The was an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

(IJN) during the Pacific campaign of

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 opposin ...

. This article covers first generation, second generation, renamed unit the , and re-organised unit the also.

First generation

History

The Misawa Air Group was established on 10 February 1942 in Misawa,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and operated

Mitsubishi G4M The Mitsubishi G4M was a twin-engine, land-based medium bomber formerly manufactured by the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. Its official designati ...

medium bombers. After the Allied landing on

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

and

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...

on 7 August, the unit was dispatched to

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

and was assigned to

26th Air Flotilla The was a combat aviation unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during the Pacific War, Pacific Campaign of World War II. History The 26th Air Flotilla was established on 1 April 1942 as a part of the 11th Air Fleet, and was ori ...

. First,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Hiromi Ikeda (group's ''

Buntaichō The was a naval aviation position in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS), normally held by a Lieutenant, who commanded a division of flight personnel ( ''buntai'') in an air group. Administrative role On the ground, the ''Buntaichō'' ...

'') brought nine G4M medium bombers in late afternoon on 7 August. The next day, the remaining 18 G4M medium bombers were brought by Lieutenant

Tomoo Nakamura was a medium bomber pilot officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. He was the leader of the Misawa Air Group (later redesignated to 705th Air Group) during Guadalcanal Campaign and New Guinea Campaign and commanded Raba ...

(group's ''

Hikōtaichō The was a senior naval aviation position in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, normally held by a Lieutenant Commander or a very senior Lieutenant, who commanded all flight personnel in an air group. Administrative role On the ground, the ' ...

''). With them came also Vice Admiral

Nishizō Tsukahara , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Biography Tsukahara was born in Fukui Prefecture, but his official residence was Kofu city, Yamanashi Prefecture, where he was raised. Tsukahara graduated from the 36th class of ...

, the commander of the

11th Air Fleet The was a grouping of naval aviation and surface units. Assignments and Components Commanders Chiefs of Staff Notes References * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Fleets of the Imperial Japanese Navy Units of the Imperial Japanese N ...

. The unit first saw action on 8 August, when Lieutenant Ikeda's nine medium bombers joined 17 from

4th Air Group was a land-based bomber aircraft unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The air group was redesignated as the 702nd Air Group on 1 November 1942. History The unit was formed on 10 Febr ...

led by Lieutenant Shigeru Kotani, in order to make a torpedo attack on Allied shipping around Guadalcanal and Tulagi. The attack was a disaster since only five bombers made it back to Rabaul, while the rest were shot down by a combination of intense AA fire from

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Richmond K. Turner Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner (May 27, 1885 – February 12, 1961), commonly known as Admiral Kelly Turner, served in the United States Navy during World War II, and is best known for commanding the Amphibious Force during the campaign across ...

's ships and intercepting

Grumman F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atlan ...

fighters from

Frank J. Fletcher Frank Jack Fletcher (April 29, 1885 – April 25, 1973) was an Admiral (United States), admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Fletcher commanded five different Task force#United States Navy, task forces through WWII; he was the ...

's carriers. Among those killed in action were also the leaders Kotani and Ikeda. In return, they only managed to put one

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

in the destroyer ''Jarvis'', in addition to damaging one transport when one damaged bomber rammed it. The following day, 9 August, Lieutenant Nakamura led 17 torpedo-armed bombers from Misawa Air Group to search for the enemy carriers. He could not locate the carriers and settled on attacking and sinking the damaged ''Jarvis'' that was leaving the area. The air group conducted frequent missions against Guadalcanal throughout August. On occasions, the focus was shifted to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. For example, on 17 August, Lieutenant Nakamura led 25 bombers to attack

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

. The attack was relatively successful since they managed to destroy several aircraft on the ground. On 26 August, Lieutenant Nakamura led 17 bombers from Misawa and

Kisarazu Air Group was an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific campaign of World War II. History The Kisarazu Air Group was formed at Kisarazu Air Field, in Kisarazu, Chib ...

to attack recently finished Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. They managed to destroy 2,000 gallons of aviation fuel and damage several aircraft on the ground. Almost daily raids against Guadalcanal were carried out by the bombers of Misawa Air Group in the first half of September, where Lieutenants Nakamura, Rinji Morita and Yūsaburō Nonaka exchanged in leading the unit's formations within the larger strikes composed of Misawa, Kisarazu and

Chitose Air Group The Chitose Air Group (Chitose Kōkūtai) was an air group of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II. The group was formed on 1 October 1939 at Chitose Airfield, Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises th ...

. The second half of September brought frequent bad weather and attacks against Guadalcanal were temporarily suspended and the attention was again shifted to New Guinea, when Misawa bombers participated in an attack on Port Moresby on 21 September. The weather improved at the end of the month and operations against Guadalcanal resumed. On 28 September, Lieutenant Morita led a combined strike of 27 bombers from Misawa,

Takao Air Group was a unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during the Pacific War that was involved in the Philippines campaign, Dutch East Indies campaign, air raids on Australia, and the Guadalcanal Campaign. The air group was redesignated ...

Kanoya Air Group was an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Pacific campaign of World War II. The air group was redesignated as the 751st Air Group on 1 October 1942. On 1 N ...

against Guadalcanal. Even though they were escorted by 14

Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based aircraft, 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 19 ...

fighters from

Tainan Air Group was a fighter aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The flying portion of the unit was heavily involved in many of the major campaigns and battles of the first year of ...

and additional 27 from

6th Air Group was a unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during the Pacific War that was involved in Battle of Midway and then extensively in the Guadalcanal Campaign and Solomon Islands Campaign. The air group was redesignated as the 204th ...

led by Lieutenant Mitsugi Kofukuda, most of the fighters failed to engage the intercepting 35 US Marine and Navy Wildcat fighters, which resulted in the loss of Morita command bomber and four more Takao bombers. After these significant losses of medium bombers, the command at Rabaul decided to temporarily change the tactics, where the bombers only served as a decoy and turned around before reaching Guadalcanal, while the fighters went ahead alone to surprise the defending enemy fighters. In accordance with this new tactic, nine Misawa bombers acted as a decoy on 2 October, while in the resulting air combat Lieutenant Kofukuda's Zero fighters shot down six Wildcat fighters and two

Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/div ...

dive bombers for the loss of only one Zero. The strikes by medium bombers resumed on 11 October, when Misawa under Reserve

Lieutenant (jg) A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Nobuyoshi Takamura contributed nine medium bombers to the largest single strike in the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

, which was composed of 45 bombers in total. Nevertheless, due to bad weather, the result was disappointing since most of the bombers could not find the target. From 11 to 14 October Rabaul was sending two bomber raids per day, where Misawa contributed bombers (either led by Nonaka or Takamura) to at least one of the raid per day. From 15 October onward, they shifted back to one raid against Guadalcanal per day and Misawa continued to contribute bombers to these raids throughout the rest of October. On 1 November, Misawa Air Group was redesignated to 705th Air Group. On 11 November, newly promoted

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

Nakamura led 16 torpedo-armed bombers against the enemy ships around Guadalcanal. They were intercepted by 16 Wildcat and eight

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

fighters and in combination with AA fire from the ships, they shot down 11 medium bombers, while the rest retuned severely damaged. This put an end to further raids by medium bombers against Guadalcanal. On 29 January 1943, 705th Air Group was involved in the

Battle of Rennell Island The took place on 29–30 January 1943. It was the last major naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. It occurred in the South Pacific between Rennell Is ...

. Lieutenant Commander Nakamura led 16 torpedo-armed bombers against the enemy ships spotted near Rennell Island. They scored no hits and in return lost one bomber, however, subsequent attacks by other air groups managed to sink the cruiser ''Chicago''. On 12 April, the unit participated in

Operation I-Go was an aerial counter-offensive launched by Imperial Japanese forces against Allied forces during the Solomon Islands and New Guinea Campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in A ...

, where Lieutenant Commander Nakamura led 27 bombers against Port Moresby. Two days later, they also participated in a raid against

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...

. The unit continued to be involved in the

Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, du ...

until 5 September, when it was withdrawn to

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of th ...

Structure

*Higher unit **

Ōminato Guard District The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in northern Honshu before and during World War II. Located in Mutsu Bay at the present-day city of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, the Ōminato Guard District was responsible for control of t ...

(10 February 1942–31 March 1942) **

(1 April 1942–31 August 1943 ***Renamed ''705th Air Group'' on 1 November 1942. **

25th Air Flotilla The was a combat aviation unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. History The 25th Air Flotilla, mainly consisting of land-based bombers, fighters, and reconnaissance aircraft, reporte ...

(1 September 1943–14 October 1943) ** 28th Air Flotilla (15 October 1943–1 October 1944, dissolved.) ***All land-based attack bombers were independent to the ''706th Attack Squadron'' on 4 March 1944. *Commanding officers **Commander/Captain Masao Sugawara (10 February 1942–9 December 1942) **Captain Yasuo Konishi (10 December 1942–23 May 1944) **Captain Tarōhachi Shinoda (24 May 1944–1 October 1944, dissolved.)

Second generation

Reborn as the preparatory flight training unit (Yokaren).

Structure

*Higher unit ** 19th Combined Air Group (1 September 1944–1 March 1945) **

(1 March 1945–30 June 1945, dissolved.) *Commanding officers **Commander Takeo Higo (1 September 1944–29 September 1944) **Captain Shōgo Miyashita (29 September 1944–30 June 1945, dissolved.)

706th Attack Squadron

Structure

*Higher unit ** 755th Air Group (4 March 1944–10 July 1944, dissolved.) *Squadron leader **Lieutenant commander Fumio Iwaya (4 March 1944–10 July 1944, dissolved.)

First generation

History

Structure

Second generation

Structure

706th Attack Squadron

Structure

References

Notes

Citations

Soruces

Combat reports

Further reading