笹井醇一
笹井醇一
Lieutenant Commander Imperial Japanese NavyWar record
Born in Tokyo, the eldest son of Naval Constructor Captain 笹井賢二; Tokyo Prefectural First Middle School (a dan-grade judoka) → 1939 graduated from the Naval Academy with the 67th class; after completing 〔the 35th flight training course〕 in 1941.11 he was posted to the Tainan Naval Air Group → sortied for the invasion of Luzon on 10 December but turned back with engine trouble → his first victory came in an air battle over Java on 3 February 1942 → his score climbed sharply after the move up to Rabaul in April → on 26 August, not long after losing his right-hand man 坂井三郎, he led eight wingmen in an attack on Guadalcanal and failed to return after combat with fifteen Grumman F4Fs; killed in action (he is believed to have been shot down by the US Marine Corps ace Captain Marion Carl).
It is said that in a letter written shortly before he was killed in action, he predicted he would surpass Manfred von Richthofen's record
- Unit
- 台南空
- Victories
- 本人談54機と報告／公認記録は27機sources differ
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.182
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