Fist from the Sky

Lieutenant Commander Takashige Egusa was one of the Imperial Japanese Navy's most skillful and influential dive-bomber pilots. He led an attack force against Pearl Harbor, calmly circling his special flame-red Aichi dive bomber before selecting his target. Assaults on the deadly gun batteries of Wake Island followed, as well as air support for the invasion of Ambon. Badly burned at Midway, Egusa return to duty, only to be killed on his final mission. As one Japanese officer said, "He was the 'God of Dive-Bombing.'" Fully placed in historical context and backed by a wealth of detail from archives, family records, photographs, and memories of contemporaries, the full story of Egusa's bravery, leadership qualities and illustrious career come to life.