IJAAF & IJNAF wrecked aircraft - Clark Field, Philippines Pt.1

A few years ago, we featured on this blog a series of posts introducing Japanese IJAAF & IJNAF aircraft found in the Philippines by Allied forces, based on video clips.

A couple of photos on sale on ebay inspired us to revisit the subject from a different perspective and discuss the Japanese aircraft found and gathered specifically by the TAIU teams, according to aircraft type. Some images and information will be repeated but new information will also be added.

Below are the two ebay photos.

Let's start with the Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien" (Tony) seen in the top photo on the right.

In this panoramic photo showing part of the area where the TAIU teams set shop, we can detect three "Hien" fighters on the right side of the photo, circled in red, in front of the trees.

Here's a NARA photo showing these three "Tonys".

And a closer look from another NARA photo.

Closeup of the aircraft on the right of the previous photo. Note what looks like an "88" (some sources see an "83") painted on the rudder and the yellow tail top. (Photo: NARA)

An earlier photo of the same aircraft I spotted on the net. Note the various panels still attached to the cowling area, indicating that the aircraft was in much better condition when it was originally found.

All three Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien" (Tony) fighters in the previous photos belonged to the 19th Sentai.

The unit was formed at the Akeno Hiko Gakko (Akeno Flying School) on February 10, 1944, equipped exclusively with "Hien" fighters. A month later relocated to Itami, Osaka where together with an IJNAF fighter unit was responsible for the air defense of the Hansin area (the area of Japan including Kobe & Osaka).

Together with the 17th Sentai the unit formed the 22nd Hikodan and from May 12, 1944, started advancing to the Philippines. One chutai at a time, a total of 38 "Hien", took off from Itami and gradually arrived at Nielson airfield in the suburbs of Manila by June 3 facing various technical problems on the way. On July 8, 22 planes including the unit commander Major Seto Rokuro advanced to Ambon island where they were engaged in fierce aerial battles, especially on July 19 and 27 with only a very small number of aircraft making it back to Manila at the end of July. Together with the rest of the unit, the remaining aircraft now moved to Anheles West airfield, in Luzon where they replenished their numbers by receiving new aircraft in the middle of September bringing the total number of planes to 23.

On September 21 there was a big enemy raid and although the unit claimed ten enemy aircraft shot down, they lost again many of their own. By the end of September, the unit was left with only eight aircraft.

In October the battle for Leyte began and by the 23rd the unit had only one aircraft in flyable condition. The next day during an enemy ground attack, Commander Seto was killed leaving the unit with no officer pilots. A week later, no more than a dozen unit members were still alive but returned to Clark Airfield in Luzon and from there to Komaki, Aichi Prefecture where the unit was reorganized with new pilots and aircraft.

On New Year's Eve, the 19th Sentai with 30 aircraft in its strength left Japan to arrive in Taiwan on January 2, 1945, their subsequent new base of operations. The unit was to advance to the Philippines but while several aircraft of chutai strength had managed to arrive in Clark airfield, the aircraft of the new commander of the unit, Captain Yoshida Masaaki, experienced technical problems, and the unit split in two. Those who remained in Taiwan were responsible for the air defense of Southern Taiwan until February 1945, while those who were in the Philippines advanced to Tuguegarao, Cagayan, Luzon where they perished forming a Special Attack unit.

While in Taiwan the unit was joined by elements of the 18th and 55th Sentai who had managed to escape from the Philippines. With only about a dozen aircraft, the 19th Sentai now joined the battle for Okinawa. Depending on their skill, the best pilots engaged in conventional bombing missions against enemy ships, while less skilled pilots made suicide attacks. The worsening situation left the unit on June 6 with only 11 "Hien" and 30 pilots, albeit only 10 skillful enough to engage the enemy in combat. In the end, the unit organized two Special Attack (suicide) units equipped with four aircraft each but fortunately, the war ended before their able to be deployed in combat.

The unit marking seen in the illustration by our good friend Devlin Chouinard, was a combination of the numbers 1 and 9.

The same three Ki-61s at Clark Field seen in two video stills.

In the still above, we can see the tail marking of some of them. The one on the right has a crudely applied number "80" next to a white unit marking. The next "Hien" has the number "16" (probably) next to a yellow unit marking.

The "Hien" seen in the recently discovered ebay photo, is the one seen in the previous still with the number "80" on the rudder.

Another photo of the same "Hien", also from ebay.

Apart from the above-mentioned three, at least three more "Hien" were at the TAIU site.

The "Tony" standing next to the Ki-45 "Toryu", a bit apart from the other two, can be seen in this photo from the NASM collection.

The same aircraft from a different angle. Note that the ailerons are missing their fabric. Also note the "Hayate" in the background (see following post about them) and of course the imposing Mount Arayat.

The same aircraft, but this time it has been moved around and we can see different aircraft types in the background.

One of the most iconic "Hien" photos from NARA. The same aircraft, seen in the previous three photos, from a different angle. Note again the ailerons sans fabric and the single drop tank on the port side.

I found this photo on Wikipedia. I believe it's the same aircraft at a later date in substantially worse condition.

Not a very good quality photo, but this one shows the other two "Hien" closer to the facilities in the panoramic photo.

One of the two "Hien" seen in the previous photo. Note that it has a solid green top camouflage.

Two more photos, this time of very heavily damaged 19 Sentai "Hien", also at the TAIU location but not seen in the panoramic photo. Various types in this one.

In this photo from the Aircam and Schiffer publications by R. M. Bueschel, we can see probably the same "Hien" seen in the previous photo behind the "Shiden-Kai" tail.