Enlisted fighter pilots of the Tainan Air Group pose at Lae in June 1942. Several of these aviators would be among the top Japanese aces, including Saburō Sakai (middle row, second from left), and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa (standing, first on left).
Active
October 1, 1941 – November 1, 1942
Country
Empire of Japan
Allegiance
Empire of Japan
Branch
Imperial Japanese Navy
Type
Naval aviation unit
Role
Air superiority Fighter aircraft support
Size
45-65 aircraft
Part of
25th Air Flotilla, 11th Air Fleet
Garrison/HQ
Tainan, Taiwan Legaspi, Philippines Balikpapan, Borneo Denpasar, Bali Rabaul, New Britain Lae, Papua New Guinea
Aircraft flown
A6M Zero A5M Claude
Engagements
World War II
Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)
Dutch East Indies campaign
New Guinea Campaign
Guadalcanal Campaign
Military unit
A Tainan Mitsubishi Zero A6M3 Type 32 fighter photographed at an unknown location.
The Tainan Air Group (台南海軍航空隊, Tainan Kaigun Kōkūtai) was a fighter aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The flying portion of the unit was heavily involved in many of the major campaigns and battles of the first year of the war. The exploits of the unit were widely publicized in the Japanese media at the time, at least in part because the unit spawned more aces than any other fighter unit in the IJN.[1] Several of the unit's aces were among the IJN's top scorers, and included Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Saburō Sakai, Junichi Sasai, Watari Handa, Masaaki Shimakawa, and Toshio Ōta.
Airport) operated by Japan Air Transport. After World War II broke out, this airport was converted to a base for the TainanAirGroup. During the war this airport...
crewmen killed while the TainanAirGroup lost four Zeros and four pilots. Until reinforcements could arrive, the 5th Air Attack Group was unable to continue...
Zero. The Tainan Kōkūtai (AirGroup) was transferred to Lae on Papua New Guinea in March 1942, reorganizing with new officers. Among his Tainan equals,...
maneuver, however it was used with success by Japanese Zero pilots of the TainanAirGroup in 1942 over New Guinea. It is rather a maneuver designed to show the...
the IJN's 4th AirGroup (4th Kōkūtai) and launched from Vunakanau airfield, Rabaul, at 09:15 escorted by 11 Zeros from the TainanAirGroup based at Lae...
Nishizawa's squadron was transferred to Lae, New Guinea and assigned to the TainanAirGroup. There he flew with aces Saburō Sakai and Toshio Ōta in a chutai (squadron)...
Tainan (/ˈtaɪˈnɑːn/), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the...
flotilla's core units were the 4th AirGroup, TainanAirGroup, and Yokohama AirGroup. The 4th flew bombers, the Tainan fighters, and the Yokohama reconnaissance...
thought to have been killed in action. Then, Okumura was assigned to the TainanAirGroup based in Rabaul. He recorded 14 shot down enemy aircraft in the Solomons...
of the Imperial Japanese Army from Takao Airfield and Navy's TainanAirGroup from Tainan, Formosa, hitting targets in Baguio, Iba Airfield, and Clark...
aircraft. On 13 May 1942, as a member of the TainanAirGroup based at Lae, New Guinea, Handa asked fellow Tainan ace Saburō Sakai to lend him his wingman...
enemy aircraft with 12 or 13 assists. Shimakawa was a member of the TainanAirGroup at the beginning of the Pacific War. Often assigned as a wingman to...
to TainanAir Base. Equipped with F-4B Phantom II, they were supported logistically by the 6214th Combat Support Group in support of the 327th Air Division...
Takao AirGroup, Kanoya AirGroup against Guadalcanal. Even though they were escorted by 14 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters from TainanAirGroup and additional...
Lieutenant Toshitaka Itō moved to Rabaul for temporary duty with TainanAirGroup. The group's bombers participated in major raids against Guadalcanal on 13...
contains a list of airgroups of Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. Literal translation of 海軍航空隊 (Kaigun Kōkūtai) is "Naval AirGroup", however, "Naval"...
1st Air Fleet (第一航空艦隊, Daiichi Kōkū Kantai), also known as the Kidō Butai ("Mobile Force"), was a name used for a combined carrier battle group comprising...
by the military for people who lost their homes due to the earthquake. TainanAir Force Base had been turned into a temporary shelter that could accommodate...
air combat resulted in the loss of three bombers and one Wildcat. On 20 October, Lieutenant (jg) Futagami led 13 Zeros (including six of TainanAir Group)...
19, 1942. On its return flight, the bomber was then engaged by the TainanAirGroup A6Ms which had been patrolling over Vigan. They attacked it, followed...
The 204 AirGroup was a unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The unit was formed on 1 November 1942 by...
Japanese Navy First Air Fleet TainanAirGroup Takao AirGroup 204th AirGroup 1st AirGroup Japanese Army Fourth Air Army 11th Air Fleet 2nd Sentai 14th...
units: Hao Toko, Takao, Tetshu, Kagi, Toki, and Tainan Kōkūtai.[citation needed] The Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) used the Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21 "Zeke"...
Global Information
Empire of Japan
Imperial Japanese Navy