The "Azusa Special Attack Unit"
This was the first special attack unit to fly from Kagoshima on the Japanese mainland, and the operation attempted an unprecedented flight distance of 3,000 kilometers.

Twenty-four "Ginga" bombers and the "Type 2 Flying Boats" that guided them headed for Ulithi Atoll, where American aircraft carriers were concentrated. The Imperial Japanese Navy planned to wipe out the American forces concentrated on the atoll with special attacks before the Battle of Okinawa began.

This film depicts the entire story of the Azusa Special Attack Unit, starting with Lieutenant Masashi Takahashi, a graduate of Chuo University who participated in this operation, and incorporating testimonies from former crew members, the voices of bereaved families, and official historical documents from both Japan and the United States. Furthermore, it delves into the final moments of the Type 2 Flying Boat's first guide aircraft, which disappeared after its sortie, and the second guide aircraft that led the Ginga to Yap Island.

00:00 Introduction: The World's Highest Performance "Type 2 Flying Boat" and the Special Attack Operation

02:20 Formation of the Azusa Special Attack Unit and Lieutenant Takahashi, a Senior from Chuo University
04:21 Traces of the Sortie Remaining at Kagoshima's Kamoike Seaplane Base
05:15 Research at the National Institute for Defense Studies: The Meaning Behind the Operation Name "Azusa"

06:58 Valuable Testimony: The Truth of the Special Attack Operation as Told by Mr. Yasui, Pilot of the Second Guiding Aircraft
11:55 Accident During Sortie: Failure of the First Guiding Aircraft to Take Off
13:18 Beginning the 3000km Guidance: The Successive Dropouts of the Ginga Unit
16:20 The Final Farewell to the Ginga Unit Over Yap Island
19:15 The Charge into Ulithi Atoll and the Pillar of Fire Rising Over the Sea
21:23 US Military Documents Reveal the Moment the Aircraft Carrier "Randolph" Was Hit 23:50 Who was the one who went in? Conclusions Derived from Japanese and American Documents
25:52 Visiting the Bereaved Family: The "Relics" Captain Fukuda Sent to His Family Home
31:42 The Mysterious End of the First Guiding Aircraft: New Facts 50 Years After the War
37:03 An Engine Beyond Its Limits: Yasui's Aircraft's Emergency Landing on Meleyon Island
43:28 A Hellish Place with a 70% Starvation Rate: The Struggle for Survival on Meleyon Island and Miraculous Survival
44:32 The Trigger for the Underwater Survey
45:08 Interview with Waseda University Exploration Club
48:34 Diving Underwater: The Wreckage of the Type 2 Flying Boat Discovered After 80 Years
52:22 The Full Image of the Aircraft Revived with the Latest Technology: "3D Photogrammetry"
54:10 After the Interview: Those Involved Share Their "Wishes for Peace"

Interview Cooperation  (Titles Omitted)
Yasui Isamu
Yamaki Satoshi
Sugihara Keisuke Masami Kanno
Minoru Kamata
Kenji Sakurai
Kanoya Air Base Historical Museum

Materials Provided
Ushio Shobo Kojin Shinsha (Seiji Sakanaishi)
"Azusa Special Attack Unit: The 3,000-Kilometer Flight of the Bomber 'Ginga'"
Yasukuni Shrine Yasukuni Kaiko Bunko
"A Group Portrait of Youth: Records of Reserve Students of the 13th Class of Flight (Reconnaissance Specialization) from the Shanghai Naval Air Corps"
U.S. National Archives
National Diet Library
Okinawa Prefectural Public Archives Center
National Institute for Defense Studies, War History Research Center

Supervision
Ryoichi Matsuno

Narration
Shota Miyazaki

Directors
Asahi Ogino
Shota Miyazaki

Production and Copyright
Chuo University, Ryoichi Matsuno Seminar