Yoshinao Kodaira

Yoshinao Kodaira
Born	1918 Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Died	2008
Allegiance	Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN)
Years of service	1935-?
Battles/wars	World War II: Second Sino-Japanese War Battle of the Coral Sea Guadalcanal Campaign Battle of the Eastern Solomons Battle of the Philippine Sea Battle of Leyte Gulf Battle of Leyte
Other work	Japan Air Self-Defense Force

Yoshinao Kodaira (小平 好直 Kodaira Yoshinao, 1918–2008) was an officer and ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Participating in many of the Pacific War battles and campaigns as a member of several units, including the fighter units of the aircraft carriers Shōkaku and Chiyoda, Kodaira was officially credited with destroying 13 enemy aircraft. After the war, he served with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. In 2008, Tsubasa-kai ("Wings Association"), the veterans' organization of the JASDF, reported his death on its website.

References

• Hata, Ikuhiko; Yasuho Izawa; Don Cyril Gorham (translator) (1989) [1975]. Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-315-6.
• Sakaida, Henry (2002). Aces of the Rising Sun, 1937–1945. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-618-6.