page_title: Junichi Sasai
section_title: Final mission
hierarchical_section_title: Junichi Sasai / World War II / Final mission
context_page_description: Lieutenant CommanderJunichi Sasai was a Japanese naval aviator and fighter ace of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Lieutenant Sasai was killed leading his fighter squadron during an attack on Henderson Field during the Battle of Guadalcanal.
context_section_description: On August 26, 1942, on his 76th sortie with the Tainan Group, Sasai led eight Zeros escorting Betty bombers to Henderson Field, a main focus of months of fighting in the Guadalcanal campaign, as it enabled U.S. land-based airpower to hinder the Japanese attempts at resupplying its soldiers. At that time, Sasai's score stood at 27. Over Guadalcanal, Sasai attacked an F4F Wildcat that was already in the traffic pattern. The Wildcat dived for the cover of antiaircraft guns, then gave chase.  The Zero turned to engage from overhead; the Grumman pulled its nose into the vertical, firing its six .50-caliber machine guns. The lack of self-sealing fuel tanks made Japanese Zeros easy to ignite with a few rounds of incendiary tracers. Sasai’s Zero exploded in a ball of fire, showering parts onto the beach of Guadalcanal in front of hundreds of U.S. Marines.
  Lieutenant Junichi Sasai died at the age of 24. He was probably the target of Captain (later Major) Marion E. Carl, an 18.5-victory ace of Marine squadron VMF-223, one of the few Midway-based pilots to survive the Battle of Midway. He had been one of the first Marine pilots to land at Henderson Field less than a week before, and since then, he had downed three more aircraft to become the Marine Corps’ first ace.  Sasai, a lieutenant junior grade, was posthumously promoted two grades to lieutenant commander. This practice was common for Japanese aviators with proven records or high scores who were killed during the war. Sasai was also honored with a mention in an all-units bulletin of the Japanese Navy.
  With his father, he is buried at Tama Cemetery in Fuchū, Tokyo.
caption: Illustration of a U.S. Marine F4F-4 Wildcat shoots down a Japanese A6M2 Zero over Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.
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