In this japanese name, the family name is sakai saburo sakai japanese. Only if all warriors had the heart and honor of mr. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots is a 1985 book by henry sakaida dealing with the wartime history of saburo sakai and other imperial japanese navy air service pilots who flew the mitsubishi a6m. Four different a6m2 zeros are alleged to have been flown by saburo sakai and documented by henry sakaida in his biography of sakai, winged samurai. Saburo sakai was born on 25 august 1916, in saga, japan. It describes the life and career of saburo sakai, the japanese combat aviator who fought against american fighter pilots in the pacific theater of world war ii, surviving the war with 64 kills as one of japans leading flying aces. Warrant officer saburo sakai is the most famous japanese pilot and was one of the few high scorers to survive the war. Saburo sakai was a japanese naval aviator and fighter ace of the imperial japanese navy during world war ii. Saburo sakai simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Read this book many years ago and this was a reread. Saburo sakai along with several widows and brothers of his comrades who died in the war, now owns and operates a printing shop in japan. According to sakaida, sakai san has flown a6m2 model 21s carrying tainan ku tail codes as follows. Of these four aircraft, only two are known by serial number. Samurai by saburo sakai martin caidin fred saito abebooks. Through most of his flying career he flew the famous mitsubishi zero in its various models. Piloting a mitsubishi a6m zero was hairraising enough, with its notorious lack of armor and selfsealing fuel tanks, but flying one while bleeding to death, down one eye, and fading in and out of consciousness is the kind of experience saburo sakai, legendary japanese fighter ace, places the reader in through his autobiography and memoir, samurai. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. Saburo sakai samurai poster by basilbarfly redbubble. This book has been written by martin caidin from saburo sakais own memoirs and journalist fred saitos interviews with the fighter pilot.
Interview with saburo sakai project news read only. Editions for samurai 055324664x mass market paperback published in 1985, kindle edition published in 2018, 1591147557 hardcover published in 2010. Saburo sakai the merciful realistic battle discussion. Sublieutenant saburo sakai was a japanese naval aviator and flying ace of the imperial japanese navy during world war ii and was the highest surviving ace of the ijn. Join facebook to connect with saburo sakai and others you may know. Aviation art poster samurai saburo sakai saburo sakaithe battle of guadalcanal sublieutenant saburo sakai sakai saburo.
Saburo sakai was born on august 25, 1916 the thirdborn of four sons and three sisters in saga, japan. The book is an oversized paperback, roughly 11 x 8, and has a wonderful painting on the cover of sakai and his zero rocketing upwards after he was horribly wounded attacking a dauntless formation over tulagi in august of 1942. Written by martin caidin from saburo sakais own memoirs and journalist fred saitos extensive interviews with the fighter pilot, samauir. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Winged samurai is one of my favorite books in my small but growing library of all things jnaf. After having fought government censorship for more than three decades, ienaga triumphed in a highprofile court. Two zeros were shot down in the battle, and the b32 was seriously damaged. The book was not published in japan and differs from his biographies there. Sakai enjoyed a singular and most cherished reputation among fighter pilots. Samurai saburo sakai pdf saburo sakai with martin caidin fred saito. Saburo sakai was born into one of japans great samurai warrior families and became one of his country s greatest ww2 pilots and the only one to survive the war.
Unfollow saburo sakai to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. He came from a family descended from a long line of samurai, japans ancient warrior class. Over the course of three hours, he and i discussed a number of topics, almost all related to his exploits in. The personal story of this outstanding pilot is vividly described in saburo sakais book samurai which was written with the cooperation of martin caidin and fred saito. Items earned from dlc purchase is provided through gift box. This wellwritten, first person memoir covers sakais early life and entire war experience from his brutal pilot training in the 1930s to the attack on pearl harbor and firebombing of. On august 7, 1942, badly wounded japanese ace saburo sakai disengages from his american adversaries and embarks on an epic 640mile flight back to his base at rabaul, new britain. Military history ibooks new ed by sakai, saburo isbn. Japan w only one chance to buy one dlc per an account. He was the 4th best japanese pilot by number of enemy aircraft he shot down. The wildcat was clinging grimly to the tail of a zero, its tracers chewing up the wings and tail. Saburo sakai was born august 16th 1916 in the farming village of nishiyoka in the saga prefecture on kyushu island, japan. First off, let me say that this is one of the grand combat memoirs of world war iibut you knew that, right.
This book covers the life of sabruo sakai during the period of his prewar flight training to the end of wwii. A couple of months ago a friend loaned me a magazine with an article about modern fighter pilots compared to wwii pilots. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the. According to japanese naval fighter aces by hata, izawa and shores, official records show that sakai had claimed 28 victories by the time he was wounded in action on 7 august. I read this story long time ago and it still brings tears to my eyes reading it again. Saburo sakai books list of books by author saburo sakai. This book tells the highly abridged version of sakais wartime service by author. Caidin wrote the prose of the book, basing its contents on.
Understand how sakai can scale to support hundreds of thousands of students. In the case of saburo sakai the most common number given is 64 but nearly all sources agree that this number was basically invented by martin caidin when he wrote samurai. See more ideas about wwii, imperial japanese navy and world war. Best pilots saburo sakai 15 scale wwii japanese pilot. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots is a 1985 book by henry sakaida dealing with the wartime history of saburo sakai and other imperial. This gives a view of the pacific air war from the japanese side. I found it amusing to read of sakais frustration when as caidin states on his behalf the zeros succeeded in shooting down american aircraft by the tens and twenties, only to have them miraculously appear again next day. The unforgettable saga of japans greatest fighter pilot by saburo sakai, martin caidin, fred saito and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Saburo sakai and the zero fighter pilots wikipedia. Sublieutenant saburo sakai was a japanese naval aviator and flying ace gekitsuio, of the imperial japanese navy during world war ii. Luckily for sakai, he was not assigned to a naval carrier. Kindle edition by sakai, saburo, caidin, martin, saito, fred. Samurai by fred saito,martin caidin,saburo sakai and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Sakai had 28 aerial victories including shared by official japanese records, while his autobiography samurai. One thing that makes this book fun is that if you have a lot of romantic illusions about japan or the samurai class this book will cure them. He had, by his accounting 3,700 hours flying time, with at least 1,500 hours of that in zeros. He was the highest scoring japanese ace to survive the war. Afterwards, sakai was adopted by his maternal uncle who paid for him to attend tokyo high school, but did not excel and in his second year returned to. We personally assess every book s quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. Pacific wrecks dogfight between saburo sakai and james. The book states that on the night of august 1415, 1945, the evening before tokyos surrender, sakai and an ensign jiro. It is not eligible to buy the same item in game once dlc purchase has been made.
Dogfight between saburo sakai and james southerland august 7, 1942 excert from samurai. Saburo sakai is japans greatest fighter pilot to survive world war ii, and his powerful memoir has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring books ever written on the pacific war. Pilots everywhere spoke in awe of his incredible exploits in the air. Saburo sakai archive luftwaffe and allied air forces. The family was poor, but intensely proud of their samurai heritage, according to mr. This book was recommended by my east high school history teacher. By 1937 he had graduated at the top of this his enlisted pilottraining class, and he quickly saw combat in china. It was part of the bantam war books series of the 50s and 60s. He was the highest scoring japanese ace to survive the. Saburo sakai and his coauthor martin caidin paint a vivid and enthralling picture of the japanese side of world war ii. His total of 64 victories puts him in fourth place after warrant officer hiroyoshi nishizawa, 1 victories, lt. Saburo sakai became a living legend in japan during world war ii. Of all japans aces, saburo sakai is the only pilot who never lost a wingman in combat.
Faced with the prospects of a desolate rural life, he enlisted in the imperial japanese navy at sixteen. Not related to this interview, but he wrote a book entitled samurai. Saburo sakai is not just another pilot, after allhes an icon of world war ii. At age 11, his father died, leaving his mother alone to raise seven children. Btw, saburo flew with the real 343 kokutai of the ijn in ww2. Saburo sakai, japanese fighter pilot who reached out to create ties. First published in english in 1957, it gave americans new perspectives on the air war and on the japanese pilots who, until then, had been perceived in. Specifications this 15 scale pilot figure features an portrait of saburo sakai, authentic flight gear for the period from his simulated fur collar, kapok life preserver to his flying boots. A pretty interesting read if you enjoy history from that era.
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