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| JAAF 50th Sentai  Kurosawa c1942  Brad Blythe 2007 |
Pilot Sgt Toshisada Kurosawa (MIA / KIA) Sapporo Crashed February 9, 1942 Aircraft History Built by Nakajima. Delivered to the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) as Type 97 Fighter / Ki-27 Nate manufacture number unknown. Wartime History Assigned to the 50th Sentai (50th Flying Regiment). No known tail code or markings. Mission History On February 9, 1942 took off from Clark Field on Luzon piloted by Sgt Toshisada Kurosawa as one of six Ki-27 on a patrol mission. Returning from a photographic mission over Ternate, a Ki-46 Dinah over Limay spotted a Stearman biplane piloted by Jesus Villamor escorted by four P-40E Warhawks and reported them via radio to the patrolling fighters. The six Nates intercepted the Allied formation over the Bataan Peninsula and engaged the Warhawks from lower altitude. During the air combat, this Ki-27 was chased by P-40E Warhawk pilot Stone and both aircraft failed to return. When Kurosawa failed to return he was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). On the ground at Mariveles, an eye witness reported a Japanese fighter chasing a P-40 overhead and gaining on it before both aircraft went in and out of clouds around Mount Mariveles (Mariveles Mountain) and an explosion was heard. Possibly, the fighters collided in the clouds or both hit the mountain while dog fighting. Spike Nasmyth adds: "This eye witness was was at least six miles away from the fight so how could he tell who was behind who. None of the other pilots in the fight said anything about a Nate chasing Stone, all of them did say one thing, Stone was a hell of a pilot. I believe he had the [Ki-27 Nate] in his sights and was blasting away. He finished off the Nate and didn't have room to pull out." Wreckage A few days after the combat, American forces found the Nate crash on Mount Mariveles. They described the site as bits scattered over a hundred feet of jungle with the pilot's body found nearby. During February 2007, while searching for P-40E Warhawk pilot Stone, a team including Spike Nasmyth, Brad Blythe, Kevin Hamdorf and Filipinos rediscovered the Nate crash site. Spike Nasmyth notes in February 2007: "It was our team that found the Type-97 [Nate]. We were hopeful the wreckage was [P-40 pilot] Lt. Earl Stone, but as soon as the radial engine was found we knew it was the Nate. We have 100% proof the .50 cal hole in the [Nate's] exhaust manifold and another 50 cal bullet lodged in the Nakajima engine. If two 50 cal bullets hit the Nate within 3 feet of each other, imagine how many others hit the Nate. With all [the P-40E] 6 fifties firing, the rate of fire is 1,200 rounds plus a minute, that's a lot of lead per second." Kevin Hamdorf adds: "The wreckage found to date is highly fragmented and widely scattered (impact speed was probably in excess of 300mph) over a steep slope, covered with thick jungle vegetation on Cogon Tarak Ridge, Mt. Mariveles, on Bataan into which both aircraft crashed (at least the "Nate" crashed into this ridge). We plan to hike to the site later this year (after the wet season) and conduct a detailed analysis of the wreckage to determine the angle of impact and other information that might provide a better bearing on the possible location of the yet to be found P-40 (piloted by Lt. Earl Stone). According to eyewitness accounts, the "Nate" was firing at the P-40 from behind, when both aircraft entered the cloud cover over Mt. Mariveles. Apparently, both aircraft then crashed immediately into the mountain (engine noise from both aircraft stop almost simultaneously - as described in Allison Ind's book, "Bataan"). We therefore conclude that both aircraft crash sites are most likely to be within the same general area." The Nate was visited again in February 2008 and February 2009. In these follow up visits, bone fragments and other wreckage were observed. Memorials Toshisada Kurosawa born 1921 died in the crash at age 21. In 1959, he was enshrined in the Gokoku Jinja in his hometown of Sapporo. At that time, his father, Setsusuke Kurosawa resided at Nishi 5-home, 20, Kita 16 Jo, Sapporo. Today, no Kurosawa family lives at that address. Relatives Setsusuke Kurosawa (father) References Doomed from the Start (1995) by William H. Bartsch pages 312-314, 461 Yomiuri Newspaper "Former Japanese Army Fighter Discovered in Luzon Island after 65 Years" July 15, 2007 Search & Recovery Mission - May 2008 Update by Kevin Hamdorf via Wayback Machine March 20, 2015 Thanks to William Bartsch, Spike Nasmyth, Brad Blythe and Kevin Hamdorf 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 25, 2023 |
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