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Kenji Okabe

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Kenji Okabe
Native name
岡部 健二
Born1915
Fukuoka, Japan
Died?
AllegianceEmpire of Japan
Service / branch Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN)
RankEnsign
Unit
Battles / wars

Kenji Okabe (岡部 健二, Okabe Kenji, born 1915) was an ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Participating in many of the Pacific War battles and campaigns as a member of several units, Okabe was officially credited with destroying 15 enemy aircraft. Okabe was credited with shooting down eight enemy aircraft on 8 May 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea, the IJN's official record for the number of aircraft destroyed in a single encounter.[1] He is famous for his strong opposition to the kamikaze attacks, rare in IJN at the time. Okabe survived the war.

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Hata

Sources

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  • Hata, Ikuhiko; Yasuho Izawa (1989). Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II. Translated by Don Cyril Gorham. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-315-6.
  • Sakaida, Henry (2002). Aces of the Rising Sun, 1937–1945. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-618-6.
  • Sakai, Saburo; Martin Caidin; Fred Saito (1957). Samurai. ibooks, inc. ISBN 0-7434-9332-X.