Tainan Kōkūtai (Tainan Air Group) pilots pose at Lakunai Airfield near Rabaul
The photograph is taken from the north side of the runway looking northward. In the background is Rabalanakaia and beyond Mount Kombiu (Mother). This photograph was in the possession of A6M3 Zero pilot PO2 Enji Kakimoto who ditched off Milne Bay on August 27, 1942 who wrote notes on the back of the photo and tore it up into pieces before he was captured on August 31, 1942. Later, the photograph was repaired by Allied intelligence.
(Rear row, standing, left to right): unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; Aviation Seaman First Class (Sea 1c) Keisaku Yoshimura.; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; Flight Petty Officer Second Class (PO2c) Ichirobei Yamazaki; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified.
(Standing center row, left to right): unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; Flight Petty Officer First Class (PO1c) Mototsuna Yoshida; PO1c Saburo Sakai; PO1c Hiroyoshi Nishizawa; unidentified; PO1c Yoshio Oki; unidentified; unidentified; PO1c Toshio Ota; Flight Petty Officer Third Class (PO3c) Masuaki Endo.
(Seated middle row left to right): Aviation Warrant Officer (WO) Sahei Yamashita; PO1c Tora-ichi Takatsuka; unidentified; Lt(jg) Jun-ichi Sasai (division officer); Lieutenant (LT) Shiro Kawai (division officer); Commander Yasuna Kozono (executive officer and air officer); Captain Masahisa Saito (commanding officer); Lieutenant Commander Tadashi Nakajima (group leader); Lt Kiku-ichi Inano (division officer); Lt Joji Yamashita (division officer); unidentified; LTJG Takeyoshi Ono; unidentified.
(Front row, legs crossed left to right): unidentified; PO3c Take-ichi Kuniwake; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified; PO3c Uto Kazushi; unidentified; unidentified; unidentified.
Credit: Tainan Kōkūtai via AWM P04029.001 Date: August 4, 1942
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