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国分武一

Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Imperial Japanese Navy

War record

Born in Fukushima; 1938 entered the navy → 1940.6 graduated from the 49th pilot course → Oita / Sasebo / Bihoro Naval Air Groups → 1941.9 posted to the Chitose Naval Air Group (air defence of the inner South Seas) → 1942.2 attached to the 4th Naval Air Group and moved up to Rabaul → 1942.4.1 transferred to the Tainan Naval Air Group → 1942.5.18 first victory, a P-39, in combat over Port Moresby → to the end of 1942.7 he built up his score in attacks on Port Moresby, interceptions over Lae and patrols over the Buna anchorage → 1942.9.2, when 9 Zeros led by Lt 河合 attacked Guadalcanal, he went missing while fighting about 10 F4Fs; officially declared killed

In an aerial combat career of less than six months, recorded eight confirmed kills

Unit: 大分空→千歳空→4空→台南空
Victories: 確実8・不確実2・協同3機sources differ

No fragment for this person is in the Archive yet.

What is still not known

Photograph: none yet. Unless a person was reported on during the war, almost no portrait survives that is free to use ⚪️
Afterwards: how he lived after the war is not written in this source.

This card is made only of facts copied from one book 🟡 index. It is not a biography. An empty field means the book does not say. Nothing has been filled in by guesswork.

Source: Japanese Naval Fighter Units, p.231

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