343rd Naval Air Group

343rd Naval Air Group
Naoshi Kanno's Kawanishi N1K2-J "343 A-15" of 301st Fighter Squadron/343rd Naval Air Group, Matsuyama air base, 10 April 1945.
Active	January 1, 1944–July 10, 1944 December 25, 1944–postwar
Country	Empire of Japan
Branch	Imperial Japanese Navy
Type	Naval aviation unit
Role	Fighter, interceptor fighter
Size	various
Part of	First generation 1st Air Fleet 61st Air Flotilla Second generation 25th Air Flotilla 3rd Air Fleet 5th Air Fleet 72nd Air Flotilla
Garrison/HQ	First generation Kagoshima, Japan Tinian, Marianas Peleliu, Palau Second generation Matsuyama, Japan Kanoya, Japan Kokubu, Japan Ōmura, Japan
Nickname(s)	First generation Hayabusa Corps (隼部隊) Second generation Tsurugi Corps (剣部隊)
Aircraft flown	A6M Type 0 "Zeke" N1K1-J Shiden "George" N1K2-J Shiden-Kai "George" C6N1 Saiun "Myrt"
Engagements	World War II Mariana and Palau Islands campaign Air raids on Japan
Commanders
Notable commanders	Minoru Genda
Insignia
Identification symbol	First generation 隼 (Hayabusa, used in Japan homeland) 43 (outside Japan homeland)
Identification symbol	Second generation 343 with squadron code example; 343 A-xx (301st FS)

The 343rd Naval Air Group (第三四三海軍航空隊, Dai San-Yon-San Kaigun Kōkūtai) was an aircraft and airbase garrison unit of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific campaign of World War II. Created in late 1944 due to the desperate situation of Japan in the closing stages of the war, the 343rd was composed of the best surviving ace fighter pilots the Imperial Navy had at the time, with Captain Minoru Genda in command. This unit was equipped with the best airplane Japan had left by then, the Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-Kai, known as George by the Allies; this aircraft could compete with the best wartime Allied fighters, namely, the F6F Hellcat, the P-51 Mustang and the F4U Corsair.