was a unit of the

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service The was the Naval aviation, air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired their first air ...

(IJNAS) during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

that was involved in the Philippines campaign,

Dutch East Indies campaign The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Forces from the Allies attempted u ...

, air raids on Australia, and 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 ...

. The air group was redesignated as the 753rd Air Group on 1 October 1942.

History

Southeast Asia

The group was formed on 1 April 1938 as a medium bomber unit and was initially equipped with

Mitsubishi G3M The was a Japanese bomber and transport aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during World War II. The Yokosuka L3Y (Allied reporting name "Tina"), was a transport variant of the aircraft manufactured by the Yokosu ...

bombers. In May 1940, it became the first unit to receive the new

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 ...

bombers. In 1941 the unit moved to

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers wher ...

to participate in operations in

Central China Central China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that includes the provinces of Henan, Hubei and Hunan. Jiangxi is sometimes also regarded to be part of this region. Central China is now officially part of South Central ...

. Prior to the outbreak of

, half of the group was sent to

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

to participate in

invasion of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles betwee ...

, while the other half was stationed at

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

to participate in the invasion of Philippines. On 8 December, the 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 ' ...

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 ...

Tarō Nonaka led 27 Takao medium bombers in an attack against

Iba Airfield Iba Airfield is a former United States Army Air Forces airfield on Luzon in the Philippines. It was overrun by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Battle of the Philippines (1942). History The airfield was a former training camp for the Phili ...

. They were escorted by

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

3rd 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 ...

, which would continue to operate together as part of 23rd Air Flotilla. They attacked various targets in the Philippines until 28 December. From 29 December to 6 January, they focused on bombing Allied positions on

Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...

. Throughout the rest of January, they conducted sorties against targets on

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

and in February moved their focus on

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. On 27 February,

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 ...

Jirō Adachi led 16 medium bombers in a

level bombing High level bombing (also called high-altitude bombing) is a tactic of dropping bombs from bomber aircraft in level flight at high altitude. The term is used in contrast to both World War II-era dive bombing and medium or low level bombing. Prio ...

attack on the US

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

Langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...

, which sank her.高雄空飛行機隊戦闘行動調書 On 14 March, one half of the group moved to

Kupang Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...

to make attacks on

Northern Australia The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Queensland that lie p ...

. The other half moved back to the Philippines to help break the Allied resistance on

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

and

. After the Allied forces surrendered to the Philippines, this half of the group moved to Kupang on 17 April in order to join the other half in Air raids on Australia

Australia 1942

The first major raid occurred on 16 March, where

Hiroshi Mine led 14 medium bombers against Darwin. There were no enemy fighters yet stationed at Darwin at that time, thus they suffered no losses. This soon changed with the arrival of USAAF 49th Pursuit Group equipped with

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

fighters. In an unescorted raid of seven medium bombers on 28 March, the group suffered one bomber shot down by the intercepting enemy fighters. From that point on, all daytime raids were escorted by fighters from the 3rd Air Group. Similar smaller raids were conducted on 30 and 31 March and 4 and 5 April, where they suffered a loss of three bombers out of six on the 4th. On 25 April, the group's new ''Hikōtaichō'' Lieutenant Commander Gorō Katsumi led a formation of 24 G4M medium bombers to attack Darwin, where they were intercepted by a large force of Warhawks that shot down four bombers. Two days later, Lieutenant Tanemasa Hirata led 16 medium bombers to attack Darwin. The raid was again intercepted by a large force of Warhawks, but this time 3rd Air Group fighter did their job well and no bombers were shot down. When the Allies started to raid the Kupang airfield in return, Takao Air Group (as well as the 3rd Air Group) moved further back to Kendari. In addition, raids on Darwin were suspended until June in order for Takao Air Group to replenish the lost aircraft. On 13 June, the raids against Darwin resumed and Lieutenant Commander Katsumi led 27 medium bombers to attack an airfield there. On 15 June, Lieutenant Hirata led 27 medium bombers in another major raid on Darwin. The next day, Lieutenant Hirata again led 27 bombers to escort 27 G4M medium bombers there. In all these three major raids a large number of Warhawks intercepted the formations but no losses to the bombers occurred. In defense of the bombers, the escorting Zero fighter from the 3rd Air Group managed to shoot down 10 Warhawks for the loss of two of their own in return. No further daytime attacks were conducted until 30 July, when Lieutenant Commander Katsumi led 26 G4M medium bombers in a major raid on Darwin. The final daytime raid on Darwin occurred on 23 August, when Lieutenant Hirata led 27 G4M medium bombers and the intercepting Warhawks managed to shoot down one bomber. At that point, all further operations against Darwin were suspended until 1943.

Guadalcanal

As the fighting over Guadalcanal intensified, 23rd Air Flotilla loaned a portion of 3rd Air Group to

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 ...

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 ...

. On 22 September, Lieutenant Shigeji Makino brought a detachment of 20 medium bombers to Rabaul. Their first mission against

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 ...

was flown on 27 September, when a combined force of 18 medium bombers from

Kisarazu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 136,023 in 63,431 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kisarazu is located in the midwest ...

and Takao Air Groups under the command of Lieutenants

Miyoshi Nabeta was a medium bomber pilot officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. He led a successful torpedo attack on the battleship ''Prince of Wales''. Later he was the leader of the Kisarazu Air Group during Guadalcanal Campaign and ...

(Kisarazu) and Makino attacked

. They were intercepted by a large force of

US Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

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, which resulted in two bombers being shot down. The next day, a combined force of 27 medium bombers from

, Kisarazu and Takao Air Groups attacked Guadalcanal again. This time five bombers were lost to 35 intercepting Wildcat fighters. On 1 October, the unit was redesignated as the 753rd Air Group. The group's bombers aborted two major raids on 11 and 12 October due to bad weather. However, on 13 October Lieutenant Makino led a combined force of 27 medium bombers from 753rd, Kisarazu and Kisarazu Air Groups that bombed Henderson Field on Guadalcanal and damaged dozen of aircraft on the ground as well as destroyed significant fuel storage.753空飛行機隊戦闘行動調書 On 15 October, Lieutenant Makino again led another attack on Guadalcanal, this time with 23 medium bombers from 753rd, Kisarazu and Kisarazu Air Groups. The last mission against Guadalcanal for 753rd Air Group was on 25 October, before the detachment returned to their base in East Indies.

Australia 1943

At the beginning of 1943, the 753rd Air Group again began operations against Darwin in Australia. This time they faced newly arrived

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

fighters from

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

No. 1 Wing. On 15 March, Lieutenant Kawamoto 16 medium bombers to attack Darwin. On 2 May, Lieutenant Hirata led 25 medium bombers in another mission against Darwin. The raids resumed one month later on 28 June with nine medium bombers. On 30 June, Lieutenant Hirata led 23 medium bombers in a major raid targeting

Fenton Airfield Fenton Airfield was a World War II military airfield in the Northern Territory of Australia located at Tipperary Station in what is now the locality of Douglas-Daly and named after flight lieutenant Clyde Fenton. Abandoned since 1945, the ...

south of Darwin. Another raid on Fenton was conducted on 6 July, when Lieutenant Hirata led 26 medium bombers to bomb the airfield. In these raids during 1943, the escorting Zeros from 202nd Air Group (ex-3rd) protected the bombers well, since only four were lost. Furthermore, they completely outmatched Spitfires, since 38 of them were shot down for the loss of six Zeros. From 6 July, the 753rd Air Group suspends daytime raids and continues with night raids.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * *

Combat reports

* * {{Imperial Japanese Navy air units Groups of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Military units and formations established in 1938