Ayao Shirane

Ayao Shirane
Born	August 7, 1916 Tokyo, Empire of Japan
Died	24 November 1944(1944-11-24) (aged 28) Leyte, Philippines
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service / branch	Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN)
Years of service	1937–1944
Rank	Commander
Unit	12th Air Group Akagi Zuikaku
Battles / wars	Second Sino-Japanese War World War II Attack on Darwin Indian Ocean Raid Battle of Midway Battle of the Eastern Solomons Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands Solomon Islands Campaign

Ayao Shirane (白根 斐夫, Shirane Ayao, August 7, 1916 – 24 November 1944) was a fighter ace in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. He participated in various battles and campaigns throughout the Pacific War and was eventually shot down and killed over Leyte, Philippines on 24 November 1944. He was officially credited with destroying nine enemy aircraft.^[1][2]