068530 Accession Number: 068530
Description
Identification photographs of Sergeant Hajime Toyoshima, the first Japanese Prisoner of War. Toyoshima was the pilot of a Japanese Mitshubishi Zero B11-1 aircraft, from the Japanese Imperial Navy Aircraft Carrier Hiryu, which participated in the first air raid of Darwin.
. During the raid on Darwin his plane was damaged and he made a crash landing near Snake Bay on Melville Island (Yermalner). He was disarmed and captured by Matthias Ulungura (some sources instead use the name Matthias Ngapiatulawai) an Indigenous Australian of the Tiwi Islands, who then took him to Bathurst Island and handed him over to Sergeant Leslie J. Powell, 23 field company, Royal Australian Engineers. Powell used Toyoshima's service pistol to escort him into captivity. Powell had been sent to maintain demolition installations on the island and was unarmed.
Toyoshima was later to die in the breakout of Japanese prisoners from the Cowra POW camp on the night of the 4/5 August 1944. The bugle he blew to signal its start is held in the AWM collection. He posed as Tadao Minami, claiming to be a sergeant pilot flying from Ambon to Darwin, and under this name was allocated the first number (pwj 910.1) for a Japanese POW captured on Australian soil. His was the first intact zero captured by the allies.
Details
Accession Number
068530
Classification
Photograph
Object Type
Negative
Physical Description
Colour: Black & white
Support: Acetate
Support: Acetate
Measurement
Overall: 3 1/4 in x 4 3/4 in
Image: 2 3/8 in x 2 3/4 in
Image: 2 3/8 in x 2 3/4 in
Date Made
09 April 1942
Place Made
Whole/Part
Whole
Item Count
1
Copyright
Copyright expired - public domain
Conflicts
Places
Tags
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