Assessing the situation in mid-January, the Japanese headquarters concluded that the enemy air force in Burma was headquartered at Mingaladon and Hlegu (Highland Queen) airports, with additional American planes at Toungoo, to a total of about 120 aircraft--a considerable exaggeration. The 15th Army therefore established a new attack plan, and so informed the 5th Hikoshidan (area air force). This was the logic: "Hurricanes and Tomahawks are not coming to attack our fighter planes but instead they try to attack the bombers every time, so we need more study and a new planing for employing our bombers. Attacking Burma is difficult from bases in Thailand, so we need a Burma base." On January 15, General Obata arrived at Bangkok airport and established a 5th Hikoshidan headquarters there. At the same time, the 50th Sentai reached Thailand and was stationed at Nakon Sawan with its complement of 31 Ki-27 fixed-gear fighters.

The army crosses the border

The 5th Hikoshidan headquarters drew up its plan to support the 15th Army's drive into Burma. On January 20, 12 light bombers of the 31st Sentai supported the infantry as they crossed the frontier, with two squadrons of the 77th Sentai providing top cover. Heavy smoke made flying difficult. Other fighters from the 77th Sentai reconnoitered Moulmein airport, shooting down two Brewster Buffaloes as they tried to take off, and killing both pilots. They were "showered with bullets," according to a Japanese news report.

The British sent their Blenheim bombers against the encroaching Japanese army, escorted by P-40s from the AVG 2nd Squadron. The six Tomahawks engaged the main force of the 77th Sentai, claiming three shot down at the cost of one Tomahawk (Moose Moss, who eventually made his way back to Moulmein and Mingaladon). On the Japanese side, the accounts vary, but apparently one Ki-27 was lost along with its pilot, Lt. Suzuki Shigeru, while the Japanese pilots claimed three or four Tomahawks shot down.

Later the same day, the 62nd Sentai heavy bombers escorted by 50th Sentai fighters attacked Moulmein airport and its satellite at Mudon with a total of 65 planes.

The air superiority battle of January 23

Medium bombers from the 8th Sentai reconnoitered Mingaladon airport, reporting four bombers and twelve fighters seen on the ground. General Obata therefore ordered an attack for the next day, January 23. The first attack was led by Major Makino of the 50th Sentai, taking off from Nakon Sawan with a force of 24 Ki-27 fighters. After refueling at Raheng, they flew over the Gulf of Martaban in a rain squall with decreasing visibility. Circling over southern Burma at 3,800 meters, they found themselves in heavy clouds and unable to break out. At one point they spotted two "P-40s", below and to the west. These must have been two Buffaloes of 67 Squadron: one British pilot was shot down and killed near Pegu, while the other claimed one fixed-gear Japanese fighter destroyed.

Finally, at 11:45 Tokyo time, they entered Mingaladon airspace at 3,500 meters. The 2nd Chutai found itself at a disadvantage, pressed by the newly-arrived Hurricanes of RAF 17th Squadron. (Curiously, the Hurricane pilots said much the same thing: they were hard-pressed by the attacking Japanese.) One Ki-27 was shot down in this engagement, while RAF squadron leader Barry Stone had his Hurricane shot up and rendered unservicable.

Next the Ki-27s were attacked by three AVG Tomahawks. "Fighting now entered the stage that is very messy." At 12:10 p.m., a 3rd Chutai pilot found himself with fuel "bursting out"; he fled the scene, was chased by a Tomahawk (the Japanese identify this pilot as Bill Bartling), and finally joined up with another Ki-27 at 2,000 meters. I get the impression, reading the Japanese accounts, that the 50th Sentai ran for its life on this occasion, despite its numerical superiority. One Ki-27 disappeared on the way home: it "missed its direction and got lost" over the rain forest

Nevertheless, the Japanese claimed a rousing victory in the morning fur-ball: three Tomahawks, a Buffalo, two "Spitfires," and an unidentified "larger aircraft" destroyed, at the cost of two of their own. (Actually Allied losses: one Buffalo and its pilot, a Tomahawk forced down; and a Hurricane that never flew again. For their part, the Americans were credited with destroying seven Ki-27s and a Buffalo pilot with one.)

That afternoon, it was the turn of the 77th Sentai fighters, --25 of them, escorting 12 light bombers of the 31st Sentai. This formation was the brain-child of General Hiroda of the 10th Hikodan (wing): he figured that with only a dozen bombers, the Ki-27s would be better able to protect them from the Allied fighters. The two groups were to have assembled near Raheng, but they missed each other in a rain squall, with the result that the bombers flew alone to Mingaladon. They were bounced by a reported 30 P-40s and a "Spitfire." All the Ki-30s were hit; one was shot down, three were badly damaged, and seven others suffered some damage before the Japanese fighters came to their rescue 15 minutes later.

Attacking the P-40s from behind, the 77th Sentai pilots were credited with shooting down eight of them, including the Tomahawk flown by Bert Christman, who was killed in his parachute harness. (Umemeto Hiroshi assures the reader that this was common practice since World War I, and that Japanese parachutists were similarly killed by members of the AVG.) All the Ki-27s returned safely.

January 23 saw some fairly wild discrepancies between claims and actual losses. The AVG was claiming 11 planes, with another for 67 Squadron; actual Japanese losses were a light bomber and two fighters (three pilots and a gunner dead), though the surviving 31st Sentai bombers had been so badly shot up that the group would not play an important role for the next week or so. For their part, the Japanese claimed that they'd shot down 14 Allied aircraft, as against one Buffalo and two Tomahawks actually shot down or crash-landed (two pilots dead).

Back at Lampang, the 77th Sentai pilots reported that "the enemy has a great will to fight but their technique in the air is not superior" to that of the Japanese--a back-handed compliment, but quite a remarkable admission that the despised westerners were fighting them on equal terms.

A disaster for the JAAF

On January 24, it was the turn of the Mitsubishi Ki-21 heavy bombers. Six planes from the 2nd Chutai, 14th Sentai, set out from Bangkok under Captain Motomura for a rendezvous with the 50th Sentai. Major Makino's engine failed on takeoff from Raheng; the plane crashed, badly injuring the group commander and leaving the fighters under the command of Captain Sakaguchi, the 1st Chutai squadron leader. Leading 20 Ki-27s, he caught up with the heavy bombers near Mingaladon, only to have them speed up and dive to a lower altitude, once again leaving the fighters behind.

Mingaladon airport was "full of explosions and smoking" as the heavies turned back from their bombing run, under attack from the Allied fighters--a mixed formation of Tomahawks, Hurricanes, and Buffaloes. One of the first to go down was the Ki-21 piloted by Capt. Motormura; he was soon followed by the rest of his squadron mates, while the 50th Sentai did its best to protect them from the slaughter. Three Ki-27s were also shot down in the melee, including Capt. Sakaguchi's aircraft. (According to Umemoto Hiroshi, one of the Japanese fighter pilots parachuted to the ground, 30 km east of Mingaladon. He died of his injuries, and his body was buried by Burmese villagers, who reported that he wore a white band on his forehead with his name on it. In March, his body was disinterred by the Japanese; this may have been Sakaguchi. Umemoto is my source that all six bombers were lost, along with their 42 crewmen. The semi-official history gives the 14th Sentai losses at five Ki-21s.)

In this one-sided battle, the Allies lost one Tomahawk force-landed, while seeming to claim 11 heavy bombers and 7 fighters shot down (the numbers conflict). The 50th Sentai apparently made no claims for January 24.

Toward the end of the day, the 77th Sentai returned with three light bombers of the 31st Sentai--evidently all that were servicable after its travails the day before. They "wanted to revenge" their comrades lost earlier in the day. The bombers reported several planes destroyed on the ground, while the fighters claimed one Allied aircraft shot down and others damaged. Curiously, the Allies make almost no mention of this attack, except that one Hurricane pilot was attacked as he was landing his plane. The only actual damage was six bullet-holes in an already-disabled Blenheim.

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