One would think that in the final days of World War II in Japan that the writing was on the wall and that things would naturally wind down and hostilities would simply begin to diminish, yet almost the opposite occurred. Three incidents mark the end of the War over the skies of Japan and even on the ground as the inevitable finally took place, but things might have tragically taken on a different complexion that would have caused even more loss of life.

Dwindling opposition

Prior to the last Atomic weapon release over Nagasaki the air superiority of US forces was undeniable. Even though the Japanese had a large number of planes still on the ground the death toll of Imperial pilots had been devastating. After the huge loss at Midway and the Marianna’s Turkey Shoot the ability of the Japanese to train new pilots and to recover from the massive losses of their veteran aviators had been overwhelming and few seasoned veterans remained to take the fight to the enemy anymore. So, US squadrons of Army Air Force and US Navy units patrolled the skies only faintly harassed by an occasional Zeke or two climbing into the air to attempt opposition with ground fire also becoming less of a threat, but never the less US pilots were assigned missions to continue strafing air fields and military installations.

Against the odds

In one bizarre incident, one of the few remaining seasoned veteran Japanese fighter pilots who often shook his fist in anger against the poorly opposed American aircraft as they flew overhead delivering bombs and machine gun bullets to Japan below. This pilot, who had inspired many of his flying mates in air battles with his incredible combat acrobatics found himself on the receiving end of a large unit of enemy aircraft. The only Jap Zero in the air and having 12 American fighter planes in pursuit, all on a hunt for a trophy as all knew that the end was very near. Already, America had fielded superior fighter aircraft capable of outperforming the Mitsubishi Zero. Whereas, the early days of 1 to 1 ratio kills with the US Navy F-4 Wildcat over Guadalcanal or the P-40 Warhawk until pilots knew exactly how to use its strengths over the weaknesses of the Zero, had changed.

Overwhelming superiority

Now with such aircraft as the F6-F Hellcat, an aircraft designed to defeat the Zero in every regime, speed, maneuverability, and firepower, the  gull winged F4U-Corsair another superior fighter plane, and the P-38 Lightning, these were devastating hunters in the sky few Zeros could escape once engaged against them. Yet, on this odd day, the Americans were about to get the tables turned on them by a single angry veteran Imperial Japanese fighter pilot who refused to run and hide and gambled against all chances of survival against greater numbers. After the initial losses in the Pacific within hours of the Pearl Harbor disaster many Americans wanted a bitter revenge, and the island hopping campaign under Admiral Chester Nimitz, although successful had still been a bloody price to pay on the road to the Japanese mainland.

Disbelief

American pilots patrolled over Japan, strafed at will, bombed almost unopposed, and encountered little resistance since Emperor Hiro Hito had refused to surrender after the destruction of Hiroshima after the Atomic Bomb had been delivered by the crew of the Enola Gay B-29 Super Fortress. As a matter of fact, while the Japanese could hardly bring themselves to comprehend that an entire city had been destroyed by a single bomber, even the Americans themselves could hardly believe what they had heard. So, as a flight of 12 American fighters lined up for a strafing run and suddenly detected a single Japanese Zero within range, a certain degree of excitement gripped the pilots who wanted to be one of the last aviators to score a kill before the impending end of the war.

Succumbing to the inevitable

According to accounts the US flyers were anxiously jockeying into position in order to get a crack at the only enemy plane in the skies, but to their amazement and regret, one US pilot after another fell victim to the 20 mm cannon of the Zero pilot as they each attempted to collect their trophy. In all, the Japanese veteran downed 4 American fighters before finally getting away from the large American formation and landing unopposed. What a great inspiration it would have been to his fellow pilots to see their old Buddy shooting down 4 US aircraft outnumbered as he was, but most of his buddies had already died at the hands of US pilots in prior battles as the US Navy swiftly became the greatest scourge of the oceans of the world rapidly overcoming the enemy surface armadas while beating a bloody path to the coast of the Japanese mainland.

Unable to stop

The Americans were left stunned, and obviously not following careful air combat regimen, had made an undisciplined grab for a trophy that turned out to be anything but easy pickings. Whatever squad leader who allowed this air to air fiasco to go on was probably court martialed or dressed down at the very least if not becoming one of the victims himself in the air duel. As for the Japanese Zero pilot who was well known among his fellow aviators, in the days and weeks to follow he became a burn out according to some accounts and had a severe personality breakdown that led to his final flight resulting in his death by losing to an aerial opponent. Shot down like so many of his comrades. Much like many great air warriors of World War I and World War II, many of these great fighter pilots could not bring themselves to stop, and ended up becoming statistics of the inevitable attrition.