Rising Sun Over Burma: Flying Tigers and Wild Eagles, 1941-1942 - How Japan Remembers the Battle

By Daniel Ford

In December 1941, the Japanese Imperial Army came ashore on the British colony of Malaya. In support of that invasion, its air arm soon began to raid neighboring Burma and especially its seaport and capital city of Rangoon, protected by a weak squadron of Royal Air Force Brewster Buffaloes and an untested squadron of P-40s flown by the American Volunteer Group of mercenary pilots in the employ of China. The battle of Rangoon would soon make them famous as the "Flying Tigers." Beginning in 1942 and at regular intervals thereafter, the Tigers' exploits in Burma would be hailed in the west as a triumph of outnumbered men and obsolete machine against overwhelming odds--"like rowboats against the Spanish Armada," in the words of one historian. But what was the truth of these air battles? In the course of writing his definitive history of the American Volunteer Group, journalist and historian Daniel Ford spent a year translating Japanese documents, histories, and popular memoirs of the air war in Southeast Asia. Here for the first time is the Japanese side of that great battle, as it is remembered in Japan to this day. Essential reading for every fan of the Flying Tigers. (About 20,000 words. Revised and updated 2022.)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Warbird Books
• Release date: Aug 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781502292001

Daniel Ford

Daniel Ford has spent a lifetime reading and writing about the wars of the past hundred years, from the Irish rebellion of 1916 to the counter-guerrilla operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is best known for his history of the American Volunteer Group--the 'Flying Tigers' of the Second World War--and his Vietnam novel that was filmed as Go Tell the Spartans, starring Burt Lancaster. Most recently, he has turned to the invasion of Poland in 1939 by Germany and Soviet Russia. Most of his books and many shorter pieces are available in digital editions He lives and works in New Hampshire.

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1 - Flying Tigers and Wild Eagles

WHAT FOLLOWS IS A CAMPAIGN HISTORY of the first Battle of Burma, from December 1941 to its conclusion in May 1942, as told in Japanese history books. For Americans who remember the Flying Tigers and Merrill's Marauders (and for Brits who remember the Chindits), the story may come as something of a surprise. But the Japanese won, after all! Not only did they conquer Burma, but they won most of the battles, even while the Anglo-Americans claimed victory after victory in a losing campaign. History is written by the winners, and what follows is the invasion of Burma as it would have been told if the Japanese army and air force had emerged as the winners of the Pacific War.

The Japanese Imperial Army invaded Malaya on December 8, 1941, the first day of the Pacific War as reckoned in Tokyo and Southeast Asia, west of the International Date Line. Air support was provided by the 3rd Hikoshidan (equivalent to an American geographical air force) under Lieutenant General Sugawara Michio. As part of the runup to the invasion, army intelligence reported that there were 48 British fighters and 12 bombers in Burma, along with a squadron of the American Volunteer Group. General Sugawara was very concerned about this enemy air force, which could support a flank attack on the newly occupied territory in Thailand and the long supply line leading down to Malaya and the British fortress of Singapore. From the very first day of the war, therefore, the Japanese knew they would have to neutralize the threat from Burma.

On December 9, the JAAF 10th Hikodan (more or less equivalent to a British wing and consisting of several combat groups) was ordered to Thailand to keep an eye on the Anglo-American air units in Burma. To begin, the air force construction battalion borrowed 700 barrels of fuel from the Thai army. Next it took over the telephone line from Tha Hin to Bangkok, along with the local radio station, the airport radio, and the telegraph line from Bangkok to Phnom Penh and Saigon. Even with these improvements, the 62nd Sentai (a heavy bomber group, equipped with the Mitsubishi Ki-21 that Allied pilots would know by the code name of Sally) had not recovered from the losses it had suffered during the Malaya campaign. For its part, the supporting 77th Sentai (a fighter group, equipped with the obsolescent Nakajima Ki-27, known as Nate to the Allies) was still unable to reach Rangoon because it had no drop tanks.

On December 10, Japanese reconnaissance reported seeing only four enemy planes around Rangoon, type uncertain. Ominously, it seemed that the enemy fighters had moved down to the British forward bases at Moulmein, Tavoy, and Mergui, ranged from north to south on the long southern tail of Burma. The 77th Sentai was instructed to harass them with occasional attacks by a handful of its fighters. Though based in Thailand, next door to Burma, the Japanese fighters could not reach the capital city and major seaport of Rangoon. The 10th Hikodan therefore took over a small airfield at Tha Hin, 520 kilometers (323 miles) from Rangoon and comfortably within the Nakajima Nate’s combat radius.

On December 15, General Sugawara sent orders to Bangkok to prepare for an attack on Rangoon with the 7th and 10th hikodans, to clear the way for his main force to advance to Sungei Patani, Malaya, in late December. Two days later, reconnaissance planes reported 19 enemy fighters, 20 light bombers, and 5 heavy bombers at Rangoon, along with 10 heavy bombers at Toungoo to the north and 5 fighters at a forward field on the southern peninsula. Fearing that the Allied air strength had been increased, General Sugawara ordered the 7th Hikodan to attack Rangoon while the rest of his forces pressed the attack in Malaya.

So it was that, on December 19, Sugawara sent a message to Bangkok: Rangoon was to be attacked three days in succession, on December 23, 24, and 25. The 10th Hikodan commander, Major General Hirota Utaka, therefore rushed construction of facilities at Bangkok, Tha Hin, and Raheng, a forward field on the Burma-Thai border that would help make up the range deficiencies of the Nakajima Ki-27. He also sent an urgent request for drop tanks for the short-ranged fighter. The 77th Sentai meanwhile moved part of its ground crews to Raheng, with the main force to follow as soon as construction was completed. (One chutai or squadron of Nates remained at Bangkok to provide local air defense.) Meanwhile, the 31st Sentai (a light bomber group, equipped with Mitsubishi Ki-30 attack planes) moved its aircraft to Tha Hin, from which they could fly to Rangoon and back.

On December 20, a new commander for the 62nd Sentai arrived, but the group’s strength was still not restored from its earlier losses, so General Sugawara did not plan to send it against Rangoon. However, the group demanded that it be allowed to join the mission. Sugawara agreed, and the half-strength group therefore sent its 12 serviceable Ki-21 Sally heavy bombers to Bangkok.

Two groups would not take part in the Rangoon mission. The 12th Sentai had lost 12 heavy bombers in Malaya and was now rebuilding its forces. And the 64th Sentai with its modern Ki-43 Hayabusa fighters was diverted to attack a bridge crossing in Malaya.

Meanwhile, the 21st Hikotai in Hanoi set out to attack Kunming. (A hikotai was a mixed group, in this case containing one squadron of Ki-48 medium bombers and another of Ki-27 fighters.) The attack force advanced toward Kunming but realized that P-40 fighters were prevailing and a difficult foe. Thus did Japanese historians describe the first