Samurai! The Autobiography of Japan's Bravest Fighter Ace

340 Pages·1996·57.07 MB·English

by  Saburo Sakai

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64 CONFIRMED KILLS...ONE CONFIRMED LEGEND!
With MARTIN CAIDIN and FRED SAITO
$5.99U.S.
$7.99CAN.
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EAN
A PACK OF ACES
SaburoSakau Hisstoryis anessentialchapterintheannals
of aerial warfare. A crack fighter pil—ot and true hero, he
fought against overwhelming odds his ow—n country's
brutality and America's superior firepower to achieve
victory in battle and glory in defeat.
Lieutenant Commander Tadashi Nakajima. Commander of
Sakai's squadron, Nakajima recognized in the young pilot
theskill,resourcefulness,andcouragethatwouldultimately
set him apart. Standinghisground in the heatofbattle, the
commander would also save Sakai's life.
HiroyoshiNishizawaandToshioOta. With Sakai, they were
theleadingacesoftheLaeWing. Oftenflyingtogether, they
become known as the "cleanup trio." Sakai saw them both
as pilots ofgenius, men who melded into the fiber oftheir
Zeros.
Lieutenant Junichi Sasai. The best friend Sakai ever had,
Sasai flewat his side duringtheworst hoursofthewar. But
for all thejoy he brought into Sakai's life, the lieutenant's
final legacy would be a tragic one.
Hatsuyo. Sakai's wife and the love ofhis life, she survived
thebombsandallthedangersofwarawaitingherhusband's
return. But she would fall victim to a different enemy, a
casualty of war in her own right and her death was a
. . .
blowmoredevastatingthananythingtheAlliedpilotsthrew
Sakai's way.
Books by Martin Caidin
The LongNight
Air Power
Worlds in Space
Rockets Beyond the Earth
Rockets and Missiles: Past and Future
(with M. Okumiya andJ. Horikoshi)
Zero!
The Zero Fighter
C
(with D. Cooke)
Jets, Rockets, and Guided Missiles
(with SaburoSakai andFredSaito)
Samurai!*
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SAMURiy!
TheAatobiograplqrofJapan'sBravestFighterAce
SABURO SAIUI
With MARTINCAIDINandFRED SATFO
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©
Copyright 1957 by Martin Caidin
This edition foreword copyright © 1996 by Pocket Books,
a division ofSimon & Schuster Inc.
All rights reserved, includingthe right to reproduce
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First Pocket Books printing August 1996
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CoverphotocourtesyofJeffreyEthell
Printed in the U.S.A.
.
This book is
dedicatedto
all those fighter pilots
with whom I fought, and
fought against, who will
never come home.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Theauthorswishtoexpresstheirappreciationtoallthe
persons and institutions without whose assistance this
bookwouldnothavebeenpossible. Particularthanksare
due to former Naval Aviation Captain Masahisa Saito;
to Major General Minora Genda, JAF; to Colonel
Tadashi Nakajima, JAF; to Colonel Masatake Okumiya,
G-2, Japan Joint Chiefs of Staff; to Major Shoji
Matsumara, JAF; to all the former pilots and oflBcers of
Japan's wartime naval air arm who contributed details
oftheiraircombatservice;wewishparticularlytothank
Otto V. St. Whitelock, whose editorial assistance has
always been invaluable; Sally Botsford, who has worked
many long hours in typing the final manuscript; Major
William J. McGinty, Captain James Sunderman, and
Major Gordon Furbish of the United States Air Force,
who have always been most cooperative in providing
historical documentation and other assistance.