Petty Officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superi ...

was a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. His

A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was ...

was the first of that type (after those recovered after the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawai ...

) to be recovered relatively intact on Allied territory when he crash landed on Melville Island,

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country b ...

. Toyoshima was the first Japanese

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

to be captured in Australia. While a prisoner of war, Toyoshima was one of the instigators of the breakout from the prisoner of war camp located in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia, sounding a

bugle The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, normally having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure. History The bugle developed from early musical or communication ...

to signal the commencement of the escape, and died during the escape attempt.

Early life

Toyoshima was born on March 29, 1920. Little is known of Toyoshima's early life.

Raid on Darwin

Toyoshima took part of the 19 February 1942, Japanese air-raid on Darwin,

. His Zero, tail code BII-124, was launched from the Japanese aircraft carrier ''Hiryū''. After running out of fuel due to bullet damage to its tanks, his Zero crash-landed on Melville Island, where he was taken prisoner by local islander Matthias Ulungura. Toyoshima was the first Japanese

to be captured in Australian territorial jurisdiction. Toyoshima suffered only superficial facial injuries in the crash-landing. He strove to move as far away from his Zero on foot, understanding that the aircraft would aid Allied

Military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

. Before Toyoshima's crash, only nine Zeros had been shot down in the

Pearl Harbor attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawai ...

, 74 days before the first air raid on Darwin; their pilots had died, and the badly damaged wrecks were of little use. After being moved to Darwin, he was transferred to Melbourne by the RAAF for debriefing. A month later he was sent to civilian detention at the Hay detention camp.

Cowra breakout

By the time Toyoshima had arrived at the Cowra POW camp, in December 1942, he had adopted the alias . He actively sought to learn English, both from local internees and friendly guards. allowing him to eventually act as a prisoner leader and translator. One guard also gave him a bugle to practice with. In August 1944, Toyoshima signaled the 1:45 am start of the mass escape of Japanese prisoners of war from the camp with a

bugle call A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used fo ...

. He died alongside 230 other Japanese in the breakout.

References

External links

*
The Question of Hajime, 1995 BA Honors thesis produced by Dr Craig Bellamy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toyoshima, Hajime Japanese military personnel of World War II Japanese World War II pilots Japanese prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Australia Japanese military personnel killed in World War II Date of birth unknown 1920 births 1944 deaths

Early life

Raid on Darwin

Cowra breakout

See also

References

External links