Native name 太田 敏夫 Unit Tainan Air Group | Allegiance Empire of Japan Name Toshio Ota | |
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Born 20 March 1919
Nagasaki, Japan ( 1919-03-20 ) Died 21 October 1942(1942-10-21) (aged 23)
Guadalcanal Service/branch Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN) Rank Petty Officer First Class | ||
Reverend Toshio Ōta's Sermon 大田俊雄先生のご教話
Toshio Ōta (太田 敏夫, Ōta Toshio, 20 March 1919 – 21 October 1942) was a World War II Japanese fighter ace. In early 1942, at the age of 22, he flew a Mitsubishi A6M Zero with the Lae based Tainan Air Group. There the young petty officer, 1st class became one of the so-called "Clean-up Trio" of Japanese aces, along with his squadron mates Saburo Sakai and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa.
Ōta's first confirmed kill, of a U.S. Army Air Force P-40E Warhawk, was over New Guinea on April 11, 1942. Transferred to Rabaul in August, Ōta was killed in a dogfight with U.S. Marine Corps Grumman F4F Wildcats over Guadalcanal on October 21, shortly after shooting down a Wildcat himself. His victorious opponent is believed to be 1st Lt. Frank C. Drury of the VMF-212 squadron. Ōta is credited with 34 victories, making him the Imperial Japanese Navy's sixth-ranking ace.
In his autobiography, Sakai described Ōta as outgoing and amiable, in contrast to the more reserved Nishizawa, and said he would have been "more at home in a nightclub" than in Lae.