菅原正夫

War record

Born in Akita Prefecture in 1924 (Taisho 13) → 1940.12 entered Tsuchiura as a 25th Otsu-class Yokaren trainee; 1943.9 completed the 29th flight training course → the following January posted to the 252nd Naval Air Group, training at Misawa with Fighter Squadron 302 → 1944.6 went forward to Iwo Jima as wingman to squadron leader 菅 for Operation A-Go; on the 24th, meeting an attack by enemy carrier aircraft, he took off in an emergency scramble; his section leader and the others went down at very low altitude, while 菅原's aircraft escaped to the south, then turned back, dived into a formation of Grummans and shot down 3; he was hit, took to his parachute, and was picked up after swimming for 10 hours → in the interception of 7.3 he shot down one F6F, then took 34 hits and landed on one wheel, but was not wounded → in the combat of the following day, the 4th, he shot down 2 more, one of them a gunfire spotting aircraft that was alone under the barrage of the US fleet and which he finished with a single pass → he later moved to the 601st Naval Air Group, taking part in the Okinawa air battles, and was at the Yamato base in Nara Prefecture at the end of the war