[paddyob26]

I am trying to confirm who may have shotdown a B-29 on 10 June 1945 south of Tokyo. The aircraft was a B-29A, USAAF serial no. 42-63567, "City of Providence", 30th Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group, 20th Air Force, MACR 14614. I have received a post on another website that it was JNAF pilot Lt. (jg) Sada-aki Akamatsu, 302nd Kokutai, however there was no reference to any records or other confirming data. The Missing Air Crewman Report states that the formation was attacked by fighters after turning south soon after bombing the target. The B-29 "City of Providence" was hit in the Number 2 engine which caught fire. The pilot made a steep decent trying to extinguish the fire. About 15-20 miles south of the coast over the Pacific the crew started to bail out. The fire reached the oil tank or a fuel tank and the wing exploded and separated. Six or seven parachutes where seen plus a partially opened but streaming parachute was observed and reported by other crews. Two of the crew were picked up by Air-Sea Rescue. All others were listed as missing and were never recovered and later declared killed in action. Does anyone have access to Japanese records or have any information on this B-29 loss and who may have been the Japanese pilot who shot it down.

Thank you,
Patrick