World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseJapanese Navy pilot Tadashi Kaneko was born in Tokyo, Japan. He saw service in the Second Sino-Japanese War starting in 1937, initially flying from carrier Ryujo and later from airfields in China. In Sep 1941, he was assigned to carrier Shokaku, and three months later he saw action over Pearl Harbor in the US Territory of Hawaii. In 1942, still serving from Shokaku, he participated in the successful raid into the Indian Ocean. In May 1942, he was made the commander of the 6th Air Group, which was attached to carrier Akagi but was planned to be deployed to Midway Atoll after its capture; during the Battle of Midway, he claimed two kills. Returning to Japan after the Midway defeat, he was made the fighter group leader of carrier Hiyo and later transferred to Rabaul, New Britain. On 14 Nov 1942, while providing air cover for a troop convoy in the Solomon islands, he was shot down by US aircraft. His score was eight kills at the time of his death.

Photographs

Tadashi Kaneko Timeline