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Ayao Shirane
was a fighter ace in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. He participated in various battles and campaigns throughout the Pacific War and was eventually shot down and killed over Leyte, Philippines on 24 November 1944. He was officially credited with destroying nine enemy aircraft. Early career Ayao Shirane enrolled in the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in April 1933, and graduated as part of the 64th class in March 1937. He completed the navy pilot training program and became a fighter pilot in March 1939. He was assigned to the 12th Air Group in Central China in September of that year, and on 19 August 1940 participated in the Bombing of Chongqing. This mission marked the combat debut of the new Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, although no aerial opposition was encountered. On 13 September, Shirane led six of Lieutenant Saburō Shindo's 13 Zeros on a bomber escort mission to Hankow. This mission marked the Zero's true baptism of fire, with the Japanese pilots clai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents ; the city proper has a population of 13.99 million people. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Economy of Japan, Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Government of Japan, Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city became politically prominent in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was mov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The Santa Cruz Islands
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourth aircraft carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was also the fourth major naval engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the lengthy and strategically important Guadalcanal campaign. As in the battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, and the Eastern Solomons, the ships of the two adversaries were rarely in sight or gun range of each other. Instead, almost all attacks by both sides were mounted by carrier- or land-based aircraft. In an attempt to drive Allied forces from Guadalcanal and nearby islands and end the stalemate that had existed since September 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army planned a major ground offensive on Guadalcanal for 20–25 October 1942. In support of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas TBD Devastator
The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy and possibly for any navy in the world. However, the fast pace of aircraft development quickly caught up with it, and by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the TBD was already outdated. The Devastator performed well in early battles, most notably in the Battle of Coral Sea, but earned notoriety for a catastrophic performance during the Battle of Midway in which 41 Devastators recorded zero torpedo hits with only six surviving to return to their carriers. Vastly outclassed in both speed and maneuverability by the Mitsubishi Zero fighters they faced, most of the force was wiped out with little consequence except to distract the Zeros from the SBD Dauntless dive bombers that sank four carriers and a heavy cruiser. Although much of the Devastator' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midway Island
Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housing and an airstrip. Immediately to the east of Sand Island across the narrow Brooks Channel is Eastern Island, which is uninhabited and no longer has any facilities. Forming a rough, incomplete circle around the two main islands and creating Midway Lagoon is Spit Island, a narrow reef. Roughly equidistant between North America and Asia, Midway is the only island in the Hawaiian Archipelago that is not part of the state of Hawaii. Unlike the other Hawaiian islands, Midway observes Samoa Time ( UTC−11:00, i.e., eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time), which is one hour behind the time in the Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buntaichō
The was a naval aviation position in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS), normally held by a Lieutenant, who commanded a division of flight personnel ( ''buntai'') in an air group. Administrative role On the ground, the ''Buntaichō'' commanded a division of flight personnel, called ''buntai'' (分隊), which was the smallest administrative unit in IJNAS. ''Buntai'' was made up of the required number of personnel necessary to fly one ''chūtai'' (中隊), which typically consisted of nine aircraft. For example, in bomber units, there were much more personnel than the aircraft. On an aircraft carrier, the air group typically consisted of three squadrons, where each was related to a specific aircraft type (i.e., either dive bomber, torpedo bomber or fighter). The senior ''Buntaichō'' commanded all flight personnel of a specific squadron in addition to its first division, while the other two junior ''Buntaichō''s commanded the second and the third division (depending on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lieutenant (navy)
LieutenantThe pronunciation of ''lieutenant'' is generally split between , , generally in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Commonwealth countries, and , , generally associated with the United States. See lieutenant. (abbreviated Lt, LT (U.S.), LT(USN), Lieut and LEUT, depending on nation) is a commissioned officer rank in many English-speaking nations' navies and coast guards. It is typically the most senior of junior officer ranks. In most navies, the rank's insignia may consist of two medium gold braid stripes, the uppermost stripe featuring an executive curl in many Commonwealth of Nations; or three stripes of equal or unequal width. The now immediately senior rank of lieutenant commander was formerly a senior naval lieutenant rank. Many navies also use a subordinate rank of sub-lieutenant. The appointment of "first lieutenant" in many navies is held by a senior lieutenant. This naval lieutenant ranks higher than an army lieutenants; within NATO countries the naval ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hankow
Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers where the Han flows into the Yangtze. Hankou is connected by bridges to its triplet sister towns Hanyang (between Han and Yangtze) and Wuchang (on the south side of the Yangtze). Hankou is the main port of Hubei province and the single largest port in the middle reaches of Yangtze. History The city's name literally means "Mouth of the Han", from its position at the confluence of the Han with the Yangtze River. The name appears in a Tang Dynasty poem by Liu Changqing. Other historical names for the city include Xiakou (), Miankou (), and Lukou (). Hankou, from the Ming to late Qing, was under the administration of the local government in Hanyang, although it was already one of the four major national markets ( :zh:四大名镇) in Min ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitsubishi A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based aircraft, 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 designated as the , or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen. The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the ''Reisen'' (, zero fighter), "0" being the last digit of the Japanese calendar#Years, imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft, Allied reporting name was "Zeke", although the name "Zero" (from Type 0) was used colloquially as well. The Zero is considered to have been the most capable carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter in the world when it was introduced early in World War II, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range.Hawks, Chuck"The Best Fighter Planes of World War II" chuckhawks.com. Retrieved: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bombing Of Chongqing
The bombing of Chongqing (, ja, 重慶爆撃), from 18 February 1938 to 23 August 1943, were massive terror bombing operations authorized by the Empire of Japan's Imperial General Headquarters and conducted by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAF) and Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAF). Resistance was put up by the Chinese Air Force and the National Revolutionary Army's anti-aircraft artillery units in defense of the provisional wartime capital of Chongqing and other targets in Sichuan. According to incomplete statistics, a total of 268 air raids were conducted against Chongqing, involving anywhere from a few dozen to over 150 bombers per raid. These bombings were probably aimed at cowing the Chinese government, or as part of the planned but never executed Sichuan invasion. Opposing forces China The centralized command of the Republic of China Air Force integrated many former Chinese warlord air force aircraft and crews, and numerous Chinese-American and ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central China
Central China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that includes the provinces of Henan, Hubei and Hunan. Jiangxi is sometimes also regarded to be part of this region. Central China is now officially part of South Central China governed by the People's Republic of China. In the context of the Rise of Central China Plan by the State Council of the People's Republic of China in 2004, surrounding provinces including Shanxi, Anhui, are also defined as regions of Central China development zones. Administrative divisions Cities with urban area over one million in population Provincial capitals in bold. See also * Regions of China ** East China and Western China ** Northern and southern China ** South Central China **Northeast China, Northwest China and South west China * China proper China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dyn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilot Training In The Imperial Japanese Navy
Pilot training in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) had several programs, which expanded, evolved and changed throughout the years. The aim of these programs was to train aircrew for the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS). Initially, the pilot training program was open only to officers who graduated from the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. However, the training was extended to include non-commissioned officers (NCO) in March 1914 and eventually also to enlisted navy personnel in May 1920. Over the years, the number of NCO and enlisted pilots significantly surpassed the number of commissioned officer pilots, and officers would typically only command units (as '' Buntaichō'' or '' Hikōtaichō'') and lead formations in combat. As the Pacific War progressed and attrition impacted the units, it was not uncommon for NCOs to lead battle formations due to the lack of officers, and some units even ended up without officers, as in the case of 204th Air Group in summer 1943 after O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy
The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima, Etajima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima in 1888. Students studied for three or four years, and upon graduation were ordered (warranted) as Midshipmen, commissioned to the rank of Ensign (rank), Ensign/Acting Sub-Lieutenant after a period of active duty and an overseas cruise. In 1943, a separate school for naval aviation was opened in Iwakuni, and in 1944, another naval aviation school was established in Maizuru. The Academy was closed in 1945, when the Imperial Japanese Navy was abolished. The Naval Academy Etajima opened in 1956 and the site now serves as the location for Naval Academy Etajima, Officer Candidate School of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. See also *Imperial Japanese Army Academy *Army War College (Japan), Army War C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_burning_on_15_September_1942_(80-G-16331).jpg "Click for more on -> Battle Of The Santa Cruz Islands")
