Akio Shimamura led his wing consisting of 3 A6M2 Zero's on a Combat Air Patrol. They had received word of U.S. aircraft operating in the area and the Zuikaku had been tasked with protecting bases on the Marshall islands while the troops could set up on the ground. The 3 pilots had their eyes peeled for any enemy aircraft but the truth was they had no idea where the Americans intended to strike. The new airbase on Taroa island was almost ready and functioning but the Zuikaku aircraft were still needed to cover the vast area that the U.S. could be operating from. So there they were, Shimamura with Kenta Kusahara in the middle and Masuaki Shunji on the right.
The radios had proven to be unreliable, again, so when Akio saw the approaching planes he immediately signalled his wingmen instead of bothering with the piece of junk. Shunji and Kusahara broke right while he went left, encircling the American planes.
The U.S. aircraft were two F4F-3's one on either side of two SBD-3's that were carrying a payload for Taroa island. At the time they were not aware of an airbase there, assuming the Japanese had a rudimentary forward operating base. The Japanese pilots were determined to keep it that way, with some 30 or so twin engine bombers there it would be detrimental were the U.S. to find out and order a proper strike instead of these small raids.
It was not long before the aircraft were in the thick of it, each plane taking moderate damage with the exception of Kusahara who was unscathed.
The Japanese pilots knew that the bombers were the priority and they flew past the fighters to engage them. Shimamura placed himself nicely in the blind spot of the one bomber.
Then the Zero's demonstrated their maneuverability by turning tight so as to stay on the bombers and all their guns came to bear at once. One F4F-3 responded with a graceful immelman that put him right on the flank of Masuaki Shunji who promptly ignored the hail of bullets as he focused on the engine of the SBD. Kusahara and Shimamura set alight the one bomber and sent it to the waves below while Shunji ripped into the other. A resounding explosion sent shrapnel into Kusahara's A6M2 (collision) and a steady trail of smoke appeared behind him.
"That takes care of the bombers, let's focus on the fighters now" Shimamura said over the radio, forgetting in the heat of the battle that this was not working earlier. Avoiding collisions with each other had the pilot's distracted as a F4F zipped by sending bullets into Shunji's already damaged plane. The return fire was way off the mark.
They fought for an advantage while Kusahara remembered the Captain's orders from before and with confirmation from his wing leader decided to turn back to the Zuikaku.
Shimamura was lining up on an enemy Wildcat but the pilot gave him the slip and avoided heavy damage.
Shunji went for him while Shimamura switched his attention to the second enemy fighter. They were just out of range however.
Another Immelmann from the red nosed F4F caused him to head straight for Shimamura and the resulting pass caused smoke to pour out of his aircraft. Unbeknownst to Akio however, he got the better of the exchange with the enemy's airspeed dropping considerably.
He too reversed and got right on the Wildcat's tail, Shunji was still working for position on the other plane.
The U.S. pilots decided to try and hand off to each other the tail that they had picked up, recognizing that out-turning the Japanese fighters was impossible, but it was too late. The red nosed F4F gave off one last burst before his wing got torn up by Shimamura and he was forced to bail out.
Shunji, feeling resistance in the pedals after taking that last burst managed to bring his guns to bear on the remaining aircraft, his guns set the plane on fire and the American turned to head for home.
It wasn't long before the fire began spreading to the cockpit however, and with the Japanese plane still on his tail the American pilot decided now was his only chance to get out. He pushed back the glass and Shunji stopped firing when he saw this, allowing the pilot to make it out unharmed.
The victorious pilot's scanned the skies for anymore activity and noticed none so they turned their aircraft and headed for home.
Kenta Kusahara was the first to make it back to the carrier. At this point the smoke had finally dissipated but he guessed that had something to do with the fact that he was on his reserve tank. He figured he had one shot at landing or he'd be forced to ditch. The Captain's words about keeping the fighters airworthy made his mouth dry as he remembered the last time he attempted a landing with a severely damaged aircraft. It was in fact his last mission that resulted in combat, that ended with his plane having to undergo serious maintenance. After he ran through all the procedures he began the landing attempt. He missed the first, second, now third cable and became worried. "The captain will kill me if this landing doesn't" he thought. At last the hook snagged and brought his aircraft to a safe halt on the deck. He exited safely and awaited the other two pilot's arrival.
Shunji had nursed his battered plane back and was given the OK to land first. He caught himself thinking some of the same thoughts as Kusahara, he had been one to chirp before but now with the significant damage to his ailerons he began to see how hard it must have been. Due to the fatigue he had a lack of focus and came at the carrier a little fast, the man on deck tried to wave him through for another pass but it was too late. His hook grabbed and it sent his nose forward, tilting, tilting, until the ends of his propeller blades bent and the tail slammed back onto the deck.
Once they got the aircraft aside and Shimamura had landed, himself and Kusahara helped Shunji to the medical bay to get checked for injuries. "Not as easy as it looks is it friend?" Kenta quipped. Masuaki Shunji laughed "fair enough, I was wrong to make fun of you for that last one" He replied. They then began sorting out claims as the doctor looked him over, it took all of 10 seconds before he shouted for them to leave and to let him examine the pilot in peace.
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