World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseSatoru Anabuki was born in Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, Japan in 1921 to Yasutaro Arabuki, a farmer. He entered the Japanese Army Aviation School in Tokyo, Japan in Apr 1938. In Apr 1939, he enrolled in the Kumagai Army flight school in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In Oct 1940, he was enrolled in Tachi'arai flight school in Fukuoka Prefecture, graduating in Mar 1941. In Oct 1941, he was promoted to the rank of corporal. In late Oct or early Nov, he was assigned to the 3rd Squadron (Chutai) of the 50th Air Squadron (Sentai) stationed in Taiwan. He scored his first victory in the opening chapters of the Pacific War, shooting down an American P-40 fighter on 22 Dec 1941 over Lingayen, Luzon, Philippine Islands while flying a Ki-27 aircraft. He returned to Japan with his squadron in Apr 1942, where the squadron was re-equipped with Ki-43 Hayabusa aircraft; Anabuki named his new fighter "Fubuki", partially based on his own surname. In Jun 1942, his squadron was transferred to Burma, where he would see combat over Burma, India, and southwestern China. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in Dec 1942. On 20 Dec 1942, he shot down a Blenheim bomber over Magwe, Burma, the first of many bomber victories. On 24 Dec, he shot down three British Hurricane fighters in combat over Magwe, Burma; it was after the engagement when he looked at his own shadow on the ground that he had realized he had forgotten to pull up his landing gear. In May 1943, he received a new Ki-43 fighter; he named this new aircraft "Kimikaze" after his wife Kimiko. He was seriously wounded in combat while flying "Kimikaze" over Rangoon, Burma on 8 Oct 1943; after initial recuperation, he was transferred to the Akeno Army Flying School in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan in Feb 1944. In late 1944, after being cleared to fly once again, he shot down four US F6F Hellcat fighters over Takao (now Kaohsiung), Taiwan and the Philippine Islands while ferrying Ki-84 Hayate fighters from Japan southwards. In Dec 1944, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant major. In the final months of the war, he was an instructor at Akeno with frequent combat assignments; in this role, he scored his 39th and final confirmed victory (53rd claimed victory), a B-29 bomber, over Japan while flying a Ki-100 fighter. After the war, he joined the Police Reserve in 1950, eventually reaching the rank of captain. Later, he joined the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, becoming a helicopter pilot stationed in northeastern Japan; he retired from his military career in 1971 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. He worked for Japan Airlines before retiring in 1984. He passed away some time in Jun 2005.

Photographs

Satoru Anabuki Timeline