"Nihongun Rokakuki" #4 - Vought F4U Corsair

According to a Japanese source, the arplane was found having made an emergency landing after being shot down (?) near  Kasanohara Navy Base, in Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, on March 18, 1945. The plane belonged to the VBF-83 fighter bomber unit of the aircraft carrier "Essex" and was flown by Lt. Warren O. Sigman.

The photos are from a vintage, April 1945, publication. 

I was not able to find any mention of "Lt. Warren O. Sigman" except here, quite interesting read about the events of that day.

Our friend Patrice Fresnel added more from facebook group named "Carrier Air Group EIGHTY-THREE (CVG 83)":

 18 March 1945 (Lucky Day)

Love Day-14

Seventy-eight years ago today, Carrier Air Group EIGHTY-THREE (CVG-83) made their combat debut.

Essex's first two air groups (Nine and Fifteen) had been initiated with hit-and-run raids on Marcus and Wake Atolls, gaining “lower-stress” combat experience before major operations against the toughest targets. Some aviators of Air Group Four had previous combat experience in North Africa and Norway in USS Ranger (CV-4), and in the Philippines on Bunker Hill before boarding Essex.

But CVG-83's first combat missions were strikes on the Japanese Home Islands. Probably the only tougher combat debuts were for HornetAir Group at Midway (4 June 1942), Carrier Air Group Ten at Santa Cruz (26 October 1942), and a number of air groups (off the top of my head: Nine, Twelve, Seventeen, Twenty-three, Eighty-two, & Eighty-four) on 16-17 February 1945 against Tokyo!

The new or reformed groups joining Eighty-three on this day were Five (Franklin), Six (Hancock), Ten (Intrepid), and Eighty-six (Wasp). And what a day (or two or three or 79) it would be!!!

By design, and like all of the air groups making their debut, Eighty-three’s compliment was leavened with combat veterans, and they could share their experiences and lessons with the rookies to try and bring them home in one piece. As a refresher, the combat vets in CVG-83 that I’m aware of were:

· CAG-83: Harmon T. Utter, VP-101 in the Philippines (’41-’42)

· VBF-83: Frank A. Patriarca, VS-6 in Enterprise(’41-’42)

· Robert A. Kincaid, served in a DD in the Atlantic Fleet

· William H. Harris, Jr., VB-17 in Bunker Hill(’43-’44)

· Lindley L. Godson, VF-6 in Princeton, Belleau Wood, and Intrepid (’43-‘44)

· William P. Harris, VB-17 in Bunker Hill(’43-’44)

· Robert L. Temme, VB-17 in Bunker Hill(’43-’44)

· George A. Gibbs, VB-17 in Bunker Hill(’43-’44)

· VF-83: James J. Southerland, VF-83 CO: VF-5 in Saratoga(’42)

· Willard A. Sampson, gunnery officer in Lexington(’42)

· Thaddeus T. Coleman, VF-6 in various CVLs & Intrepid (’43-’44)

· Samuel E. Commella, VF-74 in Kasaan Bay(’44, Operation Anvil-Dragoon)

· George Minar, VF-74 in Kasaan Bay (’44, Operation Anvil-Dragoon)

· James M. Barnes, VF-74 in Kasaan Bay(’44, Operation Anvil-Dragoon)

· VB-83: David R. Berry, VB-5 in Yorktown(’42)

· James T. Crawford, VB-5 in Yorktown (’42)

· Joseph Breslove, VS-34 in the Carribean (’43)

· James A. Riner, VB-8 in Hornet (’42)

· Walton H. Marshall, VB-17 in Bunker Hill(’43-‘44)

· Guilford N. Ross, VB-17 in Bunker Hill(’43-‘44)

· VT-83: Harry C. White, USS Pensacola(’42)

· James W. Walden, VT-6 in Enterprise and Intrepid(’43-’44)

· John E. Shumway, VT-6 in Enterprise and Intrepid(’43-’44)

· Joe D. Roe, VT-6 in Enterprise and Intrepid(’43-’44)

· William H. Sleepeck, VT-6 in Enterpriseand Intrepid (’43-’44)

· Linus G. Jacobs, VC-29 (’42-’43?)

Approximately 17 percent of the pilots had previous combat experience, most as pilots, and a few as ship’s company on surface combatants. For many—but not all—their first combat after forming as a group about ten-and-a-half months earlier was today. All that training would be put to the test.

As mentioned for the 17th, tensions for the task force increased the night before, when snoopers located TF 58, and Stembel opened fire before midnight. After a lull, condition one was set in Essex’s at 0305 until 0355, and again at 0452!

The accelerated, aforementioned zipper mission consisting of VF-83’s four-plane night fighter contingent launched around 0415 initiated the day’s sorties. One Night Hellcat had to turn back due to a loose hood (canopy), but the other three headed to Nittagahara Airfield in the dark, arriving and strafing before sunrise. Because of the light (or lack thereof), no damage was assessable by the aviators.

General quarters (GQ) was sounded at 0503 due to approaching enemy aircraft. Ten minutes later, Essex had to take evasive action to avoid USS English (DD-696) "which came close aboard the port bow."

During this time, many aviators of the various squadrons were preparing for their first missions. Quoting the VBF-83 Unofficial Memoirs:

"Prior to dawn on 18 March 1945, pilots were undergoing an internal struggle of mixed emotions as they assembled in Ready Room One. Each pilot knew his assignment and each pilot also realized that he was going to parade his might and aggressiveness over the Japanese Homeland. But, he was well prepared and very eager. Spirit was high and the Squadron clowns were having a field day with little digs and witticisms. The Skipper, Lt . Cdr. F. A. PATRIARCA requested order as he gave us a last-minute fight speech and a few words of wisdom. Signal, "Pilots man planes", saw all pilots who weren't flying making a gala appearance on the Bridge to see the Corsairs off the deck and on the way. Our slogan was, "Good luck and good hunting."

At 0552, VBF-83's first missions were launched, consisting of a task group (TG) combat air patrol (CAP), submarine CAP (SubCAP), and a fighter sweep to Karasahara, Nittagahara, and Tomitaka airfields. Unfortunately, the mission was fouled up from the get go due to a number of factors, with most of the Corsairs forming up on Lt.(jg) Warren O. Sigman, and only three forming up on Patriarca. Over Tomitaka, the Japanese had aircraft aloft, and some wild dogfights ensued. Eight Japanese aircraft were claimed destroyed. However, Sigman and Lt.(jg) W. F. Garner were missing afterwards.

The first victor was Lt.(jg) James C. Sakellariades, who was taken to the bridge after trapping to shake Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman's hand. “The Greek” was so excited with the victory that he hugged the battle-hardened admiral! “Sakes’s” fellow officers in the junior officers' bunk room teased him about hugging the admiral!

By 0630, the first strike was off, consisting of 16 VF, 13 VB, and 15 VT, to hit Nittagahara again. There were three airborne Japanese aircraft in the area, but none approached. Unfortunately, the bombers were rusty and encountered strong (40 knot plus) winds, and results were not what was expected after their months of intense training (and lack of a "warm-up" strike). The pilots had to be impressed to "pick the specific hangar and then a specific nail in its roof."

Sadly, one of the VT-83 Avengers (BuNo 68388), flown by Ens. John L. Kiernan, with gunner William E. Parsons, Jr., ARM3c, lost its wings in a dive--a rare case of a structural failure by a licensed product of the Grumman Iron Works.

Further strikes and sweeps continued throughout the day. The most notable sweep was the third sweep, in which approximately 54 Japanese aircraft were airborne near Karasahara and Tomitaka airfields. VBF-83 got in another major pitch, claiming another nine victories, with the loss of San Antonian Lieut. James J. Stevens. He was hit, possibly by AA, but perhaps by "UMENO" and "TANIMIZU" in correspondence between Captain Glen Wallace (Ret.) and Henry Sakaida. Stevens’ smoking Corsair was surrounded by “a tight knot of weaving and manuevering planes” whigh “fought all around him.” The furball headed out to sea and ultimately Stevens ditched. He extricated himself from BuNo. 57471, but was swimming slowly. Stevens's division dropped life rafts to him, but he didn't grab any of them, being surely injured. Wallace raised the lifeguard sub, and directed it towards his division leader, but Stevens was never recovered.

Since Wallace had taken so long to return to Wonder Base and delayed recovery operations, he was immediately ordered to the captain’s bridge to explain his actions. Nothing untoward seems to have come from Wallace’s delayed return.

Just over fourteen hours after flight operations began, they ended, with two VF-83 Hellcats, flown by Lieut. Johnny Spotts and Lt. (jg) Charles Hubenthal, diverting to USS Wasp (CV-18) due to low fuel after a TG CAP or SubCAP (sources vary).

Recapping the busy day, during combat on this day, VBF-83 (flying F4U-1D Corsairs) claimed 18 kills over Japanese aircraft. These kills were claimed by 15 different pilots. For the entire air group, 43.4 tons of bombs were dropped, 181 rockets were launched, and over 46,000 rounds of ammunition were fired. A total of 191 sorties were flown in at least six missions. Talk about hitting the ground running!

In addition to the pilot and air crew losses listed above, two Hellcats (one -5 & one -5N), five Corsairs, and one TBM were lost.

Lastly, around the task force, at least three carriers were damaged today: Enterprise (CV-6, a near miss), Yorktown (CV-10, her only wartime damage, which was thankfully minimal), and Intrepid (CV-11; a near miss and damage from an American 5" shell which exploded near her stern).

We will see the events of the day from the Japanese perspective, in the next post.

"Nihongun Rokakuki" #3 - Douglas B-18 Bolo, Philippines

Douglas B-18 Bolo captured by the Japanese Army in the Philippines.

 I believe it's the same aircraft in the above two photos and a different in the photo below. 

It's interesting to me when I read comments on FB and message boards about how laughably garbage the retractable turret of "Nell" was, while at the same time the same commentators seem to forget that the "Bolo" had one such dorsal turret.

Before you start talking about who "copied" whom: Bolo first flight - April 1935, Nell first flight - July 1935.

According to the original vintage magazine caption, the photo below was taken at Nickols Airfield, while the first three at Clark.

Leave a comment if you know more about these aircraft, like units etc.

"Nihongun Rokakuki" #2 - Martin B-10, Curtiss P-40, Douglas O-46, Philippines

After the capture of Manila, Philippines, in January 1942, the Japanese Army discovered numerous US aircraft—some entirely wrecked, others in fair condition, and some intact. The NHK collection clip features Martin B-10 bombers, Curtiss P-40 fighters, and a wrecked Douglas O-46 captured by the Japanese military, as well as some decoys. 

Some photos of the same aircraft from vintage (1942) publications. According to the NHK caption, the aircraft featured in the clip were found at Nickols Airfield (present-day Ninoy Aquino Airport).

Terry Popravak commented:

In the views of the P-40s, the right side one is a P-40B, with two ports in the wing visible, which were for the two .30-caliber machine guns in the wing, different from a P-40E with three .50-caliber guns in the wing. The left-hand P-40 could be a P-40B too. If I remember correctly, the P-40Bs were all in the 20th Pursuit Squadron at Clark Field when the war began. All the other P-40 squadrons at other locations started out with the E-model.

A photo of one of the Martin bombers featured in the clip. Note the same "37" (?) on the wing leading edge. Other sources mention that the location is Clark Field and based on what looks to be Mount Arayat in the background, Clark Field is the more probable location.

"Nihongun Rokakuki" #1 - B-29s, Manchuria - video

Following our series on "captured Japanese aircraft", we will continue with the opposite topic, "Nihongun Rokakuki" (aircraft captured by the Japanese Armed Forces). Since our knowledge of non-Japanese aircraft is limited, we would like to invite "audience participation" to make these posts even more interesting and accurate.

First up is a clip from the NHK collection featuring downed Boeing B-29 Superfortresses during the December 7, 1945, raid against Mukden (present-day Shenyang), Manchuria (present-day northeast China). There are some conflicting reports regarding the success of the raid, and unfortunately, some, I would say,  "embarrassing " details about the unintended side effects of the raid that are not often mentioned. Let's take a look.

From here we read:

"After another training mission to Bangkok on 27 November, XX Bomber Command returned to its aircraft campaign in an attack against the Manchuria Airplane Manufacturing Company at Mukden on 7 December. This was a medium-sized plant, apparently engaged in the assembly of advanced trainers, which the Twentieth Air Force had made a priority target for December and January, but of less importance than Omura, Watanabe, and Tachiarai. A mission against Omura had been set for 3 December, but when the B-29's came up to Chengtu, they found the weather cold there and, according to reports, it was worse at Omura. Day after day, as aircrews and staff waited in impatient discomfort, weather reports brought further postponement. Since his Superforts were spread out at Chengtu like sitting ducks for enemy hecklers and since he got no encouragement from his weathermen, LeMay on 6 December requested permission to try Mukden; Washington's consent came only a few hours before takeoff time on the 7th.

"Field orders had already been cut, and 108 aircraft got off on schedule and without incident. With less difficulty on the way out than in the Omura missions, ninety-one bombers reached the Mukden area to find ceiling and visibility unlimited--that is, outside the planes, for intense cold had frosted the windows to the great handicap of pilots, bombardiers, and gunners. Ten planes in one formation bombed early in the run-in, hitting a rail yard nine miles short of the target. Eighty planes attacked more accurately, scattering 262 tons of bombs in the target area to cause some damage in the factory complex and more in the adjacent arsenal. Nine planes bombed in other areas.

"Japanese defenders again were aggressive, making in all 247 individual attacks on the Superforts. Three collisions were reported: one, unintentional, destroyed the Japanese fighter but merely bent a propeller on the B-29; another, unintentional, destroyed both planes; and in one a damaged fighter took down a Superfort in what looked like a deliberate ramming. Air-to-air bombing, a frequent Japanese tactic, scored a limited success when a phosphorus bomb hit on a B-29 wing and rode piggyback all the way home, burning but without doing serious harm."

warhistory.org mentions a few interesting details:

"B-29s first struck Manchuria three years to the day of Japan’s attack at Pearl Harbor. Their anniversary raid was not coincidental but deliberately timed to encourage the more than 1,600 American prisoners of war incarcerated near Mukden. The mission’s tactical objective was destruction of the city’s aircraft factories.

"Of the original 108 Superforts that set out with the XX Bomber Command, no less than 17 were forced to drop out, due to unforeseen problems caused by extremely low temperatures. Inside and outside surfaces of canopies iced over, and the big warplanes struggled, not always successfully, to gain altitude in the thin air. "These worsening conditions forced another 10 B-29s to haphazardly jettison their payloads over a railroad yard long before reaching Mukden, utterly missing this secondary target, before banking away for home base. 

"When the remaining 80 Superfortresses arrived over the city, flight crews found it entirely obscured by a heavy smokescreen. Undeterred, they unloosed their combined 800 tons of bombs, which fell mostly within residential districts, killing about 1,000 civilians, injuring several thousand more. The primary targeted aircraft factories escaped unscathed."

While the raid "was meant as a morale-booster for more than 1600 Allied prisoners of war incarcerated there." and that "For them, the raid would bring hope that the war could soon be over", less-frequently mentioned is the fact that "Tragically, two bombs struck a prisoner of war facility housed within the military installations at Mukden, claiming the lives of 19 detainees and injuring more than 30."

Also, while warhistory.org mentions above that "The primary targeted aircraft factories escaped unscathed." 

"The archives of one of the participating USAAF units, the 25th Bomb Squadron (BS), reveal that... Of the 27 aircraft the 25th BS sent to Mukden, a total of 23 bombed the primary target in two formations; the first 12-aircraft formation released its bomb load from around 6,700 metres (22,000 feet). The strike photos showed the effectiveness of the bombing and also disclosed the beginnings of a smokescreen started by the defending forces; by the time the remaining 11 aircraft of the 25th BS arrived over Mukden approximately 20 minutes later, the targets and the airfield had been completely obscured. Reconnaissance photos taken several days later revealed that the southern edge of the target area had sustained extensive damage, as had a line of hangars on the adjacent airfield." 

This source mentions the B-29s that were casualties in the mission:

42-63363 40th Bomb Group

42-65262 444th Bomb Group

42-6262 444th Bomb Group ?????????

42-6299 462nd Bomb Group, Humpin Honey, was rammed

42-6359 462nd Bomb Group was MIA,

42-65213 462nd Bomb Group "Carlalani" A/C Maj. White, non-combat loss due to heavy icing and plane broke apart.]

42-6389 468th Bomb Group "Party Girl"

42-6390 468th Bomb Group "Gallopin Goose"

42-63395 468th Bomb Group crashed at A-7 returning from Mukden

T-10 might have had a different A/C: William S. Doxey, Capt.

T-29 has a different S/N: 42-24181

42-24745 A-26

42-24693 V-27

Leave a message if you think this list is incorrect or incomplete.

It also mentions:

"The 40th Group got off 26 planes, of which 23 attacked the primary target. Ten planes, however, dropped early on the Suhuton RR Yards. One plane bombed Darien, the secondary target, one bombed Chenghsien, the last resort target, and one Hsuchang, a target of opportunity. One plane of the 40th, 42-63363, was lost on the mission. The 444th sent off 27 planes, of which twenty bombed the primary target and one dropped early Suhuton RR Yards. One plane dropped on Chenghsien  and one on a target of opportunity, Tsingtao[!!!].

"One plane, 42-65262, was MIA and four were early returns The 462nd Group got 23 planes airborne, off which 21 bombed the primary target. Two planes were lost, 42-6299 was rammed and 42-6359 was MIA, and two returned early. The 468th Group was the largest contributor of airplanes, launching 31. Twenty-six bombed the primary, two bombed Darien, one Chenghsien and one bombed Kaishu, Korea, a target of opportunity. One airplane returned early. The 468th reported no losses."

"Chenghsien", Tsingtao, Dalian and Haeju are all locations VERY distant from Mukden but perhaps they indicate the return flight path of the US bombers and the fact that these B-29s failed to release their bombs over Muden and dropped them wherever they could...or something like that. 

Let's see some stills.

This B-29 has been identified as "42-6262" "Round Trip Ticket" of the 444th BG.

The camels are said to indicate that "Round Trip Ticket" had flown supply missions over the Himalayas.

That is a part of the emblem of the 678th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy), a cobra head over a spade symbol (here). "Round Trip Ticket" s/n 42-6262 was assigned to the 678th Bomb Squadron, which belonged to the 444th Bomb Group. So the insignia could belong to Round Trip Ticket.

Can you identify the B-29s seen in this still? 

Ed Bailey suggested:

assuming it's also one of the B-29s shot down on the 7 Dec 1944 Mukden raid can only be 42-2699 according to Joe Baugher's serial number list: "[42-]6299 Delivered to USAAF 11Jan44. Assigned to 462nd Bomb Group, Walker AAF, KS

Departed Walker AAF, KS for CBI 10Apr44; arrived Piardoba, India 19Apr44.Assigned to 770th Bomb Squadron, 462nd Bomb Group, Piardoba, India. Named ‘Humpin Honey’

Named ‘Princess Patsy’. (462nd BG) rammed by Ki-44 (Tojo) over Mukden, Manchuria Dec 7, 1944. MACR 10125."

Thank you, Ed.

Last but not least, did you notice the Kawasaki Ki-45 "Toryu" making a quick pass?

Against the US B-29s that raided Mukden, the IJAAF had committed four fighter units: the 104th Sentai lost two pilots flying Nakajima Ki-44 "Shoki" fighters; the 25th and the 81st Dokuritsu Chutai one Kawasaki Ki-45 "Toryu" and one Mitsubishi Ki-46 (Dinah), respectively; one 4th Rensei Hikotai Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" pilot sustained injuries.

Check here for more on the 104 Sentai.

Kawasaki Army Otsu-1 (乙-1) Reconnaissance Aircraft (Salmson 2) 川崎 乙式一型偵察機 - video

The Otsu-1 was a license built French Salmson 2A.2 by Kawasaki for the Imperial Japanese Army. It first flew in 1922 and Kawasaki built around 300 of this type till 1927. In plane #741 the observer has a movie camera with him.

BRAND NEW sets from "RISING DECALS"

"RISING DECALS" has just released five(!!!) new sets of decals in 1/72 and 1/48. They are mostly for Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" (Oscar) models but there are some other fighter types as well. Very very interesting sets and a special thank you to Mirek for the review samples!

RD72-113 “25th Hiko Sentai”

1/72 Scale, Japanese Army Fighters Used by 25th Hiko Sentai (Ki-43 and Ki-84)

This decal sheet includes 12 camouflage schemes

RD72-114 “59th Hiko Sentai”

1/72 Scale, Japanese Army Fighters Used by 59th Hiko Sentai (Ki-27, Ki-43, Ki-61 and Ki-100)

This decal sheet includes 14 camouflage schemes

RD48-038 “Ki-43 over New Guinea and the Solomons” Pt.I

1/48 Scale, Japanese Army Fighter Ki-43 used by 13th, 24th, 59th, 77th and 248th Hiko Sentai

This decal sheet includes 5 camouflage schemes

RD48-039 “Ki-43 over New Guinea and the Solomons” Pt.II

1/48 Scale, Japanese Army Fighter Ki-43 used by 1st, 11th, 24th and 63rd Hiko Sentai

This decal sheet includes 5 camouflage schemes

RD48-040 “Ki-43 over New Guinea and the Solomons” Pt.III

1/48 Scale, Japanese Army Fighter Ki-43 used by 24th, 33rd, 63rd and 59th Hiko Sentai

This decal sheet includes 5 camouflage schemes

Mitsubishi Ki-30 "Ann", Army Aviation Maintenance School 九七式軽爆撃機, 陸軍航空整備学校 - video

A rare very clear video featuring Mitsubishi Ki-30 "Ann" light bombers, in overall IJAAF hairyokushoku (gray green), belonging to the Army Maintenance School brought out to the field.

According to the Japanese Wiki:

The Army Aviation Maintenance School (陸軍航空整備学校) was an educational institution (military academy) of the Imperial Japanese Army, established in what is now Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture. 

On June 30, 1938, under Imperial Decree No. 470, the maintenance training for non-commissioned officers, officer candidates, and juvenile airmen was transferred from the Army Aviation Technical School to the newly founded Army Aviation Maintenance School at the Army Tokorozawa Airfield.

In August 1943, it was renamed the Tokorozawa Army Aviation Maintenance School. It provided training to young airmen and students who volunteered to become young airmen responsible for aircraft maintenance.

In February 1945, it was reorganised into the 3rd Air Education Group (3rd Koku Kyoikudan).

The school's tail marking is rather complicated and has not been properly documented. It consisted of a simple red (until recently it has been depicted as black) bar on the rudder and a hiragana character above it. This hiragana character represented the i-ro-ha system of numbering, in other words, every hiragana character on the tail of the school aircraft represented a number.

The school regularly received a few (about half a dozen or less) of all the latest in-service (i.e. not experimental) IJAAF aircraft types for the students to practice maintenance on. 

As a rule, one aircraft from each type received the hiragana "い" ("i"-1) on it's tail, therefore there are photos of different aircraft types with the "い" on their tails. 

Next, each aircraft from each type received a hiragana in sequence. 

Explain: if the school had, for example, five Ki-10 fighters, these received the hiragana (numbers) i-ro-ha-ni-ho (1-2-3-4-5). If the school had four Ki-1 bombers, these received the hiragana (numbers) i-he-to-chi (1-6-7-8). And if the school had three Ki-4 reconnaissance aircraft, these received the hiragana (numbers) i-ri-nu (1-9-10).

When the school decided to get rid of the older types that were not in service any more and replace them with the latest type, these aircraft received hiragana (number) characters that were available (not in sequence). 

Explain: In the example above the school had 12 aircraft of three different types with hiragana (numbers) reaching to number 10. If the school decided to replace all the old Ki-10 fighters with six new Ki-27 "Nates" and in the meantime one Ki-1 with hiragana "to" on its tail was lost due to an accident, then these "Nates" received the following hiragana (numbers) i-ro-ha-ni-ho-to (1-2-3-4-5-7).

So, if you see a "Hayabusa" with the hiragana "nu" (10) on its tail, this doesn't mean that the school had ten "Hayabusa" fighters.

Very simply put, the school had a fixed number of aircraft (about 50 or less) and gave each aircraft whatever number was available from 2 to 50.

Confusing? I know. It took me a while to figure their system out.

In the video, the "Ann" in the foreground on the left has the hiragana "い" ("i"-1) on the tail, while the one next to it has, I believe, the hiragana "う" ("u"-24) on the tail. Again, this does not mean that the school had 24 "Ann" bombers numbered from 1 to 24. They would be way too many for the school and if you look closely, you will notice in the video different types of aircraft next to them.

Mitsubishi C5M "Babs", 12th Kokutai 九八式陸上偵察機, 第十二海軍航空隊 - video

A small clip from the 1942 movie "Umiwashi" (Wild Sea Eagles) showcases a Mitsubishi C5M2 "Babs," the IJNAF version of the Army's Army Type 97 Command Reconnaissance aircraft Ki-15, flown by the 12th Kokutai as indicated by the number "3" on the tail, which operated a small number of this aircraft type for reconnaissance missions.

Brief unit history.

On 7 July 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident erupted, leading to military clashes between Japan and China and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Just four days after the incident, on the 11th, the Navy decided to dispatch six aviation units to the continent. The First Combined Air Group, responsible for strategic bombing, was composed of the Kisarazu Naval Air Group and the Kagoshima Naval Air Group. Two air groups tasked with air superiority and two air groups responsible for reconnaissance were organised into the ‘Second Combined Air Group’ .

The 12th Kokutai was formed on July 11, 1937, by selecting 30 aircraft from the Saeki Naval Air Base as the attack and combat unit of the 2nd Combined Air Squadron and deployed to the Central China region. It was initially equipped with 12 Nakajima A4N fighters, 12 Aichi D1A dive bombers and 12 Kugisho B3Y torpedo bombers. In August it moved to Zhoushuizi airfield at Dalian and in September to Kunda airfield near Shanghai. Between October and November, it converted to new Mitsubishi A5M fighters. After the capture of Nanking the unit moved to Dajiaochang airfield at Nanking, where it conducted missions against Nanchang and Hankou.

In March 1938, it was designated as a fighter-only unit and assimilated fighters from the 13th Kokutai, which in turn became a medium-bomber unit. The strength of the 12th Kokutai then became 30 A5M fighters. 

After the capture of Hankou, the unit transferred to an airbase near Hankou. Nevertheless, due to the lack of range to escort the medium bombers into inland China, they did not see much action. This changed in the summer of 1940 when the first batch of new Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters arrived in the China theater. 

Until the summer of 1941, the 12th Kokutai in Central China and the 14th Kokutai in South China made a combined claim of 103 aircraft shot down and further 163 destroyed on the ground for the loss of three aircraft. Both naval units were disbanded on September 15, 1941, which left air operations in China entirely to the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force.

Kawasaki Ki-48 "Lily Unit Identified! 九九式双発軽爆撃機 飛行部隊 発見！

Do you remember this Lily we first saw here?

Here are the stills from the clip again.

The stills show the tail marking and the most unusual for an Army aircraft "フ-29" (FU-29); note the repetition of the number 29 on the nose. 

One more photo of the aircraft.

ARAWASI has identified the unit and the correct form of the tail marking!!!

A Japanese POW Interogation Report of a member of the unit, that ARAWASI has spotted first, reveals all!

(Let's see if we'll get any credit when this post will be shared and copied.)

Here's the relative information from the Interogation Report but allow us not to include the name of the POW.

[POW Information]

Rank: Corporal (Flight engineer - ventral gunner)

Unit: 3 Flying Regiment (SENTAI), WATARI 19768 Force (1 Flight, 2 Squadron)

Type of Airplane: 2E-B LILY 2B

Operational Base: LIPA Airfield, LUZON (PHILIPPINE Islands)

Last mission: Skip-bombing attack on Allied shipping in LEYTE Gulf

Where Captured: In mountains, 10-20 km west of TACLOBAN

By whom Captured: Guerrillas, and handed over to American troops

How Captured: While resting and suffering from burns

When Captured: 24 Oct 44.

4. UNIT OR FORCE

3 Flying Regiment LIPA Airfield, LUZON, 23 Oct 44. 

Organization and Strength

Airplanes At OKINAWA unit had 36 2E-B LILY 2B, including three reserves per squadron. However, owing to lack of pilots, only 29 engaged in PHILIPPINES operations. Some pilots were hospitalized at that time, and a few had been killed in crashes. The 29 airplanes were allotted as follows:- 

1 Squadron 11 

2 Squadron 8 (1 Flight - 3, 2 Flight - 3, 3 Flight - 2) 

3 Squadron 10 

Duties of Maintenance Squad (2 Squadron) 1, 2 and 3 Sections Serviced airplanes or 1, 2 and 3 Flights respectively. 

Chain of Command Prisoner thought there were three or four flying divisions in an air army and about the same number of flying brigades in a flying division. 

While stationed on SHIMUSHU Island (KURILE Islands) the main force came under command of 20 Flying Brigade, Northern Expeditionary Army (KITA HAKEN GUN), 1 Flying Division, 1 Air Army. Prisoner thought the depot unit at KARAFUTO was under the control of 52 Training Flying Brigade. The Regiment's PHILIPPINE operational orders were issued by 8 Flying Division. 

Movements When prisoner joined the depot unit at OTANI Airfield in KARAFUTO, Apr 44, the main force was then located at MIYOSHINO Airfield on SHIMUSHU Island (KURILE Islands). There were approximately 100 men, including 65 recruits temporarily assigned for training. 

On 19 Aug 44 entire units of 3 and 67 Flying Regiments, with exception of 65 recruits, moved to OKINAWA North Airfield, thereby coming under command of 6 Flying Division. Unit was engaged in antisubmarine and convoy escort duties there.

While enroute to OKINAWA, unit stopped at GIFU to pick up 36 new LILY 2B. At the same time the tail marking was changed.

The 3rd Sentai with its "Lily" bombers and a different tail marking in Karafuto (South Sakhalin). Photo from the Kikuchi Collection.

Unit began moving to CLARK Field via TAICHU, FORMOSA around 14 Oct 44. Only those personnel necessary to carry out operations were brought to PHILIPPINE Islands, the rest remained in OKINAWA and FORMOSA. It was intended to send for them as well as the reserve airplanes, but none arrived prior to prisoner's last mission. He understood that the unit intended to station maintenance personnel from respective squadrons in OKINAWA, TAICHU (FORMOSA), and at CLARK Field in order to create a greater operational sphere. But while at CLARK Field he heard that due to the Allied landings on LEYTE, this intended plan was to be abandoned and that the balance of the unit was to be assembled in PHILIPPINE Islands. He believed that the entire unit was now assembled there. 

When prisoner arrived at CLARK Field 20 Oct 4h, the main force of approximately 20 LILYs had already left for NEGROS Island under 8 Flying Division orders stating that all units under the 8 Flying Division were to assemble there. Prisoner did not know the reason for this assembly. The main force arrived at LIPA Airfield on 23 Oct 44, and on the following morning left for strike on LEYTE shipping.

Tail Markings LILY 2:

LIPA Airfield: Oct 44. Each airplane was painted on the tail with KATAKANA symbol followed by a zigzag figure and the last two digits of the airplane serial number, as indicated by sketch. 1 Squadron was I (イ) for IIZUKA's Squadron; 2 Squadron FU (フ) for numeral two (FUTATSU) and 3 Squadron NA (ナ) for NAMBA's Squadron. Squadron commanding officer decided on the squadron KATAKANA symbols used.

The color of the zigzag figure, supposedly representing the numeral 3, was yellow for 1 Squadron, red for 2 Squadron and white for 3 Squadron. Background was usually green but some had pale green or a combination of colors. 

Prisoner's sketch of tail marking, of his airplane.

Other tail numbers: used by 2 Squadron were 17, 18, 22, 27 and 72 used by commanding officer 2 flight and 82 used by commanding officer of Squadron.

Other Identifications: Each airplane had its leading edge of wing painted yellow, and the color of spinner corresponded to that of the tail marking.

Prisoner's Last Mission: 

A formation of 24 LILYs, each carrying one 250-kg bomb, left LIPA Airfield at 0600 hours, 24 Oct 44, under orders from 8 Flying Division. No fighter cover was provided. Their prime target was a convoy of approximately 80 troop transports and freighters then approaching LEYTE Gulf. When briefed men were told to avoid the formation of four battleships and seven aircraft carriers which in all probability would form a protective screen east of SULUAN Island. It was understood that the Naval air units were to attack them. Formation arrived over LEYTE at 0805 hours and convoy was seen in the distance.

At 0810 hours, formation was attacked by Grumman fighters at 9,000 ft. Three attacked prisoner's airplane. On the first pass the port wing tank was set afire. On the second pass the pilot was shot through the head, and the airplane went into a steep dive, crashing into swampy jungle. The airplane was crumpled as far back as the rear of the wing roots, and the engines were thrown 50 m. All members of the crew, except prisoner, were killed instantly. He crawled from the tail section and managed to get away from the burning airplane. 

This was prisoner's only combat mission.

Formation on Last Mission 2 and 3 Squadron flew at an altitude of 9,000 ft with 1 Squadron approx 600 ft above the other two squadrons. 

However, soon after leaving the airfield, the airplanes of 3 Flight, 2 Squadron, dropped 1600-1900 ft behind 1 Flight. When the formation arrived over LEYTE, Grumman fighters dived in and attacked prisoner's airplane as shown below.

Signals used in Flight Formation Wireless telegraphy was seldom used. Airplanes of prisoner's unit were equipped with three plexiglass signal rods, painted red, yellow, and blue, each approximately 1 ft long and 3 in wide, which were built in diagonally between the antenna pole and the loop antenna. They had bulbs for night use. 

Pilot raised signal rods by a hand lever. The leading airplane gave the signal and the others acknowledged by following suit. 

Prisoner gave the following signals most frequently used by his unit. 

Red and Yellow "Prepare for action. Crew members assumed their battle positions."

Red "Assume position of attack." Airplanes took line abreast formation, or right or left echelon formation, depending upon the order given for that particular mission. 

Blue and Red "Attack -the target." 

Code Names and Numbers While at KARAFUTO it was NORTHERN 93 Force, but was changed to MAKOTO 19768 Force after arriving in OKINAWA. This was later changed to WATARI 19768 in PHILIPPINES. 

Our good friend Devlin Chouinard created beautiful artwork of the aircraft seen in the clip, with a correct rendition of the tail marking. 

After taking part in the battle of the Philippines, the unit returned to Japan and changed its aircraft and tail marking again. 

See here

Shizuoka 2025 - Oshiire Modeler's Club

The table of our friends "Oshiire Modeler's Club". All photos from Sayabu-chan.

This year's main theme was "Japanese aircraft with Green Crosses".