角田和男

War record

Born 1918 in Chiba Prefecture → 1934 passed the Otsu-class preparatory flight trainee (the Preparatory Flight Training Course (Yokaren)) examination and entered 〔Yokosuka Naval Air Group〕 → 1938.3 completed the 5th flight training course and was promoted to petty officer 3rd class (aviation); after 佐伯 and 〔Omura Naval Air Group〕 and service aboard the carrier Sōryū, posted 1940.2 to the 〔12th Naval Air Group〕 and moved up to the Hankou base → 10.26 [1940], when eight Zeros under Lt 飯田房太 flew the third attack on Chengdu, he had his first combat as an enlisted wingman (No.2 aircraft) and shot down one unarmed Fleet trainer → November transferred to 〔Tsukuba Naval Air Group〕 and returned to the homeland; end of 1942.4 promoted to Flight Warrant Officer (Flight Warrant Officer); end of May posted to the newly formed 2nd Naval Air Group (later the 〔582nd Naval Air Group〕); August moved up to the Rabaul base and joined the air fighting in the Southeast Area → for about ten months, until his return home in May of the following year, he fought in the Guadalcanal operation, the Buna operation and interception battles in the Rabaul and Buin areas → 1942.11.14, 角田 led eight aircraft on combat air patrol over the convoy bound for Guadalcanal, fought the enemy dive-bombers that came in, shot one down, was then hit and ditched in the sea near the Russell Islands, and was picked up by the destroyer Amagiri → from 1943.5 an instructor at Atsugi Naval Air Group; from 6.30, for one week, attached to Fighter Squadron 302 on Iwo Jima (Iwo Jima), and on 7.3 and 7.4 intercepted large formations of US carrier aircraft, shooting down one F6F; on 7.14 moved up to Iwo Jima again for a month and more of B-24 interception duty → in October, to take part in the air battle off Taiwan, he went from Kyushu via Okinawa and Taiwan and on the 22nd advanced to the Clark base in the Philippines, covering special-attack units; in November he was made part of the special-attack escort force and in early December led three aircraft forward to the Cebu base, sortieing in search of a chance at the enemy's incursions but making no contact; he pulled back to Clark, in February of the following year moved to Tuguegarao in the northern Philippines, and from there escaped to Taiwan → in Taiwan he was incorporated into Fighter Squadron 317 of the 205th Naval Air Group, again as a special-attack escort pilot; after the Okinawa operation began he sortied several times against the British task force but found no opening to attack; the war ended for him at the Yilan (Taiwan) base.