issue 26 41

SECOND WORLD WAR 1939–1945

A determined Japanese journalist

joined an air raid on Darwin in

January 1943.

By Steven Bullard

Flyingwith eagles

Butterflies circle in a white cloud. The searing heat scorches the verdant leaves of thisairfield in the South Seas. I silently stand in front of the bomber’s steadily rotatingpropeller with a handful of young eagles. There is no need to say “Well done!” Ouremotions are one, as if we share a blood bond.

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SECOND WORLD WAR 1939–1945

So begins the account of a Japanese airraid over Darwin in early 1943. It waswritten by Saito Shin’ya, a journalistworking as a propaganda officer, whoaccompanied the mission. It is one ofseveral dramatic accounts from the frontlines contained in South Pacific air war, abook published and distributed by the NavyPropaganda Department of ImperialHeadquarters in 1944 to boost moraleduring the Second World War.

The book came into my hands during aresearch trip to Japan. I had spent anunsuccessful afternoon scouring the morereputable second-hand shops in Tokyo, keento find copies of memoirs or accounts of theJapanese military campaign in New Guinea.In desperation, I entered a small, clutteredand somewhat tatty bookshop in Kanda.The shop assistant, cigarette dangling fromhis lips, looked away from the television justlong enough to reveal his lack of interest:another foreigner looking for porn? In manyof these shops, the gems were often deeplyburied. But I did unearth a rare first-handaccount by a transport supply officer withthe Japanese force along the Kokoda Trailin 1942 – and South Pacific air war.

In addition to the account of the Darwinraid, South Pacific air war also deals with thevery public loss of Admiral YamamotoIsoroku, whose plane was shot down overBougainville in April 1943, after the Allieshad broken the Japanese codes. Otheraccounts of the air war, from the skies overthe Solomon Islands, New Guinea and theNetherlands East Indies (now Indonesia),are filled with tales of daring, courage and

sacrifice, not to mention the occasionalexaggeration of enemy losses.

Like any wartime propaganda, theaccount of the Darwin air raid has time andplace obscured and references to detailsveiled by the hand of censors. Saito wrotethat his adventure had occurred “earlierthat year” and “by the light of the fullmoon”. These and other clues pinpoint theraid to the night of 20 January 1943,carried out by the Japanese navy’s 753rdAir Corps, operating out of Koepang inTimor. This information was laterconfirmed by the pilot of the plane inwhich Saito flew, Tanimura Masao.

Darwin had been raided more than 60times between the first attack on 19 February1942 and the mission Saito went on, thoughhis was the first in over two months. By early1943, the overall war situation had becomemore defensive for the Japanese, owing tothe effects of their losses at Midway andGuadalcanal. Impatient under theseconditions, Saito was keen to bring backgood news from the front, or at least topresent the true nature of the pilots’ andaircrews’ experiences. Though non-operational staff were not permitted toaccompany bombing missions from Koepang,Saito’s persistence was rewarded, and hebecame the first propaganda officer to fly alive mission.

Saito described the intense cold inside theMitsubishi “Betty” bomber as they approachedthe Australian mainland at high altitudeduring the night of 20 January. He gazed at anew Shinto talisman hung within the planeto keep them safe, savouring the taste of aJapanese sweet given him by one of the sixcrew members. When the crew had takentheir stations and the aircraft had dropped inpreparation for their bombing run, Saito wasinitially transfixed by the serenity, as theplane rolled through searchlight beams risingfrom the ground. However, sudden bursts ofanti-aircraft fire surrounded them with

Saito was keen to bring backgood news from the front, orat least to present the truenature of the pilots’ and

aircrews’ experiences.

Previous page: An

ominous sight: a

formation of Betty

bombers in New

Guinea. AWM

OG0606C

Below: The cockpit

area of a Mitsubishi

Betty bomber.

AWM P00001.370

Right: Images from

South Pacific air war:

“young eagles” being

farewelled by

ground crews and in

action over the

Pacific.

Far right: A rare

picture of a Betty

Bomber taken from

an Australian Spitfire

during a raid on

Darwin on 6 June

1943. AWM

P02822.001

AUTHORDr Steven Bullard isproject manager of theAustralia–Japan ResearchProject at the AustralianWar Memorial.

42 Wartime

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“flashes of red, purple and yellow”, as theplane banked in preparation for its final run.“The rear machine-gun gleamed an eerieblack. This was it.”

As the plane released its payload of 60-kilogram bombs, Saito marvelled how “the

arm of the pilot and eye of the spotterworked in perfect harmony”. Only he wasunaware at the time that the plane’s missionhad been successful, causing much damageto the airfield facilities far below. Soon after,Saito’s aircraft was targeted by severalAllied P-40s defending the base. The Bettywas hit, resulting in damage to the rightengine, and complete failure of the left. Athalf speed, with time seeming to stand still,all non-essential items were ejected fromthe plane.

Suddenly, one of the crew removed thetalisman and stuck it between the adjustmenttiller and the sunshade. Before my very eyes,two of the crew put their hands together andprayed for the propeller. I could not help fromrespectfully bowing my head to the whitetalisman.

The experience of combat made a deepand lasting impression on Saito. He latertold a colleague over a glass of whiskey how“the traditional naval fighting spirit ofpilots like Tanimura is profoundly moving”.Tanimura later admitted that he hadconsidered using the crippled plane to raminto an Australian target, but that the lifeof the civilian under his care was reasonenough to summon all his skill, with ameasure of luck or divine aid, to return tobase.

Many years after the war, Tanimurarecorded his great disappointment thatSaito’s health had prevented a reunion torecount their common experiences. Fromhis account of the raid over Darwin inJanuary 1943, we can surmise that for Saitothe silent bond with the “young eagles” thatwas forged in battle did not need suchaffirmation. It was shared by all who had“escaped the jaws of death”.

SAITO SHIN’YASaito Shin’ya was born inFukushima Prefecture inJapan in 1914. Aftergraduating from theLiterature Department ofthe Imperial University inTokyo (now TokyoUniversity), where hestudied German romanticpoetry, he took a positionas a journalist with alocal newspaper. Hemoved to the AsahiShinbun, a leadingJapanese daily newspaper,in 1939, but wasconscripted in 1941 bythe navy’s PropagandaDepartment and sent toKiska in the AleutianIslands, and from thereon to the South Pacific.He travelled and wroteextensively for the Asahiafter the war, coveringthe Tokyo war crimestrials and the coronationof Queen Elizabeth II inLondon. His journalismcareer was marked by hisoutspoken style andsometimes vitriolic pen.He retired from the Asahiin 1977 to concentrateon writing, but his healthbegan to fail and he lostthe sight of both eyes inthe 1980s. Saito wasknown to enjoy a drinkthroughout his life, andturned to it for solaceduring his final days. Hedied in Tokyo in 1987.

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