Genda's Blade: Japan's Squadron of Aces: 343 Kokutai

Rating:
Summary: Impressive research overcomes stilted English
Review: Henry Sakaida just can't write a bad book.

Unfortunately, he can't write one long paragraph in English that "flows," and this is the only minor problem with "Genda's Blade."

Sakaida and his co-author, Koji Takaki, have put together an impressive amount of research. The book is well ordered, has some good photos, contains plenty of recent interviews with surviving pilots and aircrewmen, and has very complete appendices. And Sakaida's obvious enthusiasm for his subject is infectious: once you open the book, you'll find it hard to put it down, "bad" English and all.

And what about the 343 Kokutai and their Shiden and Shiden-kai aircraft? All things considered--poor level of aircraft serviceability, poor radios, poor ground-direction, and the challenge of fighting consistently skilled and aggressive opponents--they did pretty well. They did some pretty wild overclaiming on occasion (which tends to make one a little suspicious as to the validity of published "kill" totals for the Japanese aces), but surviving U.S. records speak highly of the unit's skill and air discipline in almost every encounter. The Shiden gets high marks from most of its opponents, but it's apparent that it was inferior to most U.S. aircraft in the usual areas: ruggedness, firepower, and reliability.

And given the level of book prices today, [it] is not too much for this book. I've paid more for less. It will be a welcome addition to anyone's Pacific War library.