1 August 1913 – 27 August 1939) was the highest-scoring

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Army Air Service The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ja, 大日本帝國陸軍航空部隊, Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūbutai, lit=Greater Japan Empire Army Air Corps) was the aviation force of the Im ...

(IJAAF). On 27 June 1939 he set a Japanese record by downing 11 planes on a single day. He was shot down and killed on 27 August 1939, having claimed 58 victories in only three months of combat. He scored all his aerial victories while flying a

Nakajima Ki-27 The was the main fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service up until 1940. Its Allied nickname was "Nate", although it was called "Abdul" in the "China Burma India" (CBI) theater by many post war sources; Allied Intelligen ...

Early life

Hiromichi Shinohara was born in August 1913 on a farm in Suzumenomiya, near

Utsunomiya is the prefectural capital city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 519,223, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Utsunomiya is famous for its ''gyoza'' ...

in the

Tochigi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi). Tochigi ...

. After finishing his formal education he went into military service, joining the 27th Cavalry Regiment in 1931. In that capacity he took part in the

Japanese invasion of Manchuria The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden Incident. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Their occupation lasted until the ...

and was involved in the Jiangqiao Campaign in April 1932.

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force career

In June 1933 Shinohara went to the Tokorozawa Flying School (''Tokorozawa Rikugun Koku Seibi Gakkō''), graduating in January 1934. He was enlisted as a corporal in the 1st Chutai of the 11th Hiko Datai, and was posted to

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

(

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

). By the end of 1938 he had climbed through the ranks, becoming a

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

. He was 25 years old and had six years of flying experience by the time the

Nomonhan Incident The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; mn, Халхын голын байлдаан) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Jap ...

(

Battles of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; mn, Халхын голын байлдаан) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Jap ...

) began in May 1939. Khalkhin Gol Japanese Ki 27 1939

During his first combat sortie, on 27 May 1939, Shinohara, flying a

, downed four USSR

Polikarpov I-16 The Polikarpov I-16 (russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain ope ...

fighters. He became an ace within 24 hours, after he claimed six more victories, downing a

Polikarpov R-Z The Polikarpov R-Z was a Soviet reconnaissance bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was a revised version of the Polikarpov R-5 which was built in large numbers between 1935 and 1937. It was used in combat during the Spanish Civil War as well as the ...

reconnaissance plane and five

Polikarpov I-15 The Polikarpov I-15 (russian: И-15) was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed ''Chaika'' (''russian: Чайка'', "Seagull") because of its gulled upper wings,Gunston 1995, p. 299.Green and Swanborough 1979, p. 10. it was o ...

biplane fighters. No other pilot in history scored 10 victories during his first day of combat. From then on his victories continued, culminating on 27 June 1939 in an Imperial Japanese Army Air Force record of eleven victories in a single day during an air battle over Tamsak-Bulak. Only top ace of all time

Erich Hartmann Erich Alfred Hartmann (19 April 1922 – 20 September 1993) was a German fighter pilot during World War II and the most successful flying ace, fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. He flew 1,404 combat missions and participated in ...

(11), Emil Lang (18),

Hans-Joachim Marseille Hans-Joachim Marseille (; 13 December 1919 – 30 September 1942) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He is noted for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign and his Bohemian lifestyle. One o ...

(17),

Erich Rudorffer Erich Rudorffer (1 November 1917 – 8 April 2016) was a German ''Luftwaffe'' fighter ace who was one of a handful who served with the ''Luftwaffe'' through the whole of World War II. He was the 7th most successful fighter pilot in the history ...

(13 in 17 minutes),

August Lambert August Lambert (18 February 1916 – 17 April 1945) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and ground-attack pilot during World War II. As a fighter ace, he is credited with 116 aerial victories claimed in approximately 350 combat missions for ...

(17),

Hubert Strassl Hubert StraßlHis name, in German, is spelled with a "sharp S"; see ß. (24 May 1918 – 8 July 1943) was an Austrian-born German fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe and fought during World War II. He was credited with 67 aerial victories—that is, ...

(15),

Wilhelm Batz Wilhelm Batz (21 May 1916 – 11 September 1988) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. Batz fle ...

(15),

Johannes Wiese Johannes Wiese (7 March 1915 – 16 August 1991) was a German Luftwaffe pilot during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 133 enemy aircraft shot down in 480 combat missions. He claimed all of his victories over the Eastern Front, i ...

(12),

Franz Schall Franz Schall (1 June 1918 – 10 April 1945) was a German military aviator who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he flew approximately 550 combat missions and claimed 137 aerial victories—that is, 137 aerial comba ...

(11 and 13) have surpassed him. Shinohara's luck however ran out on him two months later when on 27 August 1939 he himself was shot down by USSR Polikarpov I-16 fighters after claiming three victories during a bombing escort mission. His aircraft fell in flames into Mohorehi Lake, ten kilometres south of Abdara Lake. Warrant Officer Hiromichi Shinohara was posthumously promoted to the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

, having claimed 58 victories in only three months of combat—the last three in the battle that would take him down—earning him the nickname of the '' Richthofen of the Orient''.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * *

External links

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Aces

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shinohara, Hiromichi Military personnel from Tochigi Prefecture Japanese World War II flying aces 1913 births 1939 deaths Japanese military personnel killed in World War II Aviators killed by being shot down

Early life

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force career

See also

References

External links