Raffaello Kobayashi

EN Texto en inglés Aún no hay artículo en tu idioma: extracto en inglés.

Raffaello Kobayashi, born as Raffaele Sanzio (Bari, 14 January 1917 – Yokohama, 1 April 2011), was an Italian petty officer second class who was later naturalized as a Japanese citizen. A submariner during World War II, he served for all three major Axis powers: the Kingdom of Italy, Nazi Germany, and the Japanese Empire. At the end of the war, he hid in Japan to avoid internment in a prison camp, eventually becoming a Japanese citizen and changing his name. He took part in the sinking of HMS Calypso in 1940, Italy's first naval success of World War II. He would be the last person to strike down an Allied aircraft at the end of World War II, doing so on 22 August 1945, precisely 8 days after Hirohito's surrender broadcast, whilst on board the Comandante Cappellini.