12th Air Group

12th Air Group File:Zero 11 on China.JPG 300px 12th Air Group Zeros over the Chinese mainland in May 1941. 11 July 1937 – 15 November 1941 Empire of Japan Empire of Japan Empire of Japan naval Imperial Japanese Navy Naval aviation unit Multi-role (until March 1938)Fighter (from March 1938) ZhoushuiziNankingAnqingHankou Mitsubishi A6M ZeroMitsubishi A5MNakajima A4NAichi D1AKugisho B3Y Aircraft flown World War II Second Sino-Japanese War The 12th Navy Air Group 第十二海軍航空隊 Dai-jūni Kaigun Kōkūtai was a unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during the Second Sino-Japanese War that operated mainly in the campaigns in Central China. History The unit was formed on 11 July 1937 at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was initially a mixed-role unit equipped with 12 Nakajima A4N fighters, 12 Aichi D1A dive bombers and 12 Kugisho B3Y torpedo bombers. In August it moved to Zhoushuizi airfield at Dalian and in September to Kunda airfield near Shanghai. Between October and November, it converted to new Mitsubishi A5M fighters. After the capture of Nanking the unit moved to Dajiaochang airfield at Nanking, where it conducted missions against Nanchang and Hankou.Hata Izawa Shores 2011 In March 1938, it was designated as a fighter-only unit and assimilated fighters from the 13th Air Group, which in turn became a medium-bomber unit. The strength of the 12th Air Group then became 30 A5M fighters. On 29 April, while operating from Anqing and escorting medium bombers to Hankou, the unit's pilots claimed 30 Chinese aircraft shot down and seven more probables. Attacks on Hankou continued until July, during which the unit claimed 100 aircraft destroyed and 12 probables for the loss of five fighters.Hata Izawa Shores 2011 After the capture of Hankou, the unit transferred to an airbase near Hankou. Nevertheless, due to the lack of range to escort the medium bombers into inland China, they did not see much action. This changed in the summer of 1940 when the first batch of new Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters arrived in the China theater. On 13 September, 13 Zeros led by Lieutenant Saburō Shindō engaged 30 Chinese fighters in a dogfight and claimed 27 of them shot down. From then until the summer of 1941, the 12th Air Group in Central China and the 14th Air Group in South China made a combined claim of 103 aircraft shot down and further 163 destroyed on the ground for the loss of three aircraft. Both naval units were disbanded on 15 September 1941, which left air operations in China entirely to Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS).Hata Izawa Shores 2011Millman 2019 The unit at some point or another included many future fighter aces, like Tetsuzō Iwamoto, Saburo Sakai, Ayao Shirane, Tadashi Kaneko, Shigetaka Ōmori, Kaname Harada, Kenji Okabe and Akira Yamamoto.Hata Izawa Shores 2011Millman 2019 In addition, many prominent bomber pilots and aircrew also served with the unit, such as Shigeharu Murata, Sadamu Takahashi, Kiyoto Furuta, Keiichi Arima and Jūzō Mori.Tagaya 2011Chambers 2017Mori 2015Shepherd SugaharaNHK 2009 References Notes Sources Hata Ikuhiko Izawa Yasuho Shores Christopher 2011 Japanese Naval Air Force Fighter Units and their aces, 1932-1945. Grub Street London, UK 9781906502843 Millman Nicholas 2019 A6M Zero-sen Aces 1940-42 Osprey Publishing Aircraft of the Aces #137 1472821440 Tagaya Osamu 2011 Aichi 99 Kanbaku 'Val' Units Osprey Publishing Combat Aircraft #63 1841769126 Chambers Mark 2017 Nakajima B5N 'Kate' and B6N 'Jill' Units Osprey Publishing Combat Aircraft Book #119 1472818741 Mori Jūzō 2015 Nicholas Voge The Miraculous Torpedo Squadron Joel Shepherd and Kan Sugahara Accounts - Keiichi Arima http://www.cv6.org/company/accounts/arima/ Shepherd Sugahara 2020-07-03 2019-09-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20190905095353/http://www.cv6.org/company/accounts/arima/ dead NHK NHK戦争証言: 古田清人 Japanese 2009 https://www2.nhk.or.jp/archives/shogenarchives/shogen/movie.cgi?das_id=D0001130142_00000 NHK 2009 江間 保 1991 急降下爆撃隊—日本海軍のヘルダイバー (in Japanese) 今日の話題社 4875651384 Category:Groups of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Category:Military units and formations established in 1937 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1941