Saburo Sakai facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Saburō Sakai (坂井 三郎)
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PO2/c Sakai in the cockpit of a Mitsubishi A5M Type 96 fighter (Hankow airfield, China in 1939)
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| Nickname(s) | Sky Samurai |
| Born | 25 August 1916 Saga, Japan |
| Died | 22 September 2000 (aged 84) Atsugi Naval Air Station, Japan |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Service/ |
 Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN) |
| Years of service | 1933–45 |
| Rank | 海軍中尉 (Kaigun-chūi) |
| Unit | Tainan Air Group Yokosuka Air Wing |
| Battles/wars | Second Sino-Japanese War Pacific War |
Saburo Sakai (Japanese: 坂井三郎, Sakai Saburō, August 25, 1916 – September 22, 2000) was a Japanese naval pilot and fighter ace ("Gekitsui-O") of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He was the 4th best Japanese pilot by number of enemy aircraft he shot down. He survived the war, and became a famous figure for his criticism of the War and the government of the Japanese Empire. He became a pacifist and a Buddhist and promised that he would never again kill another living thing, even a mosquito. Only months before his death, Sakai told reporters that he still prayed for the souls of the Chinese, American, Australian and Dutch pilots he had killed. He also helped Microsoft design the popular computer game Combat Flight Simulator 2.
Sakai shot down 64 enemy airplanes, including a B-32 Dominator on the last day of the war.
Images for kids
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Sakai posing in front of the hinomaru on his Mitsubishi A5M Type 96 fighter (Wuhan, 1939).
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Saburō Sakai as a petty officer wearing a life jacket
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Saburō Sakai posing in front of a bomber aircraft
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Sakai in flightsuit
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Sakai's A6M2 Zero, tail code V-173, preserved at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra
See also
In Spanish: Saburō Sakai para niños
