54th Hiko Sentai (54th Flying Regiment)
Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF)

Background
The Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) 54th Hiko Sentai (54th Flying Regiment) operated the Type 97 Fighter / Ki-27 Nate and later Type 1 / Ki-43 Oscar.

Wartime History
On January 7, 1945 in the morning, Ki-43 Oscar pilot W/O Akira Sugimoto took off from Fabrica Airfield on Negros armed with a 150 kg bomb on a patrol to the west of Bacolod to report the presence of any American ships. Returning, he encountered P-38 Lightnings from 431st Fighter Squadron (431st FG) and engaged. P-38L "Eileen-Ann" 44-24845 pilot Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. crashed. Sugimoto was fired on by the other P-38s. Damaged, Sugimoto force landed and was found by Filipino guerrillas and when he did not surrender was shot.

References
Emblems of the Rising Sun page 28 (54th Sentai)
Japanese Army Air Force Fighter Units And Their Aces 1931-1945 (2002) pages XXX (54th Sentai)

Contribute Information
Do you have photos or additional information to add?