Kiichi Oda

Kiichi Oda
Oda while assigned to the Sōryū in June 1942
Native name	小田 喜一
Born	1913 Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Died	29 November 1944 (aged 30–31) Bonin Islands
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service / branch	Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN)
Years of service	1931–1944
Rank	Ensign
Battles / wars	Second Sino-Japanese War World War II Pacific War

Kiichi Oda (小田 喜一, 1913 – 29 November 1944) was an officer and ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific theater of World War II. In aerial combat over China and the Pacific, he was officially credited with destroying nine enemy aircraft.

At the outbreak of the Pacific War, as a member of the aircraft carrier Sōryū's fighter group, Oda participated in the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Indian Ocean Raid, and the Battle of Midway. After serving almost a year in the reserves in Japan, Oda returned to active service in April 1944 and saw front line aviation duty in the Mariana Islands and at Truk. At Truk in late 1944, Oda embarked on the submarine I-365 to return to mainland Japan. On 29 November 1944, the submarine was sunk by the US Navy submarine USS Scabbardfish in the Bonin Islands. Oda did not survive the sinking.

References

• Hata, Ikuhiko; Izawa, Yasuho (1989) [1975]. 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.