Buntaichō

On the ground, the Buntaichō commanded a division of flight personnel, called buntai (分隊), which was the smallest administrative unit in IJNAS.

Buntai was made up of the required number of personnel necessary to fly one chūtai (中隊), which typically consisted of nine aircraft.

For example, Lieutenant Keiichi Arima was an observer; his Aichi D3A dive bomber was piloted by Petty Officer First Class Kiyoto Furuta.

[1] In carrier-based units, the position of Buntaichō was marked by two horizontal stripes on the tail of an aircraft.

[2] However, this marking should not be confused with the vertical stripes around the rear of the fuselage, which indicated the carrier to which the aircraft belonged.