川戸正治郎

War record

Born to a farming family in Kyoto Prefecture; 1942.5 enlisted at the Maizuru Naval Barracks; after the 12th Hei-class Yokaren and the 28th flight training course he graduated in 1943.7 → at the end of September he was flown to Truk with replacement personnel by transport aircraft, took delivery of a Zero, and on 10 October joined the 253rd Naval Air Group, then in heavy fighting at Rabaul (he was just 18) → in the interception over Rabaul on 2 November he exchanged fire head-on with a formation of B-25s and collided beneath one that had caught fire; he came down by parachute in the water and was rescued (his first ramming) → in the interception of the 11th, just after shooting down an enemy dive-bomber, he was surprised from behind by an enemy fighter, hit and set on fire; he took to his parachute from 150 m, came down in the water and was rescued (burns and a wound to his left leg kept him out of combat for about a month) → on 17 December he traded fire head-on with a P-39 and collided with it; he and the enemy pilot both came down by parachute in the water and were picked up by a fast boat, and he flew in the combat the following day → he later planned to ram the tail of a B-24 and carried it out over Rabaul on 1944.2.6, his parachute descent succeeding but with injuries in six places; he was picked up from the water → on 20 February all aircraft withdrew from Rabaul, but 川戸 stayed on with a few fellow pilots and was active in guerrilla-style interceptions (after the 253rd Naval Air Group was disbanded he was attached to the 105th Air Base Unit) → on the evening of 1945.3.9 he took off in a two-seat Zero (with a fellow pilot aboard) to pursue a B-25 and did not return; he was posted missing and declared killed, but in fact he came down on the sea, was spotted by the enemy and hit during their attack, plunged into the sea and was severely injured, lived alone in the jungle, then became a prisoner of the Australians and was repatriated in December from a camp on Leyte