was an officer and ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific War. He was officially credited with destroying 13 enemy aircraft. During the Battle of Midway alone, he claimed ten aircraft shot down in one day (seven of which were shared). Early career Iyōzō Fujita attended Kitsuki High School in Ōita Prefecture and then enrolled in Imperial Japanese Navy Academy. He graduated from the 66th class in September 1938. He was accepted for the navy pilot training program and completed it in June 1940. In September 1941 he was assigned to fighter squadron aboard the carrier Sōryū. Pacific War On 7 December 1941, Lieutenant (jg) Fujita participated in the Attack on Pearl Harbor, where he was assigned as a section leader (Shōtaichō) of fighter escort in the second wave. while strafing Kaneohe Airfield, his unit commander (Buntaichō), Lieutenant Fusata Iida, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and Fujita took command over the remaining fighters and headed for Kaena Point, which was the rendezvous for the return to the carriers. On the way, they encountered a formation of Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighters and in the ensuing dogfight, Fujita claimed to shoot down one of them. However, his own fighter was hit and he barely made it back to the carriers. Upon returning to Japan, he was promoted to full Lieutenant. In February 1942, he participated in the Bombing of Darwin. During the Indian Ocean Raid on 5 April, he and Petty Officer Kaname Harada attacked six British Fairey Fulmar and each claimed one of them shot down. In February 1942, Lieutenant Fujita took part in the Battle of Midway, where he was assigned to Combat Air Patrol (CAP) to protect the carriers. He and his group intercepted the first wave of Grumman TBF Avenger and Martin B-26 Marauder bombers from Midway Island, where he claimed three bombers shot down (two of them were shared). He and his section landed on the carrier for a quick rearming and refuelling and took off to intercept the second wave from Midway Island, which consisted of Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers led by Major Lofton R. Henderson. He and his section made another landing and then joined with a CAP group led by Lieutenant Ayao Shirane. They intercepted the successive attacks of the Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers from USS Enterprise (VT-6) and from USS Yorktown (VT-3), the latter were