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The Imperial Army Air Fleet was the aviation force of the Imperial Japanese Army. They were used during the expansion of Japan's Empire during the 1930s and during the Pacific War of World War II. Members of the Air Fleet nicknamed their aircraft "akatonbo", Japanese for "dragonflies." (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)
History[[edit] | [edit source]]
In 1932, Japanese aircraft launched from the aircraft carrier Hosho raided Shanghai, where Chinese and Japanese forces briefly clashed.
In July and August 1937, after the Pacific War began in Asia, the Air Fleet launched air raids on Shanghai and Shangdong province from occupied Manchukuo. Mitsubishi Ki-15s took part in the Shanghai raids, which the Fourth Doctor claimed happened just so the Japanese could prove that they could. Mitsubishi A5Ms attacked Kuomintang troop trains transporting Chinese soldiers to the front lines, but these were little more than nuisance raids which caused minimal damage. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)
On 7 December 1941, the Air Fleet launched a force of Japanese Zeros against the United States naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Civilian pilot Ray Budnick became the first American of the war to engage the Japanese after he embarked on a morning flight over Honolulu, where the Japanese shot up his plane, although Budnick was able to escape. (PROSE: Only Connect) On 9 December, Japanese pilots attacked the Americans in the Philippines. (PROSE: Happily Ever After Is a High-Risk Strategy)
In February 1942, Japanese aircraft harassed British soldiers awaiting evacuation from the island of Kenga off the coast of Singapore after Japan turned her attention to the British Empire's Asian colonies. The air raids created fear within the British troops, which the Forsaken fed on to grow in strength (AUDIO: The Forsaken)
The Air Fleet fought against the United States Air Force as the war spread over the Pacific Ocean. Pilots from both sides encountered the Light-beings. After the war, the Americans discovered Japanese intelligence files detailing these encounters. (PROSE: Endgame)
On 5 August 1945, Japanese Zeros spotted and attacked the Sky Jack, an American aircraft which carried Big Momma, an atomic bomb intended for use against Kyoto. All but three members of the crew were killed and the aircraft began rapidly losing fuel at a rate which meant it was not possible to reach Kyoto. (COMIC: Sky Jacks)
Alternate timelines[[edit] | [edit source]]
In the history in which the Ironsides were never discovered by the Eleventh Doctor, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor came after the Ironsides prematurely liberated France and pushed Nazi forces to Germany. When the Japanese attempted to come to Germany's aid with a pre-emptive attack, the Ironsides stepped in, taking on the enemy bombers in a "vicious dogfight" lasting two days. The American Navy was saved and President Harry S. Truman bestowed the Medal of Honor on the Ironsides, finally agreeing to aid the British in the war effort. Two months later, the Allied forces marched on Berlin, and the Nazi stranglehold was broken. (PROSE: The Ironside Advance)