IJN
Hiyo
1941
Pilot Kaname Harada
Crashed October 17, 1942
Pilot History
Harada was assigned to Soryu in September 1941. On December 7, 1941 he was assigned to fly combat patrol, protecting the bombers and the fleet, not the main attack against Pearl Harbor. On April 5, 1942 he flew against RAF over Ceylon (Sri Lanka) he was credited with shooting down five British planes that day. At the Battle of Midway, his carrier was sunk, and he ditched out of fuel and was rescued.
Mission History
A6M2 Zero piloted by Kaname Harada flew from Hiyo and engaged American fighters. During the battle, Harada had a head-on gun battle with VMF-121 F4F Wildcat piloted by William Freeman, who shot him down. Harada was hit in the arm and his Zero damaged.
He tried to land in what he thought was a flat field, but turned out to be palm trees. His wingtip clipped a palm tree and ripped off, and crashed upside down. Pinned inside the aircraft, he had to claw his way through soft soild to escape, with aviation fuel pour down on him. The crash was about 40km off Cape Esperance a bit off the coast near a river.
Kaname Harada adds:
"I think the mountains were far away. I did not see a river, but I think there was one not far away. I crashed into a palm tree jungle. The other plane [Kate] crashed within 500 meters of my Zero. The [Kate] was wrapped around a palm tree [when it crashed]."
Meeting
He walked in the jungle before seeing a bloody Japanese aviator, Hisao Sato. The man a crewmen of a B5N2 Kate piloted by Kuno, he reported that one of his crew died and the other was trapped in the aircraft but died. They stayed with the bodies for one night before leaving.
Rescue
They were finally rescued by a group of Japanese engineers who were building a submarine base Kamimbo Bay (Tambea)
References
Lundstrom's First Team covers this mission on pages 317-319. Harada's loss has been published as being wonded and ditching at Rekata Bay, this is incorrect. Ron Werneth writes up this account in "Head-on Duel Over Guadalcanal"
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