The 13th was a sentai or fighter regiment that served under Japan during World War II. The 13th Sentai was formed in September of 1937 from elements of the 4th Hiko Rentai. The Sentai then served until the end of the war. During the war, the sentai had operated the Nakajima Ki-27, the Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu, the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa, and the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate.
Commanders[]
The first commander of the 13th Sentai was Colonel Masuo Kamiya, maintaining command for around two years, ending in 1939. Succeeding him would be Saburo Kondo who himself had maintained command for one and a half years, ending in September of 1941.
Next would be Lt. Colonel Takeo Tateyama, though he himself would be succeeded in 1942 by Kumao Akita. Following him in 1943 was Tsunano Nagano who shared command with Hisao Machida, with both of whom leaving in late 1944. The final two commanders would be Kazuhiko Nakano and Koichi Marukawa, serving until the very end of the war.
Structure[]
Initially, the 13th Sentai was equipped with a single headquearters unit and single fighter chutai. In 1940, another training unit was added to the sentai, but was then converted into the second fighter chutai of the group.[1]In 1942, a special unit trained at the Akeno Flight School for the specific purpose of interception was added to the sentai as its third fighter chutai. Throughout the war from then on several reorganizations went on, sentais were added and removed, but the sentai still continued to serve in frontline duties.
Unit History[]
Following the 13th Sentai's formation in 1937, was sent into patrol duties around central Japan and Korea. It was not until 1943, that the sentai was sent to Rabaul and then New Guinea that the sentai began to enter front line service. However, once the squadron had entered full combat, it immediately excelled, downing numerous aircraft, however, the unit quickly accumulated losses and was forced to borrow outdated aircraft such as the Ki-43 to fill gaps in its units.[2] After prolonged combat in New Guinea, the sentai was moved to the Philippines where it again began to achieve further aerial victories.
From that point on, the sentai stayed in the region for the rest of the war, operating in the South Pacific and never truly being sent to new locations.
References[]
- ↑ Hata, Ikuhiko and Izawa, Yasuho. Japanese Army Air Force Fighter Units and their Aces:1931-1945. Grub Street Publishing, Page 113
- ↑ http://www.pacificwrecks.com/units/jaaf/index.html
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