Peregrine Falcon & Zero Encounter

On our recent trip for our newborn sons's Hatsumiyamairi, we took the opportunity to visit Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen's unique Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett Washington. Special emphasis on the word Flying because many of the vintage warbirds are airworthy and do participate in airshows. Like many air museuems that house WWII fighter aircraft, you'll see the ususal compliments of P-51 Mustangs, F-4U Corsairs, ME-109's, but rarely Japanese warbirds. Paul Allen happens to have two such Japanese fighters that are flyable. een here in the above photo is the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa aka the Peregrine Falcon. This fighter was the Japanese Imperial Army's answer to the famed A6M Reisen Zero fighter flown by the Japanese Imperial Navy. Major Tateo Katō famously claimed 18 aireal victories in a Hayabusa. As you can see, this one is in pristine condition. The front desk guy informed us that if the planes are leaking oil, they fly and you can see there is an oil pan collecting leaking oil underneath the plane. This is the second Hayabusa we have encountered and pleased to report she is well cared for. The other Ki-43 sits in a state of neglect in lonely dark conrer of the Pima Air Museuem collecting dust.  

Moving onto Hangar B, we came to see their famous A6M3-22 Reisen "Zero" fighter flown by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Much like our first encounter with the Saipan Zero at Chino's Planes of Fame, this famous plane noted for it's unique tiger stripe camoflauge paint scheme was in a state of overhaul with it's engine removed for maintenence. We were naturally bummed to see her in this state but as the son of an aircraft mechanic we do understand these 75 year old warplanes need maintence and extra loving care to preserve them and keep them flying. This is one of 6 known flying Zeros in the world and now we have seen 4 out of the six. Hopefully we will see her again in one peice flying in formation to the delight of military avaiation enthusiats & historians alike for years to come. 

Planes and Perceptions

We recently visited the Pima Air Space Museum in Tuscon Arizona. At first glance, it appeared as big and impressive as it's much larger cousin down the road known as “The Bone Yard.” We were very excited to be there until the moment we stepped inside to see there in the front of the gift shop a t-shirt set picturing a nuclear explosion over Hiroshima with some distasteful slogan we won't bother to repeat here. As my host tried to argue in defense of the place that people have their reasons there. We'll we have not met any living Pearl Harbor survivors in the last twenty years but we do know Hibakusha and unlike the defenders of this left over war time resentment, the aging Hibakusha do not hold a grudge. But moving on, we thought ok this is just one tacky t-shirt I wouldn't wipe my ass with much less let ruin my visit to this otherwise impressive air museum.

Stepping foot into the museum, the first thing that caught my eye was an unexpected model display of the IJN Battleship Yamato. While I was happy to see her I was not happy to see a model of an American sea plane mounted in a way to suggest it was making an attack run. We would find two more Japanese displays each being depicted attacked by American forces. Sure these are only models and most people would likely not see anything wrong with seeing depictions of former adversaries but once we stepped over to see German displays flying the Swastika of Nazi Germany's murderous regime we could see a clear bias. 

In not one of the German displays did we see depictions of Americans attacking them. Nor did we see such in the Korean War displays. In fact, The Nazi displays of their V-1 Buzzbomb and Kriegsmarine was not only sans American attacks, they were listed with a degree of detail and information about the displays where in the Japanese displays we were left with not one shred of detail. But the best and worst was yet to come. 

We were both delighted and saddened by the lone display of a perfectly restored Nakajime KI-43 Haybusa. I think I had to be the only person there happy to see her as people stayed clear of the lone vintage Imperial Japanese Army warplane. She was in pristine condition presumably on loan from somewhere else. We say this due to the following part that pissed us off. While the “Peregrine Falcon” sat in a lone corner of the WWII hanger surrounded by walls of details about every bomb group and bomb run made against Japan in anger, not one shred of detail or information was given about this remarkable rare plane.

Not one mention of her role in the war, her development, not one Sentai listed or famous pilot who flew her mentioned, only Nakajima Ki-43 “Oscar.” Wow! That's it? As you can see from our photos the place is littered with information about every bomb group and every mission over Japan but not one mission or shred of technical or historical tid-bits that would tell us something other than this was the enemy's plane. It became quite clear that Arizona's questionable politics extends to its air museums. To me I had to ask “Why do the Nazi's get respect here and not the Japanese?” The prevailing attitude seemed like “Well the Nazi's were White like us but the Japs bombed Pear Harbor.” Are you freaking kidding me? We won the war did we not? So what's with the ancient grudges? 

We're not trying to say Japan's Army did not commit atrocities in China and elsewhere nor are we going to uphold this distorted saintly vision of our own country during that war. We're just pointing out the obvious. While some "Americans" couldn't give a rats ass about this plane, those of us who love history and surviving warbirds would want to know about the other guys planes as well. To not educate is to waste an opportunity. Had I not known so much about the Ki-43 Hayabusa, I would have felt utterly cheated.

Call it a perceived lack of interest or perceived prejudice, or just plain out laziness. Pima on the surface has an awesome A+ collection of Jet fighters and bombers from the cold war and some rare WWII planes from all sides of the conflict including Fascist Italy, But when it came to Japanese displays they get a grade D from us. It's not that they couldn't find any information about the Japanese forces of Imperial Japan, they just chose not to. Such war museums are meant to preserve and educate. Seattle's Air Space museum also has a Hayabusa but unlike Pima, they chose to give the visitor information about the plane and respectfully displayed her in her own corner in a manner that befit her remarkable history. We hope that Pima get's over the war or sends their lone Hayabusa somewhere else where it can be appreciated.

We'll that is our two cents worth and I will stick to my opinions. It seems everyone has one and whether you agree with mine is not really all that important. But this lingering rancor over the war from our side baffles me particularly from some (not all) ex-US Navy personnel born years after WWII who choose to hold a grudge for wartime events they themselves did not suffer from or participated in but what few people left from that era on the other side bear them no malice. Just display the airplanes and give the visitor an chance to learn about them for what they are not for events or the policies of their wartime nations. How hard is that?

There is something to be learned from the eyes of an elderly Hibakusha who watched their families die in the ashes of Hiroshima, that in war there are no winners. Only death. It's important for for future generations to learn the lessons of those wars so that future wars are not fought again. But we know we won't change any opinions and that's not our job to do so but for those out there that still want to re-fight WWII I will end this with my favorite and most poignant moment of the Viet-Nam War: At the end of the Paris Peace Talks in 1972, The last sitting American General still sitting at the table sat across from his North Vietnamese counterpart and waited to get one last word in. He leaned forward and said with a degree of spite “You know we beat you in every land battle on the field.” The Vietnamese General smiled and and curtly replied: “Well none of that matters now.” And then he walked away. If you feel like you need to re-fight these old wars and not as a reenactor (which is fine in my book) but for merely for the sake of fighting, remember that Vietnamese General, think about the logic of his statement. Then when you come to your senses, walk away.

戦争映画 - A Real Officer and a Movie Part II

Earlier this month, we introduced you to a new feature inspired by the Military Channel we like to call "A Real Officer and a Movie" where we feature films depicting the heroic true stories of men who served the Empire of Japan during the Second World War. Earlier we introduced you to the story of Captain Oba Sakaein the 2010 Toho Studios War Epic 太平洋の奇跡−フォックスと呼ばれた男− (Translated The Miracle of the Pacific, The Man Called Fox) aka "Oba, The Last Samurai." Thanks again to our man Eddie over at Japanese Samurai DVD we would like to introduce you to another true story of one of Japan's Greatest Fighter Aces, a man who would later become enshrined at the Yasakuni Shrine as a God of War, the true story of Major General Katō Tateo in the newly digitally remastered 1969 Daiei Motion Picture Company film Rikugun Hayabusa Sentotaihe - aka "The Falcon Fighters."

But before we give you our take on the film let us introduce you to the man that in October 26, 1942 Time Magazine would call "Japan's Hero." Originally from Hokkaido, this son of an Army Sergeant who was killed in the Japan-Russo War would grow up to graduate in the 37th Class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1925 and would achieve the honorable duty of flag bearer for his Infantry Regiment. Within two years he would transfer to the Army's fledgling Air Corps and enroll at Tokorozawa Flying School. With great skill and natural aptitude for flying, he quickly rose through the ranks and became a flight instructor. By 1932 he had become the head flight instructor for the Akeno Flying School. This man would instruct a generation of new fighter pilots that would later see action over the skies of Manchuria and later in the War of the Pacific. During his time as commander of the 2nd Daitai, he claimed nine kills in China but would later disavow personal victories in favor of the collective achievements of his squadron earning both him and his men many unit citations. 

Katō is one of those few Japanese Officers during the Second Sino-Japanese War to leave the area of combat to visit Germany to inspect the German Luftwaffe's technical achievements in advanced fighter design. This combined with the attachments he had with his men to which he took personal responsibility as depicted in the film for him to push for the development of the new Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) fighter which would play a crucial in the War in the Pacific. It is believed during the course of his career he had made over 60 fighter kills which can not be accurately confirmed. However, his actions helped his unit's over all score of 260 kills over combined Allied Aircraft which quickly saw Katō promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by 1942. But as with Japan, Katō's successes would come to a fiery end on May 22nd 1942. While on an attack on a British Bristol Bomber of Squadron 60, a turret gunner named Flight Sergeant 'Jock' McLuckie raked the exposed belly of Katō's Peregrine Falcon with a burst of machine gun fire as Katō had come in for a pass sending him to a fiery crash into the sea. Katō would be posthumously awarded the rank of Major General and enshrinement at the Yakasuni Shrine as a God of War.  His life would be the subject of a 1944 Propaganda film made during the War titled Katō Hayabusa Sento-Tai seen in the restored trailer below:

Two decades later in the post war era, Katō's story would be featured again in the 1969 full feature film titled "Rikugun Hayabusa Sentotaihe" - aka "The Falcon Fighters."

For the newly digitally remastered feature "The Falcon Fighters" we wrote the following synopsis: Set in the prewar days leading up to the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937, head flight instructor Lt. Katō Tateo of the Imperial Japanese Army-Air Corps trains new volunteers from the Amry's Infantry to become Japan's next generation of fighter pilots at the Tokorozawa Flying School. Flying Kawasaki Ko-4 biplane's, Lt. Katō will train both friend and future foe alike. 

But as war in China breaks out, Katō (played by Makoto Satô) now in command of the 5^th Rentai will take his untested men flying antiquated planes into aerial combat against the Chinese Air Force who is now headed by Lt. Cho (played by Jun Fujimaki) who Katō both earlier befriended and personally trained himself. While Katō's squadron ultimately achieves air superiority over the skies of Manchuria, it comes at a high price in men to which each loss carries a heavy burden that he alone must carry. 

As the war widens into the Second World War, Captain Katō must battle an ever advancing array of deadlier new enemies flying ever more modern fighter planes. In a time when “To Serve was to Die,” ( a literal death sentence in some sense to Western eyes) a stark contrast of Military thinking by American Generals such as George S. Patton who said "No one ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor bastard die for his country." While such mindset or language may have not existed among the Japanese, the conflict instilled by the Bushido code and notion to die for the Emperor as an achievement versus the realities in losses of well trained men weighed heavily on Katō. Katō would rise through the ranks and defy the military logic of the day of an indifferent Army military brass to push for the development of the new Nakajima Ki-43  Hayabusa or "Peregrine Falcon” - (the Army's answer to the Navy's famous Mitsubishi A6M Zero) in an effort to arm Japan's pilots with modern fighter planes that would give his men a fighting chance of survival in the deadly aerial combat over the Pacific. 

Originally titled “Rikugun Hayabusa Sentotai,” written by Katsuya Susaki and directed by Mitsuo Murayama 1969 Daiei Motion Picture Company. Made with the technology available in the late 1960's, this rare classic WWII film "The Falcon Fighters" is the real life true story of Katō Tateo one of Japan's most legendary fighter aces of all time. Unfortunately we could not find a trailer available to show you but in lieu of such we have uploaded the film's opening so you may get a feel for this film.

Please bear in mind, as "American-jin" we are not trying to glorify war or make any political statements or arguments about Japan's wartime past. It is often said there are both heroes and villains on both sides to any conflict. What we at American Mishima believe is in sharing the stories not so well known on this side of the Pacific and worthy of retelling. We hope that the story of Katō Tateo gets retold yet again in a modern motion picture with today's talent and technology. Such men are a rare breed not to be forgotten. Their shared sacrifices made possible the world we have today. Therefore, we offer a salute and shared admiration for Major General Katō Tateo and the men on all sides who fought bravely for their countries in what was the tragedy that was the Second World War.