Logistics in the Pacific Theater

That was from when he got shot up over Guadalcanal. He mistook a group of Avengers(?) for Wildcats. When they saw him they bunched up so he assumed they were green pilots and didn't realize his mistake until their rear gunners shot his plane and him up pretty badly. The Kamikaze mission was much later in the war flying from the home islands from what I recall (it's been 30+ years since I read it as well)

 

I wonder why I remember certain parts of books that I read, also, over 30 years ago....?

 

The American planes were SBDs, that Sakai mistook for F4Fs.

As to Sakai's supposed "kamikaze mission", this is supposed to have taken place very early in July '44, even though the officially sanctioned IJN Kamikaze missions did not begin until months later during the Invasion of the Philippines...An "invention" by Martin Caiden perhaps, or does this come from a direct translation of Sakai's book?

 

kind of strange mistaking SBDs for F4Fs? F4F<>fat, short canopy...SBD<>thinner, long canopy,dive brakes, etc....of course, there are many friendly fire kills in today's wars from mistaken ID....

 

All details that are not readily apparent until one is within range of the SBD's rear thirties. "Thin" or "fat" is a matter of perspective, and changes with viewing angle. A "long" canopy could be an F4F with it's sliding canopy back. The dive brakes would have been retracted, since the SBDs were not in a steep attack dive.

 

There was one US bomber and I think it was the one that Sakai ran into that was introduced around that time and the word passed to at least some of the allies was if the plane resembles a pregnant F4F it's friendly. Of course that may be a Caiden or someone else's invention as well.

Makes me really wish Winged Samurai was either cheaper or would be reprinted. From all I've read it was a more accurate rendition of Sakai's account. Even there I've seen a couple of the actions analized where at the very least the dates are off a bit.

 

There's a fundamental difference in theater however. German pilots were not stationed at remote island bases - if they were shot down and were able to parachute to teh ground, they had a much better chance of survival and rejoining the force than an aviator lost in the wide ocean. Gerhard Barkhorn, Germany's second highest-scoring ace, was shot down nine times during the course of the war for example.