Petty Officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
was a
Japanese
airman
An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions.
In civilian aviation usage, t ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. His
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was ...
was the first of that type (after those recovered after the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
) to be recovered relatively intact on
Allied territory when he crash landed on
Melville Island,
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
,
Australia. Toyoshima was the first Japanese
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
to be captured in Australia. While a prisoner of war, Toyoshima was one of the instigators of the
breakout from the prisoner of war camp located in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia, sounding a
bugle
The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, normally having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure.
History
The bugle developed from early musical or communication ...
to signal the commencement of the escape, and died during the escape attempt.
Early life
Toyoshima was born on March 29, 1920.
Little is known of Toyoshima's early life.
Raid on Darwin
![A6M2 5349](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/A6M2_5349.jpg)
Toyoshima took part of the 19 February 1942,
Japanese air-raid on
Darwin,
Australia.
His Zero,
tail code BII-124,
was launched from the
Japanese aircraft carrier ''Hiryū''.
After running out of fuel due to bullet damage to its tanks,
his Zero crash-landed on Melville Island,
where he was taken prisoner by local islander
Matthias Ulungura.
Toyoshima was the first Japanese
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
to be captured in
Australian territorial jurisdiction.
Toyoshima suffered only superficial facial injuries in the crash-landing.
He strove to move as far away from his Zero on foot, understanding that the aircraft would aid
Allied Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
.
Before Toyoshima's crash, only nine Zeros had been shot down in the
Pearl Harbor attack
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ...
, 74 days before the first air raid on Darwin; their pilots had died, and the badly damaged wrecks were of little use.
After being moved to Darwin, he was transferred to Melbourne by the RAAF for debriefing. A month later he was sent to civilian detention at the Hay detention camp.
Cowra breakout
By the time Toyoshima had arrived at the Cowra POW camp, in December 1942, he had adopted the alias .
He actively sought to learn English, both from local internees and friendly guards.
allowing him to eventually act as a prisoner leader and translator. One guard also gave him a bugle to practice with.
In August 1944, Toyoshima signaled the 1:45 am start of the mass escape of Japanese prisoners of war from the camp with a
bugle call.
He died alongside 230 other Japanese in the breakout.
See also
*
Akutan Zero
The Akutan Zero, also known as Koga's Zero (古賀のゼロ) and the Aleutian Zero, was a type 0 model 21 Mitsubishi A6M Zero Japanese fighter aircraft that crash-landed on Akutan Island, Alaska Territory, during World War II. It was found ...
References
External links
*
The Question of Hajime, 1995 BA Honors thesis produced by Dr Craig Bellamy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toyoshima, Hajime
Japanese military personnel of World War II
Japanese World War II pilots
Japanese prisoners of war
World War II prisoners of war held by Australia
Japanese military personnel killed in World War II
Date of birth unknown
1920 births
1944 deaths