この零戦は、撃墜王赤松貞明の搭乗機である。赤松といえば、戦闘機「雷電」を乗りこなしていたことでも有名だった。
零戦のとなりには、リンドバーグ操縦のスピリット・オブ・セントルイス号が飛ぶ。赤松は海軍飛行学校時代、リンドバーグにあこがれていたという。佐竹政夫という有名画家が描いた絵である。
高知県ではいま、赤松貞明記念館がつくられようとしている。
Sada-aki Aka-matsu, one of the Japanese flying aces during the World War Ⅱ, flew this Zero Fighter. He claimed he shot down about 350 enemy planes, though, of course, it was an exaggeration. Actually, his score must have been close to 30, the result still being brilliant.
Akamatsu also flew freely a fighter, Raiden, which was said to be difficult to operate for fighter pilots back then.
A plane is flying in this picture, next to the Zero. This plane is the Spirit of St. Louis flown by C. Lindberg Akamatsu admired when he was one of the students of the Naval Aviation Institute.
A news reporter interviewed Akamatsu before he passed away, listening to his words, “I want to fly a Zero again in the sky where there is no bullet coming toward me.”
This is a painted picture by Masao Satake, a famous painter in Japan. In Kouchi Prefecture in Japan, they have a plan now to create Sadaaki Akamatsu Memorial.
