Severe weather in the Solomons causes the loss of seven Zeros. Two H6K5 Mavis flying boats are sent to rescue the downed pilots. For one of the Mavis, the rescue mission becomes quite dramatic when they face sharks, a surprise attack by a pair of Airacobras and a force landing back at base. Afterwards, their flying boat is written off and sank.
Zeros Ditch Due to Bad Weather
On January 25, 1943, eighteen A6M Zeros of the 252nd Kokutai took off from Rabaul bound for Guadalcanal. On the way to the target, they encounter severe weather. Six are forced to ditch, piloted by: 1) Koichi Yoshida, 2) ????, 3) Mashouiro Chicanami, 4) Saichi Matsumoto, 5) Abichi Nishizawa and 6) ???? Sukahara. A seventh went missing, piloted by Takesuburo Ikeada. The remaining eleven pilots manage to land at Ballale Airfield.
Rescue Mission By Mavis Flyingboats
The next day, the flying boats 851st Kokutai were tasked with locating and rescuing the ditched pilots, and sortie two H6K5 Mavis from Shortland Seaplane Base.
One H6K5 Mavis took off to search for the one of the downed Zero pilots. They succeeded in finding his ditched Zero, but are unable to find the pilot
Another H6K5 Mavis took off at 6:45 to search for a Zero pilot ditched off eastern Choisel Island. One of the crew members aboard was radio operator, Sachio Hirayama. An escort of 252nd Kokutai Zero fighters took off from Kahili Airfield at 6:30. The six escorts were: 1st Shotai: 1) Izu Isakamoto 2) Yohichi Hanatusa 3) Sonichi Kosaka 2nd Shotai 1) Tsuzu Kojima 2) Yokiyo Myayohi 3) Sahio Hiyama
When the flying boat arrived in the area, they spotted the pilot on the beach waving. The Mavis landed and yelled for him to swim to the flying boat, but he refused because of sharks in the water. One of the escorting Zeros swooped down and strafed the sharks with his 20mm cannons. Crew members of the Mavis climbed up onto the wing of their plane and threw a buoy [life ring] towards the shore. The pilot was still nervous about the sharks and fired his Nambu pistol at a few before finally agreeing to grab the buoy. They pulled him towards the plane and got him aboard.
They began to take off when they were suddenly attacked by two P-39s. The guns of the Mavis were stowed and the crew cursed their carelessness for not having the guns ready. Several of them hurried to mount the heavy 20mm cannons. Just as the Mavis began to lift off, the P-39s attacked from very low, hitting the underside of the Mavis and damaging the mount for the rear 20mm cannon. One of the Mavis crew members was severely wounded in the right leg and he later died. Looking out a side window, Hirayama saw the US star insignia on one fighter as it pulled up past them.
The escorting Zeros had not noticed the low approach of the American fighters but dove down to intercepted the Airacobras, claiming one shot down while the other escaped. The Mavis returned to base where it sank upon landing due to damage inflicted by the American fighters, although some gear was salvaged from the flying boat, it was a total loss. The Zero pilot rescued was unharmed.
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