"Toraware no Nihonki" #16 - Mitsubishi A6M "Zero with Green Crosses 零戦, 中支航空隊, 龍華飛行場 上海, 緑十字

At the end of the war a number of Zeros and other aircraft including Mitsubishi J2M "Raiden" (Jack), were found in Longhua airfield in Shanghai with an unusual tail marking. It's the kanji "中" which signified the unit "中支航空隊" (Chushi Kokutai - Central China Air Group) which was organized in February 20, 1945, with various IJNAF dispatched elements of various kokutai, that were based at the time in China. It was one of the Otsu kokutai meaning it was mainly assigned to airfield/base protection duties.

The first Zero is a Model 21. Behind it is a Mitsubishi K3M "Pine" crew trainer.

Although the marking "中1" can be seen in this photo, the rest of the marking is on the piece of fabric that has been removed. In the previous photo though, it should have been visible as it is written in the oposite direction. Unfortunately the previous photo is not of the best quality and therefore I can't be 100% sure of the complete tail marking. Note the fuselage hinomaru with the white surround.

Another photo of the Mitsubishi K3M "Pine" trainers.

A photo featuring on the left the tail of a "中133" Zero, the Model 21 of the first photo in the middle and the Mitsubishi K3M "Pine" of the first photo on the right.

Another Zero found in the same location was a Model 52 Otsu.

Although the "中" part of the tail marking is not visible, the location the aircraft was found confirms the unit. So tail marking for this Zero is "中132" (no hyphen).

Another photo of the "中132" Model 52 Otsu Zero, revealing that a part of the tail number "32" was repeated on the cowling lip.

This photo features a Nakajima built A6M7 Model 62 or 63.

Again the "中" part of the tail marking is missing but a closeup reveals that there is indeed a tail marking which I believe is "中153". Actually this can be confirmed by noticing that the two last digits of the tail number are repeated on the wheel cover of the original photo (thanks Martin). 

Of particular interest is the wing hinomaru with the darker green surround and the position of the white box with the cross. Note also the white lines on the cowling.

This one...I don't know. In the background are the three aircraft in the first five photos (the "中132" Model 52 Otsu Zero, the Model 21 and the Mitsubishi K3M "Pine") but I can't identify the model of the Zero in the foreground. Any ideas? And what's with the white patch on the fuselage next to the cockpit? And where is the green cross on the wing?