25th Air Flotilla

25th Air Flotilla
Enlisted fighter pilots of the Tainan Naval Air Group, part of the 25th Air Flotilla, pose at Lae in 1942. Several of these aviators would be among the top Japanese Naval aces, including Saburō Sakai (middle row, second from left), and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa (standing, first on left).
Active	1 April 1942 – 5 May 1944 10 July 1944 - 10 February 1945
Country	Empire of Japan
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Navy
Type	Naval aviation unit
Role	Bomber, fighter, and reconnaissance
Size	Varied
Garrison/HQ	Rabaul, New Britain Lae, Buka, and Buin, Papua New Guinea, and Shortland Islands and Tulagi, Solomon Islands
Engagements	New Guinea Campaign Solomon Islands Campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	Sadayoshi Yamada

The 25th Air Flotilla (第二五航空戦隊,, Dai Nijūgo Kōkū Sentai, "Nijūgo Kōsen"^?) was a combat aviation unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The flotilla, mainly consisting of land-based bombers, fighters, and reconnaissance aircraft, reported to the IJN's 11th Air Fleet. As originally organized, the flotilla's core units were the 4th Naval Air Group, Tainan Naval Air Group, and Yokohama Naval Air Group. The 4th flew bombers, the Tainan fighters, and the Yokohama reconnaissance aircraft.

The 25th Air Flotilla, under the command of Rear Admiral Sadayoshi Yamada, was deployed to Rabaul, New Britain on 29 March 1942. From this location, the unit supported Japanese military operations in the New Guinea and Solomon Islands Campaigns. During these campaigns, the unit was augmented by aircraft from other flotillas. The operational title for this hybrid organization was the 5th Air Attack Force. The organization took heavy losses in air combat over Guadalcanal.