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| IJN Shōkaku  Artwork   USN June 9, 1942 |
Pilot PO1c Yoshio Saito / PO1c Akira Akao Observer WO Masanobu Shibata / PO1c Noriyoshihiro Otake Radio PO3c Seikaku Tsunemae / S1c Kazuo Sakahita Ditched May 7, 1942 Aircraft History Built by Nakajima. True serial number unknown. At the factory, painted with dark green upper surfaces and gray lower surfaces. Delivered to the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber Kanko / B5N2 Kate manufacture number unknown. Wartime History Assigned to Shōkaku. Tail code EI-302 with a horizontal white stripe below the tail number and a vertical white stripe on the rear fuselage. Mission History On May 7, 1942 at 6:00am took off from Shōkaku with B5N2 Kate EI-302 flying as a pair on a reconnaissance mission to search the Coral Sea for the U.S. fleet during the Battle of the Coral Sea. The crews of both aircraft are known but not which plane they were aboard. A total of six Kates (including this aircraft) took off from Shōkaku plus six more from Zuikaku flew in pairs to search for enemy warships to the southwest in a quadrant from 180° to 270° flying 250 miles. This pair were assigned to fly the 180° southern search quadrant search and were the most inexperienced air crews. At 7:22am the pair reported by radio two enemy vessels at 182° at a distance of 163 miles from Shōkaku. At 7:45 they added to their report claiming one vessel was an "aircraft carrier". In fact, they spotted fleet oiler USS Neosho (AO-23) and destroyer USS Sims (DD-409). In response to this report, between 8:00am to 8:15am Zuikaku launched a strike force including A6M2 Zeros, 17 D3A Vals and 11 B5N Kates. Meanwhile, Shōkaku launched 9 Zeros, 19 D3A Vals and 13 B5N Kates. The strike force was under the overall command of Kakuichi Takahashi from Shōkaku who also led the dive bomber force. The Kate torpedo bombers were led by Shigekazu Shimazaki from Zuikaku. At 10:51am the pair realized their error and corrected their initial report. At 11:15am although the strike force was recalled they continued their attack. Meanwhile, EI-306 or EI-302 had loitered too long and were low on fuel and unable to return to Shōkaku. Instead, both aircraft flew to Indispensable Reef and ditched atop the reef in shallow water. Fates of the Crew The crews of both planes survived the landing unhurt. They burned the cockpit of each aircraft to destroy them. Afterwards, all were rescued by Japanese destroyer Ariake. Wreckage On June 7, 1942 a month after ditching, the wreckage of this Kate was spotted from the air by a U.S. Navy (USN) PBY Catalina from Patrol Squadron 71 (VP-71). On June 9, 1942 Catalina landed nearby to inspect and photographed the wreckage with tail code EI-306 visible. Ultimate fate unknown. Possibly, recovered by the USS Tangier (AV-8). References Aichi 99 Kanbaku 'Val' Units 1937–42 (2008) page 65-66 Thanks to Jim Sawruk for additional information Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated July 18, 2023 |
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