#SaburoSakai #SamuraiOfTheSkyZeroSquadronThatNeverReturned

**Navy Lieutenant Who Excelled as an Ace Pilot in the Pacific War**
A fighter pilot with exceptionally superior piloting skills within the Navy. He is famous for his book "Samurai!". Although he claimed 64 aerial victories in the Pacific War, his officially recognized total is 28.
This article introduces Saburo Sakai, one of the ace pilots of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific War.
Saburo Sakai was born in 1916 in Saga Prefecture. His father was a farmer, and Sakai, as the third son, worked alongside his father in the fields. However, as he began to contemplate his own future, he aspired to become a jockey, drawn by the thrill of speed. This dream was thwarted by his father's opposition, leading him to consider joining the Navy, where he could be around airplanes.
On May 1, 1933, he enlisted in the Sasebo Naval Barracks as a 4th Class Seaman. After graduating from the barracks in 1935, he was assigned to the battleship Haruna. He then joined the Kasumigaura Air Group, where he successfully passed the pilot trainee examination. On November 30, 1937, he graduated at the top of the 38th class of pilot trainees, thus beginning his career as a naval fighter pilot.
During the Pacific War, he was deployed to mainland China, where he shot down one I-16 fighter of the Republic of China Air Force. Subsequently, he participated in the attack on Nanchang Air Base and the Hankou air raid. In June 1940, he was assigned to the Omura Air Group and returned to Japan. There, at the Yokosuka Air Group, he attended a training course on handling new aircraft and saw the newly introduced Zero fighter for the first time.
During the Pacific War, he flew the Zero fighter (Type 0 carrier-based fighter) and also evaluated its performance. Saburo Sakai was a fighter pilot with exceptionally superior piloting skills within the Navy and is famous for his book "Samurai!."
Q: What was he known for?
A: A Navy lieutenant who excelled as an ace pilot in the Pacific War.
Q: What is his most famous work?
A: He is famous for his book "Samurai!."
Wikipedia:Saburo Sakai