Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II
Noboru Shimonoune (Drawings) Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1989. First Printing [Stated] of English Language Edition of Revised and Enlarged Edition. Hardcover. Quarto, xvi, [2], 442, [4] pages. Illustrations. Endpaper maps. Appendices. Index. Translator's Note. Japanese Naval Terminology and Abbreviations. Foreword to the English-Language Edition by John B. Lundstrom. Ikuhiko Hata (born 12 December 1932) is a Japanese historian. He acquired his Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo and has taught history at several universities. He is the author of a number of influential and well-received scholarly works, particularly on topics related to Japan's role in the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Hata is variously regarded as being a "conservative" historian or a "centrist". He has written extensively on such controversial subjects as the Nanking Massacre and the comfort women. Fellow historian Edward Drea has called him "the doyen of Japanese military historians". Hata co-wrote two books with Yasuho Izawa on Japanese fighter aces of World War II, both of which were described by historians as the definitive treatments of the subject. Yasuho Izawa is an ophthalmic optician whose past works include co-authoring Japanese Army Air Force Fighter Units and their Aces 1931-45, Japanese Naval Air Force Fighter Units and their Aces 1932-45 and Bloody Shambles Vols. 1 and 2. From the foreword by John B. Lundstrom : "NIHON KAIGUN SENTOKI-HAI, the revised and enlarged edition published in Tokyo by Kantosha Publishers in 1975, has become the classic work in Japan, the most comprehensive source on the pilots and their squadrons. It tells how the air groups were organized, who the aces and leaders were, how they were trained, and how they fared through upwards of eight long years of war. The authors, renowned military historian Dr. Ikuhiko Hata and Dr. Yasuho Izawa, a tireless researcher, have based their study mainly upon interviews and documents, officially and privately held. Complementing the text are numerous rare photographs never before published." Includes information on Japanese naval aircraft, fighter unit histories, and biographies of aces. Japanese work finally lifts the cloak of anonymity that has hidden their identities from the West for so long. A useful reference tool for everyone interested in the Pacific War - aviators, buffs, modelers, historians - this book provides information on Japan's naval fighter pilots, their aircraft, and their war that is simply not available elsewhere in English. Divided into three parts, this book includes rare photos of the principal Japanese aircraft, concise histories of each air group, and photos and biographies of Japan's leading aces. This is more of a reference book than a book that is read from cover to cover. It's a unique book in that it details Japanese naval air units and fighter aces. It's a must have for any serious reader of the war in the Pacific. Some of the numbers of enemy planes shot down cited are amazingly high. I am not saying pilots deliberately exaggerated their results but when one is in combat with one having to constantly be on the lookout for an enemy plane, it is hard to verify kill numbers. Both the Allies and the Japanese did this.
GORHAM DON CYRIL GORHAM was born in Oakland, California in 1917, he was taken as an infant to Japan in 1918. He was fluent in Japanese, having spent his entire education in Japan and graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in March 1941, with a degree in Japanese language and literature. In May 1941 he returned alone to the U.S. and spent World War II as an officer assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence in Washington, D.C. and Occupied Japan. On active duty until 1948, he then served as liaison between the U.S. and the Japanese governments, including three assignments totaling 11 years to post-war Japan. He retired in 1972 with 31 years Federal service. After retirement, he began his second career as a freelance language consultant, interpreter and translator, and interpreted for two U.S. presidents, several U.S. cabinet members, Japanese Prime Ministers and Japanese Diet members. In 2000, he was made an honorary member of the American Translators Association (ATA), an award reserved for individuals who have distinguished themselves in the translation/interpreting professions.
John B. Lundstrom is Curator Emeritus of History at the Milwaukee Public Museum where he has worked since 1967. He is the author of five books. Condition: Very good / very good.
Keywords: Japan, WWII, Naval, Aviation, Unit Histories, Minoru Genda, Tasashi Nakajima, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Hideki Shingo, Air Fleets, Carrier Divisions, Air Flotillas, Aircraft Carriers, Fighter Squadrons, Air Groups, Hikotais, Akagi, Junyo, Kaga
[Book #5240]
Price: $60.00