| Tainan Air Group | |
|---|---|
 Enlisted fighter pilots of the Tainan Air Group pose atLae in June 1942. Several of these aviators would be among the top Japanese aces, includingSaburō Sakai (middle row, second from left), andHiroyoshi 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 |
TheTainan Air Group (台南海軍航空隊,Tainan KaigunKōkūtai) was afighter aircraft and airbase garrison unit of theImperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during thePacific campaign ofWorld 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 moreaces than any other fighter unit in the IJN.[1] Several of the unit's aces were among the IJN's top scorers, and includedHiroyoshi Nishizawa,Saburō Sakai,Junichi Sasai,Watari Handa,Masaaki Shimakawa, andToshio Ōta.
The unit was formed atTainan,Taiwan (then part of theEmpire of Japan) on October 1, 1941 as part of the23rd Air Flotilla. The unit's first commander was Captain Hiroshi Higuchi, who was relieved by Commander Masahisa Saito on 4 October 1941. Most of the unit's original pilots were veterans of aerial combat in theSecond Sino-Japanese War. Just before theoutbreak of war with theAllied powers, the unit consisted of 45A6M Zero and 12Type 96 fighter aircraft.[1][2]
On 8 December 1941 forty-four Tainan aircraft escorted IJN bombers inattacks on US aircraft atIba andClark airfields onLuzon in the Philippines, a distance of 500 miles each way. The attacks almost completely destroyed GeneralDouglas MacArthur's air forces. On 10 December Tainan Zeros shot down theB-17 bomber piloted byColin Kelly. Later that month, the unit redeployed to the Philippines and continued to support Japanese forces as they overran and destroyed the territory's American and Filipino defenses.[3][4][5]
The Tainan Naval Air Group then moved toTarakan Island, followed by moves toBalikpapan andDenpasar,Bali to support the successful Japanese offensive into theDutch East Indies beginning in January 1942. The unit's fighters helped inflict heavy losses on defending Allied aircraft in January and February 1942.[6]
With the end of the campaign in March, the unit was integrated into the25th Air Flotilla and redeployed to recently capturedRabaul,New Britain andLae,Papua New Guinea in April. As of 25 April 1942, due to operational and combat losses, the Tainan Air Group, now under the command of Captain Masahisa Saitō, counted 26 Zero and six Type 96 "Claude" fighters.[7][8][9][10]
The unit initially concentrated its aircraft at Lae to support anair campaign against the Australian and American forces stationed atPort Moresby. Between April and July, the Tainan Air Group flew 51 missions, totalling 602sorties. During this time, the unit claimed to have destroyed 300 enemy aircraft. The Tainan's losses were 20 aircraft. Replacement aircraft gave the unit a total of 24 Zeros by August 1942, flown by 55 pilots. Because of the surplus in aircrew, only the most experienced pilots were allowed to fly combat missions.[11][12][13]
On August 7,United States Marines landed on Japanese-occupiedGuadalcanal, initiating theGuadalcanal Campaign. In response that same day, 18 Tainan fighters escorted bombers from Rabaul for an attack on the Allied invasion fleet, the longest fighter mission of the war (556 miles each way) to that date. The Tainan claimed to have destroyed 43 enemy aircraft over Guadalcanal on that mission while losing two fighters with their pilots themselves. The Americans actually lost 10 aircraft, including nine of 18fighters present, plus onedive bomber.[14][15] The two Tainan pilots killed on this mission were Petty Officer First Class Yoshida and Petty Officer Second Class Nishiura[16]
One significant Tainan casualty over Guadalcanal that day was Saburō Sakai, who was seriously injured and forced into a two-year recuperation. The US Marines on August 8 captured an airfield (later calledHenderson Field) under construction by the Japanese on Guadalcanal which was soon operational with Allied aircraft.[17]
Over the next several months, Tainan aircraft based at Rabaul engaged in repeateddogfights with Allied aircraft, called theCactus Air Force, based on Guadalcanal. The extreme distances required for the Tainan pilots to fly from Rabaul to Guadalcanal severely hampered the unit's attempts to establish air superiority over the island. The unit also continued to support bombing missions against Port Moresby. Between August and November 1942, the Tainan lost 32 pilots killed in action.[17] Junichi Sasai was killed on August 26 and Toshio Ōta on October 21.[18]
On November 1, 1942 the Japanese naval units in the Southeast Pacific were reorganized. The Tainan was redesignated as the251 Air Group[19] and reconstituted with replacement aircrews. The 20 surviving pilots of the Tainan were transferred to Japan to help form new fighter units.[20][21] Bergerud says only 10 pilots were left and that the new unit was not called the "251st Air Group".[22] Each digit in "251" refers to a discrete attribute of the new organization.[23]
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