September 15th, 1942
Lakunai Airfield, Rabaul
Suki had gotten out of her bunk almost 30 minutes before her fellow pilots began to stir throughout the barracks. She had already finished her quick breakfast and was now applying her warrior paint. As soon as she was done, she would reread the briefing for the day's mission before heading to her fighter to perform her pre-flight checks.
Before joining the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, her mother had taught her that a good leader always exceeds the expectations of his subordinates. Of course, neither Suki nor her mother had foreseen that she would command her own fighter group. But after graduating from training in mid–1941 at the ripe young age of 21, she qualified as a fighter pilot and, to everyone's surprise, joined the battle-hardened Tainan Kōkūtai, which included many of Japan's leading aces. She flew many combat sorties over the Dutch East Indies, racking up 25 kills in just 3 months. She had already displayed remarkable leadership skills, and in February of 1942, she asked for the opportunity to form her own all-woman fighter squadron. The request was apparently taken all the way to Vice-Admiral Tsukahara, commander of all Japanese land-based naval aircraft groups, who hesitantly accepted Suki's proposal.
A month later in March, the IJNAS put out a call for Japanese women who were willing to become fighter pilots under a new undesignated fighter group. When creating the new group, Suki thought back to her childhood hero Kyoshi, the mythical female warrior of ancient Japan. She subsequently decided that the pilots would wear face paint similar to the style that Kyoshi wore: White makeup, red accents and lipstick, and black eyebrow streaks. They would also wear green uniforms, as Kyoshi supposedly wore a green armored kimono in battle, and fly green-colored aircraft. Thus, the Kyoshi Kōkūtai, as the new group was formally designated, was born.
Out of the many women who joined the training program, four dozen were selected to join the group. In April, once the chosen candidates had completed their basic fighter training, the group was declared ready for combat, equipped with brand-new Zero fighters, and sent to Rabaul to partake in the New Guinea Campaign.
By September, they had shot down a total of 56 American aircraft (Suki herself had claimed 23), for the loss of seven aircraft and four pilots. Not a bad record.
By now, Japan had achieved significant victories over the Allies. The New Guinea Campaign had ended in May of 1942 with the successful seizure of Port Moresby, effectively neutralizing the Allies' principal forward base in the region and providing the Japanese with a springboard for launching raids against the continent of Australia.
Midway Island fell next. In the wake of numerous bombings, the IJN's amphibious forces stormed the island, taking control of its airfields and supply depots, while the carriers and aircraft of the Kido Butai harried the two American carriers stationed nearby, eventually sinking them both.
But the Americans dealt Japan a major blow at Guadalcanal, where their landing forces had easily overwhelmed the poorly defended island. From there, they had a perfect vantage point for further conquest. Consequently, the Japanese sent numerous soldiers, ships, and aircraft to retake the island.
Being based out of Rabaul, Suki's squadron was often sent on escort missions, protecting the ships carrying fresh troops, tanks, and supplies to the slaughterhouse.
The Japanese seemed to be gaining ground, but the Americans were tenacious in their defense. As more and more blood was spilt, many in both Japan and the United States wondered whether they would see the light at the end of the tunnel or be forever trapped in the gruesome reality of war.
Suki finished applying her face paint and donned her green flight suit and her boots. She then fastened her katana to her waist and holstered her Nambu pistol. Before heading out to the field, she walked over to the table near her bunk and picked up a small letter that her mother had written to her. It read in Kanji:
Thinking of you every day, my brave, beautiful daughter. Hoping you are well,
-Mother
Smiling as she thought of her family back in Kyoto, Suki pocketed her letter and proceeded out the door to the airfield.
At 7:00 AM, while the rest of her comrades began waking up and preparing for the mission, Suki walked over to the revetments that kept the aircraft off the field. Because she was the group's commanding officer, her fighter was the closest to the taxiway that led to the runway.
"Hello, my brave steed," Suki muttered as she approached the revetment that held her airplane, a Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero.
Fast, agile, and heavily-armed, the Zero had garnered a fearsome reputation among its pilots and those who fought against it. When it had first appeared over China in August of 1940, the nimble Japanese fighter had easily outclassed the Soviet I-15s and I-16s supplied to Chang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Air Force. By the time the IJN withdrew from China several months later in preparation for Pearl Harbor, Zero pilots had accounted for 266 Chinese fighters shot down for the loss of only two of their own, both to ground fire.
Its record was no different now over the Pacific. Though the Allies had more advanced aircraft than the Chinese, none, not even the RAF's fabled Spitfire, could outmaneuver a Zero, as many British pilots had discovered over Port Moresby. In a close-quarters dogfight, the Japanese had the edge.
The Zero had turned the Kyoshi Kokutai into one of the IJNAS's most feared fighter squadrons, also owing to the fact it was all-female, and the thought of Japanese women flying the most-feared fighter plane of the Pacific and wreaking havoc on Allied pilots was quite frightening.
In fact, the Kokutai had become a sensation of sorts among Allied propaganda. In the wake of the New Guinea Campaign, the BBC had referred to them as "the Valkyries of the East." Of course, the American nicknames were less flattering and somewhat less creative, ranging from "Tojo's flying geishas" to "Jap she-devils."
Like the rest of the Kokutai's aircraft, Suki's Zero wore a green camouflage pattern on its body and had "Kyoshi" painted in white Kanji on its black engine cowling. In order to distinguish themselves from one another, Suki and the other girls had painted different styles of tessen, the war fans that Kyoshi supposedly used in combat, on their Zeros' tails. While the others had painted one fan on their aircraft, Suki painted two on hers to distinguish herself as the group's leader.
The ground personnel were already milling about the revetments, preparing the aircraft for the day's mission. As Suki reached her Zero, she saw two men on both of its wings filling the fuel tanks. Another group loaded its twin wing-mounted 20mm cannon with high-explosive ammunition and its twin nose-mounted 7.7mm machine guns with armor-piercing rounds. The chief engineer, a Warrant Officer named Kenji, was examining the Zero's Sakae radial engine when he saw Suki. He immediately shouted, "Attention!" Every single man in the revetment stopped what he was doing and looked at Suki. Except for Kenji, who jumped down from the Zero and walked up to Suki and saluted.
"Good morning, Suki," he said with a smile.
"Morning, Kenji," Suki replied. She had grown fond of the ground personnel. At the end of the day, it was their job to keep her and her fellow pilots flying.
"You're up early today," Kenji continued.
"I wanted to perform some last-minute checks to my plane before the mission."
"Are you doubting my men and their capabilities?" Kenji asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not at all. Not at all," Suki replied, chuckling, "I simply wanted to check the controls to make sure they're perfect. I hope I'm not distracting your men."
"We're almost done here. Once we're finished, you can check on her."
"Sounds good. Thanks, Kenji!"
As Kenji and the rest of his men got back to work, eleven of Suki's fellow pilots began walking towards the revetments. There was no need for a last-minute briefing. They were well aware of what the day had in store for them.
Today's mission called for the Kyoshi Kōkūtai to protect a convoy of supply ships and warships ferrying troops and supplies from Rabaul to Guadalcanal. They would be traveling through "The Slot," a large body of water that ran through the middle of the Solomon Islands. The ships arrived at Guadalcanal so frequently that the Americans nicknamed them the "Tokyo Express." It was up to Suki and her pilots to protect the Express from any American air threat until it reached Guadalcanal.
Thirty minutes later, once the ground personnel had completed their work, Suki and her eleven fellow pilots mounted their aircraft. In order to conserve precious aviation fuel, trucks and tractors that had been captured from the Australian forces that had originally occupied the island were used to move the fighters onto the runway.
By around 8:00 AM, the twelve Zeros sat on the runway, their Sakae engines running, awaiting their clearance to take off. As she waited for the go-ahead, Suki removed her mother's letter from her pocket and fastened it to her plane's instrument panel. Soon, the man on the watchtower shouted over a loudspeaker: Take off. The signalman shot a green flare into the air. Immediately, Suki pulled her flight goggles over her eyes, closed the canopy of her cockpit, lowered the flaps, and pushed the throttle forward. Her fighter began to roll down the runway, picking up speed. As soon as she reached the desired airspeed, Suki pulled back on the stick, lifting her Zero skyward. She leveled out at 1500 meters, raised the landing gear and retracted the flaps, and then circled back around the airfield as her squadron mates took off. Within 10 minutes, the Kyoshi Warriors, as the girls lovingly referred to their Kōkūtai, were in the air. They turned towards the Southeast to link up with the Tokyo Express.
"Look alive girls," Suki radioed the other Warriors, "The way things are going at Guadalcanal, we're bound to see some action."
"Time to bag me some more Yankees!" Kyoshi Two shouted eagerly.
"Easy Takara," Suki chastised her second-in-command, Ensign Takara Hayashida.
Though Takara was a well-trained pilot, having scored eleven of the Kokutai's victories over New Guinea, she had a much more aggressive and instinctive plan of attack compared to Suki's more calculating and methodical approach, choosing to charge straight in, guns-blazing. Often in their past sorties, this had resulted in Takara engaging more enemy aircraft than she could handle, leaving it to Suki and the others to come to her aid.
"Sorry," Takara replied apologetically, "Got a little carried away, again."
"Don't worry about it," Suki responded soothingly, "Just keep your head level and you'll be fine."
With their conversation finished, they continued on towards Guadalcanal with the rest of the Kokutai.
As they approached the Tokyo Express, the Kyoshi Warriors descended to 1200 meters. Suki's well-trained eyes identified the large bridge of the Takao-class heavy cruiser Chōkai. She also spotted the five transport ships carrying fresh troops and supplies, and their escort of four Fubuki-class and two Akizuki-class destroyers.
Suddenly, Kyoshi Four shouted over the radio, "Bandits! Eleven o'clock low! Heading for the convoy!"
Suki leaned forward a little to get a better look as ten planes approached from the northwest, smirking as she recognized the unclean lines of Grumman F4F Wildcats. She immediately began formulating a plan of attack. Since the Kyoshi Warriors had the Sun to their back, the Americans would be unable to get a clear shot at them.
Perfect.
Suki leaned on her stick, rolling to the left. As soon as her Zero was upside down, she pulled back on the stick into a slight dive, incurring positive G's. The other Warriors followed suit. As she closed the distance to the targets, Suki quickly calculated her angle of deflection, 15 degrees to lead her target, before pressing down on the trigger. Her Zero shook slightly as it emptied 7.7mm and 20mm bullets at the nearest Wildcat. She was rewarded with a burst of flame as her target caught fire and dove out of formation. Righting her fighter, Suki looked behind her as Kyoshi Three shot down another Wildcat. The remaining Americans scattered in all directions.
"One more kill to my tally," Kyoshi Three cheered.
Suki grinned as she rolled her Zero into a left 180 turn and sped towards the scattered Wildcats. The other girls broke off, each Warrior selecting her own target, and gave chase.
Soon, the skies above the Tokyo Express became engulfed in a massive furball as eight Wildcats and a dozen Zeros mixed it up. Flak bursts from Chōkai and the six destroyers filled the sky, only adding to the chaos unfolding. Splashes erupted around the ships as burning planes fell from above.
As Suki and the rest of the Kōkūtai brawled it out, their radio frequency was filled with chatter,
"Another one shot down!"
"Ha ha! He lit up like a firework!"
"Five, break! He's got a bead on you!"
"I'm hit! Bailing out!"
"Damn it, Kyoshi Five is down!"
"One more Yankee destroyed! Banzai!"
"Kyoshi Three, break left! You've got a Yankee on your tail!"
"Breaking! Another one's latched on to me! I need some help here!"
"Kyoshi Lead to Three, I'm on him!"
Switching to her 20mm cannon, Suki closed the distance to the Wildcat's tail before pushing the trigger. A few high-explosive bursts clipped the American's wings and the panicked pilot bailed out. Suki jerked the stick to avoid the wreckage.
"I owe you a glass of sake," Kyoshi Three conveyed her thanks.
"I'll hold you to that, Three," Suki replied casually.
"Kyoshi Lead, another bandit on your six! Break!"
Bullets whizzed by Suki's cockpit. She immediately glanced behind her, noticing that a Wildcat had latched onto her tail. But the American pilot was firing erratically, unable to get a clean shot. After deciding to have some fun with her next victim, Suki pulled back on the stick, going into a vertical climb. As she had expected, the foolish Yankee had chosen to follow her, machine guns still blazing.
Come and get me, you arrogant fool, Suki thought to herself as she climbed further and further from her opponent's reach. After reaching a desired altitude, she pulled back on the stick again, preparing to roll over into a dive. As Suki watched, the pursuing Wildcat began to lose speed and plummeted earthward. A devilish grin graced the Kyoshi Warrior's painted face as she prepared to pounce on an easy kill.
As Suki pulled back on the stick once more, her Zero rolled over into a dive in pursuit of the falling Wildcat. Once she closed the range, she pressed the trigger.
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was known for its ruggedness. Often, it could take numerous bullets and keep on flying. This time, however, it made no difference. The high-explosive 20mm and armor-piercing 7.7mm rounds tore through the American plane until it exploded.
Pulling out of her dive, barely avoiding the fireball, Suki saw another Wildcat screaming towards her. She kicked the rudder and pulled back on the stick, rolling her Zero into a tight right. She was now neck and neck with the American.
This time, Suki had the opportunity to examine her opponent up close. The Wildcat had a pinup on its nose of a tan-skinned girl holding a boomerang. Odd decoration, she thought to herself. Her gaze shifted to the pilot, who looked back at her intently. After a couple of seconds, the Yankee's eyes widened almost comically as he looked incredulously at his female opponent.
Took him long enough to figure THAT out. Suki smirked and blew a mocking kiss to the Yankee. She decided to threaten her opponent. After pointing behind her, indicating the kills painted on her Zero's fuselage, she made a cutting motion across her throat and pointed at the Yankee pilot. She saw his eyes bulge again as he registered the death threat she had just sent him. Enough is enough, Suki decided, time for this Yankee to die.
Suki popped the flaps to slow her Zero down, allowing her to line up the Wildcat in her sights. But before she could pull the trigger, the American rolled to the right and banked away. Just then, another Wildcat dove towards Suki. 50 caliber machine gun bullets raked her Zero, ripping holes in her right wing and fuselage. Somehow, her fuel tanks were undamaged. Else, her Zero would have burst into flame.
Not bad, Yankee. Baiting your opponent.
Gritting her teeth as her aircraft shuddered from the damage, Suki watched as the two Yankees pulled alongside one another and began executing a Thach Weave, turning away from one another before banking back towards each other. Suki knew better than to take the bait. She had lost many of her fellow pilots to this maneuver. Still, she followed. Her Zero may have taken a beating, but she was not out of the fight yet.
For several agonizing minutes, Suki pursued the weaving Wildcats, looking for an opening. Finally, she saw one. The boomerang pilot had turned too widely, putting him at too great a distance from his wingman. Calculating the angle she needed to lead her target, Suki jerked the stick to the right to level out. Her Zero was slow to respond due to the damage it had suffered, but she managed to line herself up perfectly. As she cut through the weave, Suki emptied the last of her 20mm rounds along with some 7.7mm rounds into the Wildcat. The boomerang pilot's plane caught fire, trailing fuel and debris. The other Wildcat banked away and fled as another Zero, Kyoshi Two, raced towards it.
As Suki watched, the burning Wildcat descended towards a large island nearby before ploughing into the sandy shores belly up. It skidded a couple of feet across the sand before coming to rest. Suki circled above the burning plane like a vulture, hoping for whatever reason that her opponent would survive.
To her relief, the Yankee pilot managed to escape his plane. He ripped off his flight cap before looking up at Suki, allowing her to see his face. He had a rather handsome, tan-skinned face like the pinup he had painted on his Wildcat. As he gazed at her with intense blue eyes, Suki couldn't help but admire her new adversary. He had pulled a clever trick in their battle. She jerked the stick back and forth, rocking her Zero's wings in salute, and banked away to link up with the Tokyo Express and her fellow Warriors.
Until we meet again, Yankee.
Author's Notes:
Surprise! I'm not dead! I've just been toiling away in the Gulag that is high school. I've been trying to find some time to get back into writing this, because I don't feel like leaving it unfinished. Also, it's fun since it gives me an excuse to both watch some Avatar and indulge in my passion for reading about the Imperial Japanese Navy. I'm still working on Chapter 2, and it's still coming along. So I'll post it as soon as I'm done with it.
Special thanks to fanfic author fanwright, whose story Flying Tiger, Crouching Dragon inspired me to write this.
Credit for the Zero cover image goes to dugazm of deviantArt.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is copyrighted to Bryke. Also, Takara is based somewhat off of the OC of the same name from TequilaTheHun's wonderful ATLA fanfic Fire and Earth.
Historical notes for the detail-savvy(To be updated):
-The Tainan Kōkūtai, which partly inspired the Kyoshi Kōkūtai, comprised almost all of Japan's leading fighter pilots throughout the war, including Hiroyoshi Nishizawa and Saburo Sakai. Nishizawa is regarded as Japan's ace of aces with 72 confirmed victories (probably even more, given the Japanese tended to exaggerate their kills
-The Kido Butai was the primary carrier battle group of the IJN. It originally consisted of Japan's six largest aircraft carriers, all of which took part in the Pearl Harbor Attack (for those who wish to know their names, they were Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku, and Zuikaku). All except Shokaku and Zuikaku, both of which were damaged during the Battle of the Coral Sea, were destroyed at Midway. The remaining two were both lost in 1944, Shokaku during the Marianas Turkey Shoot, and Zuikaku during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
-The maneuver that Sokka and his wingman perform against Suki is known as the Thach Weave, developed by US Navy pilot John Thach specifically to give the clunky Wildcat a better chance against the far more maneuverable Zero.
-The neck-and-neck encounter between Sokka and Suki is based off of a real life encounter between American fighter pilot Lawrence Thompson and German ace Erich Hartmann, the highest-scoring fighter pilot in history.
Oh, and a final note, for those of you who may not have noticed, while this is set during World War II, I'm going to twist certain events (such as Port Moresby and Midway). It's based off of an alternate history story I wrote where Japan wins in the Pacific. There are some more IMPORTANT twists that will occur later, but I'll stop here because I don't want to spoil anything else.