遠藤幸男

War record

Born in Yamagata Prefecture in 1915 → 1930.6 entered the 〔Yokosuka Naval Air Group〕 with the first Yokaren (naval flight preparatory) class, took the flying course at Kasumigaura, graduated 1933.6, and worked up at the Tateyama Naval Air Group as a carrier attack-plane pilot → after Akagi, Kasumigaura and the 〔Omura Naval Air Group〕 he joined Sōryū in 1937.12; in the spring of 1938 he went to the central China area, and in May joined the Nanjing detachment, cooperating for about two months in ground operations around the Yangtze → 1939.12 Hyakurihara Naval Air Group, then Tateyama, then instructor at the 〔Omura Naval Air Group〕; in this period he was made Flight Warrant Officer in 1940.5, Ensign in 1942.11 and Lieutenant j.g. in 1943.11 → 1942.5 taught Yokaren students at Kasumigaura; 1943.1 posted to the 〔251st Naval Air Group〕, remustered as a pilot of the Type 2 land reconnaissance plane, and took charge of trials of the first Gekkō night fighter fitted with obliquely-mounted guns, an idea of the commanding officer 小園; the results being promising, he moved up to Rabaul in May → he flew several night interceptions, but the victories went to men such as Flight Petty Officer 1st Class 工藤 and Flight Warrant Officer 小野了, and Ensign 遠藤 had no luck; he was wounded and returned home → 1944.3, on the formation of the 〔302nd Naval Air Group〕, he was appointed division leader of the Gekkō night-fighter unit and began working up at Atsugi, but when the B-29 raids on northern Kyushu began in June, Lieutenant j.g. 遠藤 led eight crews with six aircraft to the 〔352nd Naval Air Group〕 at Ōmura → on 8.20, when B-29s came in, he chased a departing B-29 alone and had to force-land on Jeju Island, with a score of two shot down, one unconfirmed and two damaged → in the interception over Ōmura on 10.25 he also ran down a damaged aircraft over a long distance and finished it off → November, pulled back to Atsugi; he went forward briefly to Hachijōjima with three wingmen but soon returned → from mid-December he was active in the night interceptions of B-29s over the Kantō and Tōkai districts; on the afternoon of 1945.1.14, in a daylight interception over the Enshū-nada, he shot down one and damaged one, after which his aircraft was hit and caught fire; he first got his observer, Senior Flight Petty Officer 尾崎, out by parachute (he was killed), flew the burning aircraft back over the Atsumi Peninsula and tried to take to his parachute at about 300 metres, but died of severe burns. For the B-29s shot down over Kyushu the previous October he had received a citation from the commander of the Western District Army and a letter of commendation from the commander of the Sasebo Naval District; after his death he was further commended by the commander of the Yokosuka Naval District and named in a proclamation of the General Defence Command, and was promoted two ranks to Commander.