fuel.
24
hours later, Saburo Sakaï
and the other Zero pilots take off
for Japan where he restarts as instructor.
The last fight of the Japanese ace
occurred on August 17, 1945, three
days after the declaration of surrender,
when he took to the air with the
rest of his unit for intercepting
a B-32 Dominator over Tokyo.
For
Saburo Sakaï, it hardly mattered
that he had downed mote than 60
aircrafts as a fighter pilot ; the
crux was that he never flinched
from more than 200 combats. In 1982
Saburo Sakaï shook hands with
Harold L. Jones, one of the Avenger
gunners who wounded him in the long
mission to Guadalcanal. Living
in Tokyo, he frequently gave lectures
full of emotion and he wrote several
books. He died of a heart attack
during a meeting in Japan, September
22, 2000.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks
to Gilles Pouillaude,
Belfort, France, who assisted
me a good deal in researching
the tricky subject of Japanese
aviation. His sharp eye
allowed me avoiding errors
in this lastest painting
dedicated to Saburo Sakaï.
I am also indebted to Stephan
Ferry (France), the
author of Alfa Zulu, who
greatly helped in the graphical
design of the print that
honors the pilot and also
in research of illustrations
(photos, ideograms, calligraphy).
The Zero myth inspired a
short story, by Stephan
Ferry and illustrated
by myself, about Kyoshu,
the young kamikaze.
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Version Française
