Japanese Ace Interviews: Sakai Saburo (2)

Sakai Saburo (better known as Saburo Sakai in the West) was an IJN Zero ace with 60+ confirmed kills. In this video Sakai talks with Maeda Akira, a famous Japanese pro wrestler. This series will cover multiple translated interviews of him.
• 前田日明×坂井三郎

[@b3j8]

Wonderful interview!! I love to read about, and watch these videos of, pilots who served on the opposite side during WW2. Growing up a Baby-Boomer, all we heard was how great the US was, and how treacherous the enemy was during the War. But honestly all I see is someone's son who did their best for their country just as our pilots did. I salute one and all!

[@Millermacs]

Very true

[@pauka13]

True. After many many years I've just started to realize that all of these brave men were heroes no matter what country they served in the war.

[@flyvlado]

I am glad to see my famous WWII ace . He was one of greatest pilot in world ! still have his " SAMURAI" . RIP Saburosan

[@ghostdiaries369]

U know him ?

[@SteveAubrey1762]

I grew up in the 70s in Guam. I had a book titled Samurai! It was a book about Mr. Sakai. He is a hero of military aviation!

[@paulmanson253]

MusketeerinFlorida Are you referring to the book by Martin Caidin ?I remember reading it about 20 years ago. This is a wonderful interview I never expected to see.

[@JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe]

Is this the one where JFK has his Pt boat rammed? And praised anyway?

[@teitokueugeo1352]

What a great wisdom from a Japanese legendary ace. To die as pilots rather than to die as kamikazes. I salute his words which would make us as good pilots

[@abundantYOUniverse]

This is one of the most incredible, moving videos I have ever seen. Thank you.

[@nimbus5526]

A truly amazing interview! The fact he is helped create a video game is crazy too

[@Cavemale2000]

To anyone who hasn't read "Samurai!" I highly recommend it. "Samurai! is the war-time account of Saburo Sakai, one of the best books I've ever read.

[@okkami676]

That was an amazing interview! Thank you for uploading this video!

[@bobns509]

64 confirmed kills. Read his book: "Flying Samurai".

[@smoj304]

Disputed, even by his own side. Not uncommon, maybe even universal for airmen on any side to have inflated their kill scores unintentionally. Without taking credit away from a superb pilot, the numbers didn't add up.

[@scootergeorge9576]

@@smoj304 - Could be as low as 25 but none the less, an ace many times over.

[@จักษ์นาถะพินธุ]

@@scootergeorge9576 Sakai alone in a Zero fought against 10++Hellcats and survived without a hit. This shown how best Sakai was, compared to McGuire who turned his P-38 crashed in the battle of 4 P-38s against 1 Oscar. The US loss 2 P-38s and that lone Ocar drove away another 2 P-38s. The McGuire's 38 kills propaganda campaign must be truly less than 10 kills because his ability to fly was not good.

[@scootergeorge9576]

@@จักษ์นาถะพินธุ - Critics claim that Sakai's claimed 60 victories may be as low as 20 or so. He also got many, if not most over second rate opposition over China.

[@Leon_der_Luftige]

Atleast 60 are safe to say.

[@jumo004]

This guy is interviewing one of the greatest fighter pilots of all time and he's discussing a computer game! WTF

[@reynaldiwidjaja277]

imagine if he lived through today, with VR tech nowadays we could see him in action.

[@thurin84]

thats was interesting insight. when someones being interviewed by someone through a translator, you always worry something will be lost. but to see him being interviewed by a knowledgeable admirer was really fascinating.

[@keenefx321]

Great short interview!

[@bigmonmatt]

so many Japanese aces died because they'd rather die than be captured as a POW. Unrivaled discipline ?

[@daltonhunt7767]

kazukikid no brainwashed by their bonehead emporer

[@smoj304]

Any idiot can die for his country. It's probably a smarter idea to make the enemy die for his.

[@chrishartgrove2179]

@@smoj304 "No son of a bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won the won by making the other poor, dumb, son of a bitch die for his country." General George S. Patton

[@chrishartgrove2179]

@@daltonhunt7767 Tojo didn't have enough sense to quit after the bombing of Hiroshima. He only did so after the second bomb struck Nagasaki. That's not courage- especially when he started the war- it was stupidity. People who see their leader as a god are doomed...

[@chrishartgrove2179]

Yes, it was unrivaled discipline. Japanese soldiers were disciplined to die for their country. American soldiers were disciplined to make Japanese soldiers die for their country. Death with honor is still death...

[@Orangefan77]

Oh GOD I hope he's not talking about War Thunder...

[@Mremants]

+Orangefan Yeah mate, judging by the film quality and the easily accessible fact that Saburo died in 2000 i'm going to agree with you here...

[@Orangefan77]

+FlyHigher yeah maybe my tongue-in-cheek joke didn't come through there...

[@veljkostevanovic7597]

He was an unofficial technical advisor of Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2. A nice game but still could not hold a candle in realisticism to the Sturmovik series.

[@smoj304]

@@veljkostevanovic7597 At the time, CFS2 was great. Plenty of mods which really extended the gameplay, and some of them were exceptional (I remember a Swordfish campaign that blew me away, and a 75 Squadron RAAF campaign - Saburo Sakai fought against them from Rabaul). It was extremely accessible to mods, you could even import aircraft and assets from the regular MS Flight Sim. CFS3 was a dog. The dynamic campaign was a neat idea at the time, better graphics, but pretty much locked out for modding. I think I maybe played a few hours of it, and then let it rot. They killed the franchise with that one. IL2 was also a good game in it's early version, but clunky interface and not nearly as large in scope. In time, it expanded, and in it's current iteration, is brilliant.

[@SUPRAMIKE18]

He mentioned other players so it must have been microsofts mmo combat flight sim from back in the day fighter ace or fighter ace 2

[@jarrodyuki7081]

if only we won midway and coral sea we needed radar and the proximity fuse.

[@elvispresley4649]

Were there such a game back then??????

[@josephdupont]

The Niʻihau incident occurred on December 7-13, 1941, when Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi crash-landed his Zero on the Hawaiian island of Niʻihau after participating in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Wikipedia Dates: Dec 7, 1941 - Dec 13, 1941

[@philandtinaschannel7638]

I wonder what game the interviewer was talking about?

[@Colt45hatchback]

Microsoft combat flight simulator 2 i believe, the cfs set in the pacific

[@alespersin6066]

He explains his favorite attack from below and from a blind spot, like shooting down a P-39 over Port Moresby. He was lucky in life, probably protected by the ritual belt of Cpt. Sasai gave him. You must always be inconspicuous...

[@scotttyson8661]

I read or saw a documentary on SaburoSaki that he a had Eagle Eyes.

[@AravenaScheid]

thanks microsoft combat flight simulator, i was able to know about this legend

[@teddykurniawan4238]

mission accomplished is pride. not suicide.

[@Colt45hatchback]

Mission acomplished would be to stop americans invading japan. Theres 500 of you and many 1000's of them, it was the only option with the limited resources they had

[@Bukubands223]

this interviewer should actually talk about stuff and questions worth the time of this legendary warrior instead of his own video game stories and bullshit let him talk these men will all be gone soon it's stupid how he didn't get to talk more, great video though

[@MrWalker1000]

is there more of sakai talking?

[@shane757]

You're missing the point, he's finding a way to engage with him about something he's an expert on while maintaining humility "oh its just a silly game I know". And not worth his time??? Damn dude, have you ever met an old vet? They fact someone from another generation is engaged will make his month.

[@categrmst4836]

can he play war thunder?

[@emperorinmu4199]

official sakai score is 28, 64is myth

[@ckfu8287]

subaru air plane