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KATO, TATEO

Kato, Tateo

(1904–May 22, 1942)
Japanese Army Fighter Pilot

P

opularly hailed as
the “War God,”
Kato was the most
celebrated pilot of the
Imperial Japanese Army
Air Force in World War II.
He put up formidable op-
position to the famous
Flying Tigers in Burma
before losing his life in a
minor skirmish.
Tateo Kato was born
in Japan in 1904, the son
of a soldier. His father,
Tetsuo Kato, was killed in
the Russo-Japanese War
of that year, which
spurred his orphan son to
himself seek a military
career. Accordingly, Kato
graduated from the Impe-
rial Army Military Acad-
emy in July 1925, with
dreams of becoming a
pilot. He next underwent
flight training at Toko-
rozawa in May 1927 and proved so gifted a
flier that he performed demonstration flights
for the graduating audience. Kato was then

posted with the Sixth

Hiko Rentai (flight regi-

ment) in Pyongyang,

Korea. For several years

thereafter, he served as a

flight instructor at several

fighter schools, and by

1936 he had advanced

to squadron commander.

The Sino-Japanese War

erupted in July 1937, and

Kato, flying Kawasaki

Ki 10 biplanes, distin-

guished himself by down-

ing four Russian-made

Polikarpov I-15s on March

25, 1938. Soon after, his

unit was equipped with

the modern Nakajima

Ki 27 monoplane fighters

and Japanese air su-

premacy over China was

complete. By May 1938,

Kato’s unit had claimed

39 enemy craft for a loss

of only three Ki 27s—

with Kato himself claiming four more kills. He

then rotated back to Japan with a final tally of

nine, which made him the leading ace of the

Tateo Kato

Author’s Collection