World War II Album: The War in View #29: Japanese Air Power

Wartime painting of A6Ms getting ready for takeoff from an aircraft carrier.

A Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 0 Model 21, A1-108, flown by PO2c Sakae Mori, takes off from IJN Akagi, an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 7 December 1941.

A Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero, takes off from the aircraft carrier Junyo on June 19, 1944. That was the first day of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and everyone is excited. While the battle did not go particularly well for the Japanese, at least the Junyo didn’t sink during the battle like the Shōkaku and Taihō.

4 June 1942, half a year into the havoc created by the Mitsubishi Zero throughout the Pacific Region, Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga’s Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero takes a hit in an oil line over Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Koga was part of a three-plane section from the aircraft carrier Ryujo that had just shot down an American Consolidated PBY Catalina and was in the process of strafing the survivors when his Zero was hit.

With Koga’s engine smoking and running out of oil, Koga and his two wing men reduced speed to preserve it for as long as possible and made their way to unpopulated Akutan Island, about 25 miles from Dutch Harbor. Akutan was a designated emergency landing area with a Japanese submarine patrolling nearby to rescue any downed pilot. Here, Koga made an attempt to land with his wheels down, but the grassy meadow was boggy and his gear dug in and flipped the Zero on its back. Koga was killed instantly, likely with a broken neck. His squadron mates were instructed to strafe and destroy any downed aircraft to save it from falling into enemy hands, but they were unsure whether their friend was dead or alive and were loath to kill him if he had survived. The crash site was undetected for a month, but was finally spotted by a PBY. A recovery team was sent immediately to inspect the aircraft wreckage and recover intelligence.

An inspection crew clambers over Koga’s damaged Zero on Akutan Island. The smallest member of the team had the unpleasant task of climbing into the cockpit and cutting Koga’s harness. His body was dragged out and photographed then buried in a shallow grave nearby. An attempt was made in 1988 to recover Koga’s body and repatriate his remains. The grave was found empty. A search of records indicated that an American war graves team had dug up Koga and buried him as unidentified along with other Japanese bodies at Adak Island. This graveyard was excavated in 1953 and the remains of the 236 Japanese buried there were repatriated to Japan and Koga’s body would never be identified. After two attempts to recover the Zero without damaging it, it was finally removed upside down by barge to Dutch Harbor.

Koga’s Mitsubishi, soon to be known as the Akutan Zero, is hoisted from a transport barge at Dutch Harbor and loaded into the USS St. Mihiel for transport to Seattle, Washington. From there, it was transported by another barge to NAS North Island near San Diego where repairs were made—straightening the vertical stabilizer, rudder, wing tips, flaps, and canopy.

Japanese Navy fighter pilot Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga’s Mitsubishi Zero would live on to fly again with the United States Navy, but sadly Koga’s body would be lost among hundreds of unknown Japanese servicemen who died in the Aleutian Islands campaigns.

Aichi D3A Type 99 dive bomber, “Val”.

Aichi D3A1 “Val” taking off from aircraft carrier.

Aichi D3A1 “Val” being examined by American troops.

Aichi D3A2 “Val.”

The tail of a D3A1 of the 2nd Naval Air Corps forced down on the beach at Deba, Papua, New Guinea, on 3 September 1942.

A close-up of the tail wheel and deck arrester hook of a D3A1 of the 2nd Naval Air Corps.

Nakajima B5N2 “Kate.”

Nakajima B5N2 “Kate” torpedo bombers.

Nakajima B5N1 “Kate.

Yokosuka D4Y1.

Yokosuka D4Y3 Type 33.

Yokosuka D4Y4.

Yokosuka D4Y3 night fighter variant at far left with a Nakajima C6N1 night fighter variant of the 302nd Kōkutai, Atsugi Air Base, June 1945.

Remains of a Yokosuka D4Y tail section (starboard elevator unit) aboard USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71) after a Kamikaze attack. The Judy made a run on the ship approaching from dead astern, it was met by effective fire and the plane passed over the island and exploded. Parts of the plane and the pilot were scattered over the flight deck and the forecastle.

Yokosuka D4Y3 Model 33.

Kawasaki A-6 (J-BBFA c/n 1) Asahi Shimbun. The sole Kawasaki A-6 High-Speed Communications Aircraft (J-BBFA, Asahi Shimbun fleet No. 111) was first flown in 1931 as the ultimately unsuccessful single-seat Kawasaki KDA-6 Experimental Reconnaissance Aircraft before conversion to a two-seater. The sole prototype KDA-6 was sold to Asahi Shimbun and used as a news communications aircraft. When a landing accident prompted extensive structural repairs, modifications were made at the same time to make it a long-range liaison aircraft. Changes included replacement of the 450 hp BMW VI with a 600 hp BMW VIII (both types were license-built twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled V-engines, driving two-bladed wooden propellers), the open cockpit was given a canopy, a cargo compartment was added, and fuel capacity was increased to 287 gal (1,085 l). To compensate for this increase in weight, a stronger landing gear was fitted, and the tail unit was entirely redesigned. With completion of these modifications, the aircraft was redesignated Kawasaki A-6. It made its first flight at Kakamigahara in late August 1934, then was delivered to Asahi as Asahi No. 111.

PO1 Saburō Sakai, Imperial Japanese Navy.

Nakajima B6N.

Nakajima B6N2 before starting the engine. The mechanic is manually turning the prop, to prevent hydraulic lock. A hydraulic lock occurs in a cylinder when it gets full of oil and the connecting rod attempts to displace it. Liquids are not compressible, so it will bend, or possibly break the connecting rod. This used to be a real problem in radial engines with a bottom cylinder, the oil would run down into the lower cylinder. This is why you see radials being “pulled through” by hand before starting the engine.

Japanese Army Air Force pilots in flying gear.

Japanese Kamikaze pilots.

Rikugun Ki-93 prototype.

Mitsubishi Ki-49 "Helen".

Ki-49 in flight over Japan, 1945.

A wrecked Ki-49 bomber photographed by U.S. aircraft somewhere in the southwest Pacific, 1943.

Nakajima Ki-27 during the Khalkin Gol/Nomonhan incident, 1939.

Kawanishi E7K (Alf) Japanese Naval Air Service.

Kawanishi E11K-1 (Laura) Japanese Naval Air Service.

Kawanishi H6K (Mavis) Japanese Naval Air Service.

Japanese Army Air Force mechanics being trained with a Ki-44 airframe.

Mitsubishi F1M2. Artist: Russell Clark.

Japanese airfield at the foot of the volcanoes Rabalanakaia (left) and Tavurvur.

Vunakanau Airfield was an aerodrome located near Vunakanau, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. The airfield was constructed as a Royal Australian Air Force aerodrome and consisted of an unpaved 4700-foot single runway during World War II. The airfield was captured during the battle of Rabaul in 1942 by the Imperial Japanese and was extensively modified and expanded. Vunakanau was later neutralized by Allied air bombing in May 1944.

Allied Units based at Vunakanau Airfield
No. 24 Squadron RAAF, CAC Wirraway and Lockheed Hudson

Japanese Units based at Vunakanau Airfield
4th Kōkūtai (4th "Air Group", G4M1 Rikko)
Misawa Kōkūtai (G4M1)
705 Kōkūtai (G4M1)
702 Kōkūtai (G4M1)
751 Kōkūtai (G4M1)
Tainan Kōkūtai (A6M Zero)
251 Kōkūtai (A6M Zero & J1N1 Gekkou)
1st Sentai (Ki-43 Oscar)
11th Sentai (Ki-43 Oscar)
13th Sentai (Ki-45 Nick)
68th Sentai (Ki-61 Tony)
78th Sentai (Ki-61 Tony)

References

Sakaida, Henry (1996). The Siege of Rabaul. St. Paul, MN, USA: Phalanx. Gamble, Bruce (2006). Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul. St. Paul, Minnesota: Zenith Imprint.

Captured Japanese warplanes that were transported to the U.S. for evaluation just after the war on board USS Barnes (CVE-20) during its transit to Norfolk via Alameda and the Panama Canal.

A Japanese kamikaze pilot tightens his comrade’s “hachimaki,” samurai symbol of courage worn by all pilots.

Kami-Kaze (Shin-Fu): Shown at left are the Japanese characters for “kamikaze.” The word was first used in the form of “shinfu,” the alternate pronunciation of the Japanese characters used to write it. Although they may differ greatly phonetically, the two possible readings of a Japanese character have the same meaning.

Flag carried by kamikaze pilot.

Yokosuka D4Y2 before taking off.

Nakajima B6N1 “Jill”.

Nakajima B6N2 warming up before takeoff.

Nakajima B6N2 in formation.

Kawasaki Ki-48 “Lily”.

Kawanishi H6K (Mavis) Japanese Naval Air Service.

Captured Dutch Brewster Buffalo.

Mitsubishi A5M Claude.

Kawanishi H8K (Emily) lifted by crane of the Japanese seaplane tender Akitsushima.

Kawanishi H8K (Emily) on board the Japanese seaplane tender Akitsushima.

A Betty bomber carrying a rocket-powered Ohka piloted bomb awaits as the bomber’s crew relaxes just prior to the start of a kamikaze mission.

G4M “Betty” formation.

Japanese paratroopers descend on the Dutch East Indies.

Pilots of the 343rd Kokutai, 1945.

Pilots of the 343rd Kokutai (Air Group), Japanese Naval Air Force.

Mitsubishi Ki-83. This aircraft had the potential of being the most outstanding heavy long-range fighter of World War II. But it never had the opportunity to prove it. The Ki-83 was designed and built by a team led by Tomio Kubo, the designer of the highly successful Ki-46 (“Dinah”). This was in response to a 1943 specification for a new heavy fighter with great range. The Ki-83 carried a powerful armament of two 30mm and two 20mm cannon in its nose. Plans for the Ki-83 to enter into production within the bomb-ravaged Japanese industrial complex were underway when the Japanese surrendered on 15 August 1945.

The Mitsubishi Ki-83 was a total surprise to the Americans who, unaware of its existence, had not given it a code name as they had to all known Japanese World War II aircraft. Following the war, American aeronautical engineers and American Air Force officials evaluated the four prototype machines with great interest.

Mitsubishi Ki-83.

Mitsubishi Ki-83 cockpit.

Nakajima Ki-87. The Ki-87 was developed in response to American B-29 Superfortress raids on the Home Islands. It followed up on earlier research by Nakajima and the Technical Division of Imperial Army Headquarters into boosting a large radial engine with an exhaust-driven turbo-supercharger which had begun in 1942, well before the B-29 raids began.

Nakajima Ki-87. Construction was delayed due to problems with the turbo-supercharger and the prototype was not completed until February 1945. It first flew in April but only five test flights were completed. Only one was built.

Nakajima Ki-87.

Rikugun Ki-93 prototype. The Rikugun Ki-93 was a prototype Japanese twin-engined fighter aircraft of the Second World War. Designed by the Army Aerotechnical Research Institute, to be a heavy fighter armed with large caliber cannon to serve in the anti-shipping or bomber destroyer roles, only one example of the Ki-93 was completed; this was damaged on its maiden flight, and destroyed by American bombing before it could be flown again. The Ki-93 made its first flight on 8 April 1945 from Tachikawa airfield; a successful 20 minute test of its low-speed handling characteristics, piloted by Lt. Moriya of the Koku Shinsa-bu (Air Examination Department) with 2nd Lt. Ikebayashi in the second seat. Unfortunately, the pilot undershot the runway and touched down in soft soil, ground-looping the aircraft and tearing off the port undercarriage leg and engine mount, also bending the six-blade propeller. Repairs were completed in four weeks but, the night before the scheduled second test flight, a B-29 bombing raid on Tachikawa destroyed the hangar housing the aircraft.

Kawasaki Ki-96 third prototype. The first Ki-96 prototype was ready in September 1943. Indecision by JAAF officials, who proved unable to integrate the new type into their plans, resulted in the Ki-96 first reverting to the two-seat design and finally being abandoned.

Kawasaki Ki-96 prototype.

Kawasaki Ki-96 third prototype. The Ki-96 was a Japanese heavy fighter of World War II. Manufacture did not proceed past the prototype stage. The success of the Ki-45 Toryu led Kawasaki to start development of an evolved version. Three prototypes of the new Ki-96 two-seat fighter were constructed from August 1942. By late in that year, the JAAF were looking for a single-seat heavy fighter and Kawasaki were directed to convert the Ki-96.

Kawasaki Ki-96 third prototype. The wings and tail unit of the Ki-96 would, in due course, form part of the structure of the Ki-102 “Randy.” The first prototype is shown here.

Kawasaki Ki-96 third prototype.

Kawasaki Ki-100-Ia Type 5 Model 1A fighters which employed Ki-61-II airframes.

Kawasaki Ki-100-Ib, 5th Fighter Sentai, engaged in home island defense.

Kawasaki Ki-108. Artist’s impression of one of the two Ki-108 high-altitude interceptor prototype, which was a conversion of the seventh and eighth production Ki-102b airframes.

Kawasaki Ki-108.

Kawasaki Ki-108 high-altitude fighter prototype with pressurized cabin, two conversions from Ki-102b aircraft using the structural improvements used on the Ki-102c.

Kawasaki Ki-108.

Mitsubishi G4M caught and shot down by American fighters.

Nakajima C6N1. The Nakajima C6N Saiun (“Iridescent Cloud”) was a carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. Advanced for its time, it was the fastest carrier-based aircraft put into service by Japan during the war. The Allied reporting name was Myrt.

Nakajima C6N1 Saiun “Myrt.”

Mitsubishi G3M “Nell.”

Captured Nakajima G8N1 “Rita.”

Showa/Nakajima L2D “Tabby,” Japanese version of Douglas DC-3.

“Tabby,” Japanese version of Douglas DC-3.

Data plate on a “Tabby,” Japanese version of Douglas DC-3.

Close up of engine of a “Tabby,” Japanese version of Douglas DC-3.

Starboard main landing gear of a “Tabby,” Japanese version of Douglas DC-3.

Main landing gear of a “Tabby,” Japanese version of Douglas DC-3.

“Tabby,” Japanese version of Douglas DC-3.

The manufacturer’s identity panel from a D3A1 shot down at Deba, Papua, New Guinea, on 3 September 1942. It reads, top line, Type 99 Carrier Bomber; second line, serial number 3114; third line, date of manufacture, 5 December 1940.

A damaged tail section of a D3A1. The white stripes on the tail plane are angles of fire for the rear gunner.

A well shot-up tail assembly of a D3A2 of the 582nd Naval Air Corps, at Munda Air Base, New Georgia. The manufacturer’s identity panel is visible just forward of the tail plane.

Aichi D3A2 dive bomber. The “Val” was the name given to the D3A by the Allies.

N1K2-J, Naval Air Station, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, post-war.

Aichi D3A1 “Val” shot down during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Kyushu J7W.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka flying bomb Japanese Navy Air Force. Wartime illustration.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka flying bomb Japanese Navy Air Force.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka flying bomb two-seat trainer Japanese Navy Air Force, being prepared for shipment to the U.S. 13 October 1945.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka flying bomb Japanese Navy Air Force.

Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka flying bomb cockpit Japanese Navy Air Force.

Kawanishi H6K (Mavis) Japanese Naval Air Service.

Kawanishi H8K (Emily) lifted by crane of the Japanese seaplane tender Akitsushima.

Kawanishi H8K (Emily) on board the Japanese seaplane tender Akitsushima.

Mitsubishi G4M struck by fire from American fighters.

Ki-58 escort fighter version of the Ki-49 bomber.

D4Y2-S prototype, Summer 1944, Oppama Naval Air Base.

A flight of D4Y2 over the snow-capped sacred Mount Fujiyama.

Sent from Truk, a B6N torpedo plane eludes the screen and speeds for the Yorktown.

A disabled Mitsubishi Ki-51 Type 99 assault/recon plane (“Sonia”).

Nakajima Ki.34 “Thora” transport in civilian markings, J-BBON.

Civilian version of the Mitsubishi L3Y Type 96 transport (Allied code name “Tina”); civilian markings, J-BEDA. Transport version of the G3M “Nell,” developed by the First Naval Air Arsenal at Kasumigaura.

Japanese aircraft taken over by the Allies in Malaya were tested and evaluated by Japanese naval pilots under the supervision of Royal Air Force officers. Here two Mitsubishi A6M (A6M2, left, and A6M5) naval fighters (known to the Allies as 'Zeke') are flying in formation during their evaluation.

Japanese Type 97 Shipboard Attack Aircraft ("Kate") wrecked on Indispensable Reef, at the time it was inspected by a Patrol Squadron 71 crew, 9 June 1942. The plane is from the Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku and bears the tail marking EI-306. It went down during a Battle of the Coral Sea search mission a month earlier and has its cockpit area burned out. (Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives 80-G-7661)

Japanese Ki-77(A-26) carried on USS Bogue, 25 December 1945.

Captured Japanese A6M5 Zeros on board USS Copahee on their way to the US from Saipan, July 1944.

Mitsubishi Type 97 “Ann” light bombers of the 16th Sentai on their way for another raid on Bataan, 3 March 1942.

Heinkel He 112 discovered in a hangar in Japan in 1945.

The remains of a Japanese Zero fighter lie on the beach at Guadalcanal.

Kamikaze pilots ready for their missions.

Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka. Top to bottom: Ohka 11, Ohka 22, Ohka 43 (trainer).

Shell bursts and splashes from the guns of the aircraft carrier Yorktown as Japanese torpedo bombers approach.

Anti-aircraft gunners, center foreground, pour a deadly stream of fire into an already-burning Japanese Kamikaze plane plummeting toward the flight deck of the USS Sangamon, a Navy escort carrier, during action in the Ryukyu Islands near Japan, on May 4, 1945. This suicide plane landed in the sea close to the carrier. Another Japanese aircraft later succeeded in hitting the ship deck, inflicting heavy damage.

A Mitsubishi Ki-51 “Sonia” closing in for a kamikaze strike on the USS Columbia (CL-56) on 27 March 1945. U.S. observers easily mistook Sonias for the more familiar Vals.

World War II Album

The War in View #29: Japanese Air Power

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