小平好直

War record

Born in 長野; entered the navy in 1935 as a paymaster rating → 1938.11 graduated from the 43rd pilot trainee (the Pilot Trainee Course (Sōren)) class → 佐伯 / Ōita naval air groups → 1939.9 transferred to the 〔14th Naval Air Group〕 and sent to the South China front → 1939.12.30 the attack on Liuzhou, his first air combat → 1940.1.10 the attack on Guilin, two shot down → support of ground operations, the move into French Indochina → 1940.10 returned to 〔Omura Naval Air Group〕 → 1942.4 ordered aboard Shōkaku; combat air patrol over the carrier in the Battle of the Coral Sea → 1942.8 sortied to the Southeast Area, taking part in the Second Battle of the Solomons → detached to Buka (about a week) and took part in the Guadalcanal operation → combat air patrol over the carrier at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, shooting down one dive-bomber and landing back aboard with battle damage → 1944.2 from instructor at Tsuiki Naval Air Group to the 〔601st Naval Air Group〕 (aboard Shōkaku) → 6.19, in the Battle of the Philippine Sea (off the Marianas), he flew as escort to the 1st Carrier Division's first attack wave, met a mass of enemy fighters before reaching the target, shot down two and was then hit; he flew back alone, ditched and was rescued by a destroyer → sent home, then assigned to Fighter Squadron 164 of the rebuilt carrier force aboard the converted carrier Chiyoda → 10.24, in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the attack force was wiped out before it reached its target; he shot down one F6F and landed at Aparri in northern Luzon → the next day he moved forward to Manila and flew patrol over the 栗田 fleet → the Leyte operation from the Clark base → 11.8 injured in a landing accident and sent home → he moved between Izumi, Kwangju (Korea) (Kwangju), Mobara and Kōriyama, and the war ended with him attached to Fighter Squadron 304 → After the war he joined the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and retired at the mandatory retirement age