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Takeshi Nakayama
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Perilous Full Moon: I Survived Due to Old Airframe (Kowakatta mangetsu: Furui kitai yue, ikinobiru)
Researched and written by Shūji Fukano and Fusako Kadota
Pages 162-164 of Tokkō kono chi yori: Kagoshima shutsugeki no kiroku
(Special attacks from this land: Record of Kagoshima sorties)
Minaminippon Shinbunsha, 2016, 438 pages
A seaplane with floats to take off from and land on the sea has high air
resistance and slow speed. The Type 0 Observation Seaplane (Allied code name of Pete)
and the Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplane (Allied code name of Dave), which were
the main aircraft types of the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps 12th Air Flotilla Two-seat Reconnaissance
Seaplane Squadron formed from members of the Amakusa Naval Air Group, had maximum speeds of
370 km/hour and 290 km/hour, respectively. When loaded with an overweight bomb,
the speed was even lower.
"If they flew in daytime, they would have been shot down easily by high-speed
American fighters who exceeded 600 km/hour. As a general rule, seaplanes headed
toward Okinawa at night relying on moonlight," says Takeshi Nakayama (89 years old, resident of Fuchū City in Tōkyō
Prefecture), former Two-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane Squadron member.
"Therefore, the sortie date would be near the date of a full moon, and it was
frightening when the moon became round."
Among the over 20 special attack aircraft of the Amakusa Air Group, Nakayama
was assigned to a Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplane. It had been introduced in
1935, more than six years prior to the start of the war between Japan and
America. In comparison to a Type 0 Observation Seaplane made all with metal, at
this time it was obsolete since it used wood in many places and had wings of
stretched cloth fabric. Moreover, the Amakusa Air Group planes were
hand-me-downs that had been used for a long time by operational units.
Nakayama in the old airframe was terrified when during crash training the
plane descended from a height of 3,000 meters at a 30-degree angle. "The
airframe shook violently. When I looked at the wings, the fixed wings were
acting violently just like a bird flapping its wings." The engine revolutions
soon went down, and I proceeded without problems, but when I investigated
afterwards, 20 of the wooden planks inside both wings were broken.
On April 3, 1945, two classmates of the 39th Class of Flying Skill Trainees
died when an accident occurred where their plane, which was the same model,
broke apart in midair. "Would such a rattletrap ever be able to reach the
battleground?" Concerns increased.
However, this rickety airframe ended up letting Nakayama survive.
In the 1st and 2nd Okinawan special attacks by the Amakusa Air Group on May
24 and June 21, preference for the sorties was given to the new Type 0
Observation Seaplanes. In July when the Type 0 Observation Seaplanes were gone,
Nakayama prepared himself, "It is finally my turn." However, the sorties were
cancelled due to bad weather. The war ended before August 18, when all planes were scheduled to make sorties.
Of the 16 men from the Amakusa Air Group who died in special attacks, all of
them were men who made sorties in Type 0 Observation Seaplanes. Five men were
Nakayama's classmates in the 39th Class of Flying Skill Trainees.
"By a small stroke of fortune and difference in fate, they died and I
survived." Nakayama, who was Leader of the 39th Class of Flying Skill Trainees,
was tormented with remorse for narrowly escaping with his life.
"Until the end I could not overcome my fear of death. I must not forget my
comrades who overcame unimaginable hardships and went to die." That strong
feeling was connected with the establishment of the Amakusa Naval Air Group
Association, which is an organization for exchanges between former Air Group
members and bereaved family members, and the erection of the
Amakusa Naval Air Group Monument
a quarter century after the end of the war.
Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplane flown by Takeshi Nakayama.
It was out-of-date in the final stage of the Pacific War.
Translated by Bill Gordon
December 2024
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