Fist from the Sky: The Biography of Captain Takashige Egusa Ijn

Takashige Egusa was one of the Imperial Japanese Navy's most skilful and influential leaders in the field of dive-bombing playing a major part in its development.

From the outset of Japanese involvement in World War II Lieutenant-Commander Egusa led a force of around eighty aircraft against targets in Pearl Harbour, calmly circling his distinctive flame red Aichi dive bomber before selecting his target. Assaults on the deadly 5-inch coastal gun barriers of Wake Island followed and flying from the dive-bomber carrier Soryu he and his force provided air support for the invasion on the Ambon before concentrating on the massed Allied shipping in the crowded harbour of Darwin.

Egusa's victories became legendary, his leadership inspirational, and his accuracy a byword in the fleet. He and his dive-bomber crews created maximum havoc among the Western Allies in the first year of the Pacific War and gave the Japanese Emperor a unique succession of overwhelming victories against a numerically far-superior enemy. Egusa's best work however, came when attacking British warships in the Indian Ocean where his pilots achieved in outstanding hit-rate in wartime conditions.

Despite being badly burned at Midway Egusa quickly returned to active service and lost his life, after the tide of war had turned against Japan, on his final gallant mission against Task Group 58.

More than just a war history, Fist from the Sky provides a new insight into the Japanese Navy's pre-war way of thinking, its training regimes, culture and achievements of its warriors. Fully placed in historical context and backed by a wealth of detail from archives, family records, photographs and contemporary accounts, the full story of Egusa's bravery, leadership qualities and illustrious dive-bombing career gains a fresh perspective.