Isamu Mochizuki

Isamu Mochizuki
Mochizuki at the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade
Born	1906 Saga Prefecture, Japan
Died	February 6, 1944 Roi-Namur
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN)
Years of service	1925-1944
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	Second Sino-Japanese War Pacific War

Isamu Mochizuki (Japanese: 望月 勇; 1906 – February 6, 1944) was an officer and ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific theater of World War II. In aerial combat over China and the Pacific, he was officially credited with destroying seven enemy aircraft. During his flying career, Mochizuki invented the half loop and roll technique used in dogfighting by Japanese fighter pilots. He was stranded on Roi-Namur Island with no aircraft to fly after the American invasion on 6 February 1944. Mochizuki disappeared and was presumed killed in action in ground combat with the enemy.

References

• Hata, Ikuhiko; Yasuho Izawa; Don Cyril Gorham (translator) (1989) [1975 (original)]. Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II (translated ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-315-6.