Kenji Okabe | |
Native Name: | 岡部 健二 |
Native Name Lang: | jpn |
Birth Date: | 1915 |
Death Date: | ? |
Birth Place: | Fukuoka, Japan |
Allegiance: | Empire of Japan |
Branch: | Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN) |
Rank: | Ensign |
was an ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Participating in many of the Pacific War battles and campaigns as a member of several units, Okabe was officially credited with destroying 15 enemy aircraft. Okabe was credited with shooting down eight enemy aircraft on 8 May 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea, the IJN's official record for the number of aircraft destroyed in a single encounter.[1] He is famous for his strong opposition to the kamikaze attacks, rare in IJN at the time. Okabe survived the war.