This article is published with the authorization of the official account "Nibelungen Factory"
During World War II, large maritime patrol aircraft from both sides often competed when they met in the narrow road. In the Pacific Theater, the U.S. B-17 and B-24 were dominant against Japanese seaplanes for most of the time, and the more superior H8K2 II large boats were more effective opponents, but in any case, the inferiority of seaplanes over land-based aircraft was undeniable.
Since the attackers were shot down before they could send detailed enemy information, the Japanese did not realize at first that it was the actions of the opposing patrol aircraft that caused them to quickly lose so many seaplanes. Lieutenant Tomoo Hitsuji of the 851st Naval Air Force commanded an H6K 97 large boat in November 1942 and was one of the first to find out the cause of the patrol aircraft's loss and survive. He recorded the experience in his memoir, The Last Flying Boat.
"Enemy aircraft! Approach on the right and come to the back! "Tail Gunner Report.
"Full-time air combat position!" I shouted as I pushed the lever as the plane went full speed down to sea level.
At 0700 a.m. on November 21, 1942, 150 nautical miles south of Guadalcanal. We are in the most intense phase of a bloody battle, with large boats lost almost every day due to unknown enemy activity. Before the diashoot breaks the silence, we have exactly enough time to continue to emit a radio signal of "hi" (the first syllable of the Japanese "flying machine"-hikoki). There are few survivors of air combat. If the big boat can give a detailed report on the enemy situation, it must fly back first.
The continued increase in losses bothered commanders. A few days ago, I promised him that this would not go on any time. Now we have lost 16 large boats. I don't want to be the 17th. Getting involved in air combat was not a patrol plane's task, but now I had no choice.
The Kawanishi 97-Boat Type 22 (H6K4) is an improved model to increase the range, with a fuel carrying capacity increased from 7764 liters in the early version to more than 13,000 liters, with an endurance of up to 24 hours and a 1.6-ton bomb or torpedo, and a total of 127 bombs or torpedoes were produced.
I knew I had to make up my mind quickly. The B-17 was above our right side and easily followed us. It was definitely reporting our location to the base, one was enough, and if there was a second, or fighter, we would be all done. I turned sharply to the left and flew head-on to the enemy plane. Our aircraft was slow relative to the B-17 and had a small turning radius, which was the only chance.
The enemy was caught off guard by our sudden turn. As we rendezvoused, the tail cannon hit the B-17 and the opposing left wing inner engines began to smoke. The enemy fled in black smoke, unexpectedly abandoning resistance. We continued to search for the flight, but I felt that was not the end of it.
"Eat breakfast before they come back," I ordered to open my lunch box in the captain's place. After a while, the co-pilot pointed without a word to the front and turned to the left. I watched carefully, and it came. Another big-tailed B-17 flew straight at us. The one we injured must have called for support. We were ready for battle, and I got up from my seat, closed the fuel bay, and pulled down the fire extinguisher handle. This fills the fuel tank with carbon dioxide. All the gunners were in place, and I saw the nose gunner grinning.
From text analysis, the B-17E/F appeared later, but the two B-17s that appeared may have different models. By the end of 1942, the only early B-17C/D model in the Pacific Theater except for the famous "The Swoose" (The Swoose) had delivered a 105mm howitzer from Townsville to Port Moresby that day, and the route did not appear to be in the range of activity of the Tsukio Tsukiyo unit.
"Come on, it's done"
We whistled at an altitude of 30 meters at a speed of 150 knots in the direction of our military base. The enemy planes did not attack immediately and flew past us. I guess he was trying to evade our tail cannon, perhaps from the front. I'm about to start shooting.
"Here it comes!" Someone shouted. At the same time, the enemy aircraft's nose machine guns and all 4 of our right side opened fire. As we skimmed by, I could see enemy tail machine guns firing, but tracer bullets were far away from us. Neither of them was able to hit the other. We flew resolutely towards the storm zone.
The 97 boat has a 20mm 99-1 cannon at the rear of the aircraft, and the 7.7mm machine gun firing bay is visible in front of the mid-fuselage emblem.
The faster B-17 quickly caught up with us, cutting into our course and attacking. We flew very low, and the sea behind us was turned white by machine gun bullets, and this white was getting closer and closer to us. I couldn't hear anything but the sound of machine guns and engines. I didn't dare for a moment to take my eyes off the enemy plane. As they passed for the fourth time, a .50 bullet hit the cockpit.
I heard someone shouting "damn" and smelled smoke. Turning to look, the two men fell to the floor. Our radio operator, Watanabe's left arm, hung feebly over his shoulder, blood rushing straight to the ceiling. Random mechanic Nakano Technical Sergeant fell to the ground, holding up his left hand and shouting "Gasoline, gasoline!"
”
He was shouting at the radioman because the sparks of the telegraph would ignite gasoline vapor. But the wounded Watanabe continued to send messages that we were engaged by enemy bombers. Enemy planes are about to pass us again.
I took off my scarf and threw it at Lieutenant Inoue, who was shooting, shouting at him, "Stop the bleeding!" "I saw from the fuel bay window that the fuel gushed out of the tank that had been hit and quickly flowed all over the floor. I injected carbon dioxide again, and the white gas filled the fuel tank. The injured mechanic was still shouting "Gasoline!" All I could do was "Okay!" Take care of yourself! ”
We stopped the bleeding for the radio crew, but the enemy planes were still attacking. Between the roars of the machine guns, I heard the sound of bullets entering the fuselage. The plane trembled when it was hit. All four engines were driven to maximum horsepower.
The B-17E was equipped with 10-12 x 12.7mm machine guns, which were superior in both weapon performance and arrangement. From the 113rd B-17E onwards, the Sperry spherical turret was used in the belly to replace the unreliable Bendix remote-controlled turret.
The sixth time they passed, I saw the tail machine gun firing, and there was a loud noise. Nose gunner Kazuhito Takahashi pointed to the floor under the driver's seat, and I saw a large hole of about 30 cm, just below the keel of the nose. Waves can be seen from the hole.
At this point I'm sure this guy has shot down more than one big boat. "Not a fighter jet. That's it, another patrol plane! I'm going to him. He won't have any more results! "When I realized, I made up my mind for a new one. If we can't beat it with a machine gun, knock it off. I pulled out my pistol and loaded it.
"If it doesn't work, let's bump into him, okay?" I tapped Lieutenant Kobayashi, who was driving, with my pistol. He nodded slightly, "Okay, whole." "I made up my mind. As soon as the impact I shot myself, so I could die in front of the crew.
I noticed that the skin on the side of the captain's seat had become hot, and I was shocked to find that the bullet that hit the crew was stuck on the skin. If I hadn't stood up, I would have hit me in the back! (I still have this bullet in my collection.)
I realized that the enemy aircraft had significantly weakened, or that some of the gunners had been shot down, or that they had run out of ammunition. I felt like we were about to hit it when the co-pilot suddenly swooped down. The sea is right in front of us.
Some B-17Es are coated with a livery called "Hawaiian Camouflage", which is not a specification requirement. The 41-2437s in the photo took part in the Battle of Midway, paying attention to the Bendix machine gun tower and the transparent viewing window in the rear.
The understanding of the painting by the water sticker manufacturer Starfighterdecals believes that it is the use of pre-war sand, red, willow green and olive brown and other colors, interested readers can refer to the photo interpretation.
"Don't do it!" I thought he was going to hit the B-17, but soon realized that co-pilot Kazukazu Kira had avoided enemy aircraft coming from the flank. The B-17 passed about 30 meters behind us, and the tail gunner poured a whole drum of 20mm shells onto the enemy aircraft.
All the shells hit. Enemy planes flew over us from the right and slid closer to the left. I could see the pilot's face, furiously pulling out his pistol and shooting.
Maybe the enemy wants to hit us too. I saw the machine guns on the B-17 pointing in all directions, and it must have been running out of ammunition. He slid sideways at our side, pulled up the nose of the plane, and eventually dragged the oil leak and disappeared into the rain curtain in the direction of Guadalcanal. "We won!" We talked to each other, but we couldn't afford to fight anymore.
Hinata's H6K flew back to Shortland, but gliding was also dangerous. When the nose touched the surface, sea water poured into the cabin. They had to stuff their life jackets into the hole, but apparently they couldn't block it, and six people pressed on it to try to seal the hole. When the plane docked, the water was about to flood the head. Everyone is a sea of water,
Their No. 36 (O-36, 51-36 or 851-36) ate a total of 93 rounds of 12.7mm machine gun ammunition.
Obviously, Allied bombers could not have shot down as many as 16 large ships in a short period of time, but large aircraft encounters often ended in Axis defeat. The picture shows a ninety-seven boat shot down by a PB4Y patrol aircraft in 1944.
postscript:
Japan immediately followed a series of front-line modification measures to improve the defensiveness of the larger boats:
1) Fuel tank protection: all covered with rubber on the outside and bundled with a rope net (the author mentions that obviously the self-sealing tanks in the United States are more effective, but cannot be modified on the front line)
2) Self-defense weapon enhancement: from one 20mm tail gun and 7 7.7mm machine guns to 3 20mm cannons (tail and middle of the fuselage) 5 7.7mm machine guns (nose, back, fuselage below and on the side)
3) Armor: 20mm armor plate is installed behind the pilot's seat and gunner position. However, the author points out that the armor behind the pilot has advantages and disadvantages: because the cockpit has no bulletproof glass, if a bullet shoots in from the front and hits the pilot, it will not pass directly through, but will be deflected by the steel plate, directly tearing the pilot to shreds.
4) Increase air-to-air shooting training.
These modifications increased the total weight by about 1.5 tons, but did not affect the speed and range of the aircraft. (sic, the actual situation is questionable)
Hinata's guess was correct — the opponent they encountered that day was a veteran of Pearl Harbor, the 41-2433 B-17E "Miss Fit" manufactured by the Seattle factory, and on October 23, a month earlier, a Navy PBY-5A was chased by a 97-day boat, 41-2433 came to help, and the Japanese plane was shot down in 44 minutes (cover image).
Tsutomu Tsuneyoshi Tsuneyoshi's 851 Air Force was converted to Kawanishi H8K2 type II, and in November 1945 he flew an Emily to Yokosuka, handed over to the American occupation forces, escorted by a PBY, but he had to fly the Zigzag route so as not to overtake the slow American aircraft.
The aircraft has been placed in the open air at Norfolk Sea Terminal since it completed testing, and in 1960 the right main wing was damaged by a typhoon. In 1978, thanks to the efforts of the Japanese side, the two sides reached an agreement to transport the only remaining Type II large boat back to Japan, otherwise it would not be able to escape the fate of demolishing it to save money. The aircraft is currently on display at the Deer House in Kagoshima.
On June 3, 1980, the restored H8K2 was transported by trailer to the Tokyo Maritime Technology Museum, where it was officially exhibited on July 20. Tokio Hinata was invited to attend as the "pilot of the last big boat".
Like Zero War or Yamato, the Type II large boat is also one of the symbols sought after by Japanese civilian military enthusiasts because of its outstanding performance of single machines. Regardless of the outcome, as long as one of the points of "faster, bigger, more, stronger, heavier" can be achieved, it is enough to satisfy the self-confidence of such groups...