Saburo Sakai's SAMURAI!

:FI:COM · Post by **:FI:COM** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 9:35 pm

I would venture that more than half the squad has read this classic tale. However, I find myself ruminating over a few discrepancies- true or false- that Mr. Sakai has/has not alluded to:
1. Capt. Colin P. Kelly. No, he did not sink the battleship Haruna, true. We know that His-story is usually written by the victors, and yes the U.S. was hard up to find a hero, o.k.
2. At least 80% of all the kills listed by Sakai are described as "explosions". 20mm rounds hitting armour plate and self-sealing fuel tanks? certainly. But anyone who has read the book will observe that the frequency of said explosions is amazingly high; "explosions" would also allow the author the artistic levity to explain away another question......
3. Never in any of the text has there been any reference to chute kills. I find this difficult to believe that Sakai was not privy to this Pacific air war phenomenon.Rabitsky mentioned a favorite History book, "Fire in the Sky" by Eric M. Bergerud which clearly defines the pathos of "unconditional surrender" in the Air War; a psychology totally different from the Eurpean Theater.
4. Lastly, I direct my irritation at the U.S. Goverment for providing Bell with a contract to create the P-39. How many of Sakai's victories/Allied losses generated by the mass production of such a piece o' sh#te is astounding! (although the Russkies did well by it...)
Some questions. Are there answers? ~S~

:FI:Bluebell · Post by **:FI:Bluebell** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 12:42 am

I guess for number three the reason would be the lack of sales in the western hemisphere if he was to openly admit to doing a bit of chute strafing.

As to number two, if you say the aircraft exploded then theres no arguement about the claim, and also your point about the chute thingy, seems it could have been quite a bit of editing to make it more palatible to us Westerners.

Vin

Nightcat · Post by **Nightcat** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:32 am

I thought there was an unspoken rule of engagement were you wouldn't shoot someone parachuting to the ground as you had already proved you had won the fight / your superiority / worth? gentlemenly conduct? seems to me if this was the case then he deserves something sharp and forceful up his....

anyway..

"Fire in the sky" I love that film, specially when the aliens do the experiments and put a needle in the poor guys eye.. ok maybe not that 'Fire in the sky' but the needle in the eye was worth a mention none the less

I have watched 'Bluemax' several times, the old war film where the german officer is desperate for kills and everything goes wrong. No matter what he does he just can't get them comfirmed. Perhaps this is along the same lines?

NC

Sapper-FIN · Post by **Sapper-FIN** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:49 pm

I´ve read, that mr. Sakai was keen on sake and some of his combat-reports were written under influence, and were not necessarily true...

It was a Finnish model airplane magazine years ago, which had an article about Japanese aces...

So that´s what i´ve read... I´m not saying that Mr Sakai was a liar, the magazine could be wrong... But that would explain some things... for example, when i read Samurai i was amazed, of how easily he got almost all of his kills... it´s like the allied pilots didn´t know how to fly at all (?)... Is it just a sign of contempt towards the enemy, or what?

Some say H-U Rudel´s "stuka-pilot" seems a bit exaggerated, but i think Samurai tops it...

Just my opinion about this matter...

MikeVictor · Post by **MikeVictor** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:02 pm

Killing a non AI real guy in a chute is uncool, Hey isn't it better to just buz the guy so he can get a good look at the guy that nailed him.

Killin is much to merciful, better to rub their face in it.....and they get to watch what's goin on this the decide to check out..

Of course, I'm refering to not chute killing me as I end up hanging out more than most for sure.

micvic

:FI:COM · Post by **:FI:COM** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:10 pm

Thanks, Gents, for the feedback. Actually, Sapper, I hope that magazine didn't get confused over Lt. Teimei Akamatsu, the most amazing drunkard to ever fly; he even (supposedly) had an early warning system set up in a brothel in Yokasuka. I also agree with Ardmore about the chute kills; not a very sexy editorial selling point.~S~

:FI:Murph · Post by **:FI:Murph** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:09 am

I suspect that chute kills were MUCH more common than either side likes to admit. The idea after all was'nt to prove your superiority, it was to win the war, which usually meant killing the other pilot so that you would'nt have to face him again.
Sportsmanlike conduct may be important to us, and I think it should be, but to them it was no sport, it was simply a matter of life and death.

Salahdin · Post by **Salahdin** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:00 am

I read an account of a Dutch C47 evacuating civilians & wounded from somewhere (possibly Singapore). Anyway, as expected the IJN pilots were under strict orders to destroy any aircraft encountered. A nun wrote of looking out her window and seeing a zero right alongside them. Apparently it was flown by our Saburo who, on seeing that the plane was full of wounded and civies, granted them mercy and flew off. The nun was eternally grateful and sought to thank him for his compassion.

This is an interesting story that isn't included in Samurai either, which is fairly odd seeing as it made Sakai look quite good. If he didn't include this in his book a lot of other important stuff might have been omitted as well.

Sapper-FIN · Post by **Sapper-FIN** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:59 pm

Thanks, Gents, for the feedback. Actually, Sapper, I hope that magazine didn't get confused over Lt. Teimei Akamatsu

Well, could be that the magazine was wrong, or maybe i was wrong... Early warning system in a brothel (?)

:FI:IceFrog · Post by **:FI:IceFrog** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:09 pm

:FI:Salahdin wrote:I read an account of a Dutch C47 evacuating civilians & wounded from somewhere (possibly Singapore). Anyway, as expected the IJN pilots were under strict orders to destroy any aircraft encountered. A nun wrote of looking out her window and seeing a zero right alongside them. Apparently it was flown by our Saburo who, on seeing that the plane was full of wounded and civies, granted them mercy and flew off. The nun was eternally grateful and sought to thank him for his compassion.

Saburo Sakai's mercy over Java jungle
http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/sakai/sakai.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:FI:Igor · Post by **:FI:Igor** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 10:14 pm

The only air combat that i know of where the victor routinely shot people under canopy was the Spanish Civil. The philosophy was to kill the pilot so that he couldn't fly again in a few days to kill your pilots.

I suspect a victor in a dogfight is too busy shooting down other aircraft or just protecting his butt to worry about the enemy pilots in paracutes.

Igor

:FI:COM · Post by **:FI:COM** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 12:12 am

Igor- If you're interested, "Fire in the Sky" by Eric M. Bergerud (Westview Press, 2000) is an incredibly detailed essay of the Pacific air war, including detailed historical descriptions on many unanswered, (Japanese vs. U.S. airfield maintenance?...) overlooked questions that only creeps in :FI: would know. And thanks for the link, Icefrog! !S!

Saburo Sakai's SAMURAI!

Saburo Sakai's SAMURAI!

chute killin

In a Brothel?

SHOOT&CHUTE