Mitsubishi MC-20 - video

A vintage video introducing the latest civilian transport aircraft; the Mitsubishi MC-20.

The name, MC, was inspired by the Douglas series of transports like the DC-2 and the DC-3 and it naturally meant"Mitsubishi Commercial".

It should be noted that as a name it was an one-off, i.e. there were no "MC-19" or "MC-22". The civilian version of he Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" bomber is sometimes reffered to as "MC-21" but the Army was unwilling to adopt a civilian-based designation and opted, at least officially, for "M-21" instead. 

The Army version of the MC-20 was the Ki-57. More about the type, here.

Of particular interest is the overall look of the aircraft fresh out of the factory, with some parts painted gray and others seemed to be left unpainted.

Mitsubishi Ki-15 Karigane "Kamikaze-Go" 九七式司令部偵察機 神風号 - video

The 25th episode, entitled "Suicide For Glory" from the 1952 documentary series "Victory at Sea" includes a variety of footage—some from entirely unrelated Japanese films, some notable ones depicting "Giretsu Kutetai" paratroopers getting ready for their Okinawa mission, and some authentic "tokkotai" segments. Included is a captivating, brief piece showcasing the renowned "Kamikaze-Go" Asahi Shimbun "Babs," which we initially saw in THIS series of posts.

This time, the airplane features what appears to be a thick green camouflage stripe on the fuselage and, interestingly, it doesn’t have its anti-glare panel, at least right in front of the cockpit! Also, It doesn't appear as glossy as in the other clip (HERE) of the reccord breaking flight, so maybe it was overcoated with IJAAF "hairyokushoku" (gray-green)? That would definitely create an intriguing modelling subject using the Fine Molds kit.

(Did you notice the Puss Moth in the background?)

HEADS UP! - NEW Nakajima-Fokker Super Universal kit by Kora Models - Manchukuo Aviation

Together with Japan Air Transport kit we saw in the previous post, Kora Models also released a separate kit of a Nakajima-Fokker Super Universal in 1/72, with markings for three Manchukuo Aviation Co., Ltd. (Manshu Koku Kabushiki Kaisha - MKKK) aircraft, all built under license by Nakajima and equipped with Bristol Jupiter engines.

Very special thanks to Kora Models for the sample kit!

A photo of M-117. Originally, this Nakajima-built Super Universal belonged to the fleet of the Japan Air Transport (Nippon Koku Yuso) but was initially borrowed and then purchased by Manchukuo Aviation.

HEADS UP! - NEW Nakajima-Fokker Super Universal kit by Kora Models - Japan Air Transport (Nippon Koku Yuso)

Kora Models recently released a limited edition brand new Japanese Nakajima-Fokker Super Universal kit in 1/72, with markings for three Japan Air Transport (Nippon Koku Yuso) aircraft. 
Very special thanks to Kora Models for the sample kit!

The kit includes decals for three aircraft: J-BBXO, J-BBVO and J-BCVO.

J-BBXO was built in the USA, s/n: #874. The engine was Bristol Jupiter and joined the Japan Air Transport (Nippon Koku Yuso) fleet on August 8, 1930.

J-BBVO was also built in the US, s/n #872. Engine Bristol Jupiter. Joined Japan Air Transport on August 27, 1930.

J-BCVO was built under license by Nakajima, s/n #29. Engine Bristol Jupiter. Joined Japan Air Transport on April 5, 1934.

Artwork of J-BBXO by Koike Shigeo.

The kit included one...ski. J-BBXO was at some point in its career fitted with skis so perhaps Kora will release a special edition?

In the sample kit Kora sent over, very kindly included two extra "Resin Detail Parts" that are available for the Super Universal kit.

Fokker Super Universal & Fokker Trimotor

In the Spring of 1932, the Lytton Commission headed by Lord Lytton, and including four other members, from the US (Major General Frank Ross McCoy), Germany (Doctor Heinrich Schnee), Italy (Count Luigi Aldrovandi Marescotti), and France (General Henri Claudel), spent six weeks in Manchuria (present-day North East China) on a fact-finding mission regarding the Mukden Incident. The Commision returned to Manchuria in early September but this time, the area was plagued by a large series of trains attacks. More specifically, bandits were planning an attack on the express train transporting the German governor Heinrich Schnee and French general Henri Claudel, during their voyage back to Europe, aiming to kidnap them for ransom. Due to the dangerous situation, airplanes were instead used during their journey as a safety measure. 
This short video, shows the members of the Commision traveling to Tsitsihar (present-day Qiqihar) on board a Fokker Super Universal and a Ford F.VII Trimotor.

The Super Universal is registered "J-EJDO". It was built in the US, s/n #875 and had a Bristol Jupiter engine. Note the "Fokker" logo behind the engine and on the tail. After its purchase, it joined the Japan Air Transport (Nippon Koku Yuso) fleet on September 27, 1930, and was based in Dairen (present-day Dalian).

The Ford Trimotor is registered "J-BBTO". It was built by Fokker, s/n #5214 and had three Wright Whirlwind radial engines. It joined the Japan Air Transport fleet on August 6, 1930, was based in Tachikawa and was nicknamed "Kamo" (duck).

Mitsubishi MC-1 Passenger Transport - video

An incredibly rare beauty today for true Japanese aviation fans.

In November 1927, the Aviation Bureau of the Japanese Department of Communications launched a competition to design and build an indigenous passenger transport aircraft. Mitsubishi's design to meet this requirement based the wings on its Navy Type 13 Carrier Attack Aircraft a.k.a. Mitsubishi B1M torpedo bomber, combined with a new fuselage. 
The Mitsubishi MC-1 Passenger Transport was completed in April 1928, and was evaluated against the other two competitors, the Aichi AB-1 and Nakajima N-36, both of which were also biplanes. No production followed of any of the aircraft, as biplanes were considered obsolete compared with foreign types, and Japan Air Transport (Nippon Koku Yuso Kabushiki Kaisha, NKYKK ) ordered Fokker Universal monoplanes instead.
The MC-1 with registration J-BAKG, was used experimentally on the scheduled service of the East-West Regular Aviation Association between Tokyo and Osaka, a project established by Asahi Shimbun from June 1928 until April 1929. After that, the MC-1 was flown by NKYKK in its regular service connecting Fukuoka and Ulsan in Korea from June 1929 until May 1930. 
Since the video clip is dated 1928, it was certainly shot at Tachikawa airfield where Asahi had a hangar, seen in the background of the video.

The MC-1 was a large three-bay biplane powered by a 385 hp (287 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar radial engine for which Mitsubishi acquired a license. It had an open cockpit behind the wings for the pilot and an additional crew member as well as room for four passengers in an enclosed cabin in the forward fuselage.

The MC-1 had a fixed conventional landing gear but could also be fitted with twin floats.

From around August 1931, the MC-1 was reassigned to sight-seeing flights as a seaplane, as the first aeroplane of Nihonkai Koku Kaisha based on Kinosaki, Yogo Prefecture, on the north coast of Honshu. It continued to fly with this airline until 1938.

A large model of the floatplane version of the aircraft is at Tajima Airport, Hyogo Prefecture.

Japan Air Transport Co. Airspeed Envoy

A family photo today, recently on sale on Japanese ebay, featuring an Airspeed Envoy, registered J-BAOP, flown by Nippon Koku Yuso KK (Japan Air Transport C.). 

The particular aircraft was the 5th produced under license by Mitsubishi and was equipped with Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engines.

The photo was taken in April 1937, probably at the Pyongyang airport, in present-day North Korea.

Nieuport 81 - Munesato Etsutaro

A very rare photo today I spotted on the Japanese ebay. It features a Nieuport 81 registered J-BAAF and belonging to the "1st Aviation School" of Munesato Etsutaro, seen in the photo in pilot's uniform. 

Munesato Etsutaro was born in 1886 in Yamaguchi Prefecture. He became interested in aviation from 1909, and two years later designed his own amphibian aircraft. From 1917 until 1921 he was chief engineer at Akabane Aeroplane Manufacturing Works and after this went under, he started his own flying school. On May 1923, opened the "1st Aviation School" at an airfield that bore his name, at Ushioda, Kanagawa Prefecture (present-day part of Tsurumi Ward). 

A local newspaper reported:

“At Ushioda City, a licence was issued to teach new pilots how to fly. On April 28, 1923, at 10:45, pilot Okura Seizo flew for about nine minutes to an altitude of over 200 meters with an Avro 80hp, before landing. Then, with pilot Kamei he took turns to fly the aircraft either solo or together. At 11:56 these first flights of the school were concluded.”

The "1st Aviation School" had seven aircraft and usually about 15 trainees. In addition to the training, the general public could enjoy a tour over Yokohama for a fee of 15 yen. One of the more famous students of the school was 19-year-old Kibe Shigeno, the second female aviator in Japan.

The land for the school airfield was obtained for free on a 3-year lease, so in February 1926, the school relocated to Funabashi in Chiba prefecture. On May 2, 1934, Munesato passed away from illness, aged 48. At the time of his death, there were nine students, making a total of 50 students who graduated from his school.

His wife, Sono, took over and continued to be involved in aviation matters until the school was taken over by the military in 1939.

The photo was taken during the Yamagata City Industrial Exhibition on Sept 10, 1927. The inscription under the top wing reads “Yamagata-shi SangyoHaku” (Yamagata City Industrial Exhibition). The particular aircraft was built under licence by Mitsubishi, s/n 527, had a Le Rhône 9J engine, and was damaged beyond repair on March 16, 1929.

Yokosuka H5Y Chuo Kishodai

Our friend Peter Rathgeb sent over the following question:

I will build a 1/144 model (by A&W Models) of a Yokosuka H5Y (Type 99) Flying Boat. One of the aircraft was registered for the Central Meteorological Observatory, Yokohama (J-AAMG).

I would like to have a friend of mine make me decals for this aircraft, but I have found only one photograph, as per attachments. Do you think there are more photos to be found?

By the way, the Emily in the photo is the H8K1 13-Shi Prototype #3 converted to the Type 2 Transport Flying Boat 横鎮74 of Yokosuka Chinjufu Kokutai with the name of 敷島 Shikishima.

My answer is:

As far as I know this is the only photo that shows the aircraft in question. The name of the plane was "沖風" (Okikaze - offshore wind) so the two kanji would have been painted in white on the fuselage side next to the cockpit, similar to Emily's name.

Personally, I wouldn't dismiss painting the Okikaze overall dark blue (top and bottom surfaces) with black registration letters.

As early as 1937, when the Second Sino-Japanese War begun, and especially during the Pacific War, the vast majority of civilian aircraft that could be used by the IJAAF & IJNAF were taken over by the military and camouflaged. Most lost completely their civilian registrations and sometimes only very short inscriptions were applied on the tail to indicate the original civilian owner of the aircraft. And in general, civilian aircraft would not have been allowed to fly except in very rare occasions. Lack of fuel would be one reason. 

The photo above was taken in the summer of 1944, quite late in the war, and a civilian seaplane to have survived with pristine civilian registration is extremely rare.

According to "J-BIRD", the Chuo Kishodai Yokohama (Central Meteorological Observatory, Yokohama) had the following aircraft in its fleet:

J-AAMA - Nakajima A1N, name unknown 

J-AAMB - Nakajima A1N, name "Amakaze" (heavenly wind)

J-AAMC - Mitsubishi B1M, name "Umikaze" (sea wind)

J-AAMD - Nakajima A2N, name "Yamakaze" (mountain wind)

J-AAME - Mitsubishi B2M1, name "Shiokaze" (tidal wind)

J-AAMF - type unknown, name "Asakaze" (morning wind)

It is very possible the Chuo Kishodai had more aircraft in their fleet with registrations reaching J-AAMP and maybe more.

There are three known photos of Chuo Kishodai aircraft apart from the Okikaze...

J-AAMB, photo: Arawasi Collection

J-AAMC, photo: "J-BIRD"

J-AAMD, photo: "J-BIRD"

...and all three of them are painted in blue.

Utsunomiya Matsuri

Two weekends ago, the Teikyo University in Utsunomiya organized a matsuri (festival) and the hangar of its Aerospace Department featured some interesting exhibits.

First up, Kojima-san had abrough the propeller of a Nakajima Type 5 Trainer, which most probably belonged to the J-TIBE of the Ito Hikoki Kenkyujo, flown by Fujiwara Nobu.

On top was a model built by Kojima-san of another Nakajima Type 5 with the civilian registration J-TOBF.

The particular aircraft was the first in the fleet of Asahi Shimbun, receiving the name "Asahi 1 go" and was purchased from the IJAAF. It had the Nakajima serial number 97 and a Hall-Scott 150hp engine.

It belonged to "Tozai Teiki Kokuki" and was based on Tokyo's Susaki airfield (see HERE).

It first flew with its civilian designation, J-TOBF, on January 9, 1923. 

In 1923 Asahi Shimbun in cooperation with Shirato and Ito Hikoki, established the "Tozai Teiki Kokuki" to fly weekly mail services between Tokyo and Osaka. Actually, since there were no aircraft available at the time to fly the distance, one aircraft would take off from Osaka's Joto parade grounds, another from Tokyo's Susaki airfield, and they would meet at Mikatagahara airfield in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where they would exchange their mail bags.

There were six Nakajima Model 5 purchased from the IJAAF and one aircraft each from Shirato and Ito. The latter civilian schools provided ten pilots.

The first flight was on January 11, 1923, and the whole endeavour lasted for only three months.

J-TOBF was destroyed during the "Great Kando Earthquake" of September 1923, when the Susaki airfield was ravaged by a tsunami and the facilities caught fire.

As you have probably noticed, Kojima-san chose to depict the aircraft with what looks like white circles on the wing top surfaces. Below is a close up of J-TOBF and the white circles are easily visible. Note that the civilian registration is clearly in black. In some photos the hinomaru don't look dark at all, more like white, either due to the film quality or the angle the photo was taken causing the hinomaru to sign. In the J-TOBF case it is very probable that they were overpainted so that the aircraft resembled more a civilian one than a military. Asahi Shimbun aircraft had the newspaper logo painted on the top and bottom surfaces of the wings, so perhaps this was a preliminary effort before the Asahi logo was applied.

The Nakajima Type 5 Trainer was based on the U.S. Standard H-3 and the German Albatros C II. 101 were built from 1919 to 1921 and had numerous problems until they were replaced by other types.

In the photo below is a Nakajima Type 5, s/n 15.

Another contribution to the exhbition was by Taiki-san who brought a Ho-103 machine gun together with its box. 

On another table there was a nice collection of Japanese aircraft models, mainly Pearl Harbor themed.

There were a couple surprises too, including a scratch built Kyushu K11W "Shiragiku" and a 5-shiki-sen on a top of an original front windshield of a Ki-100; all by Kojima-san.

 

Japanese Ryan NYP

In 1927 Osaka Mainichi Shimbun purchased a sample, the 11th aircraft of the newspaper, and received the civilian register J-BACC. It was employed as a communications aircraft until 1937.

On April 27, 1928, pilot Haneta Fumio loaded the plane with enough gasoline for a 20h flight and took off from Kakamigahara airfield, Gifu Prefecture, at 05:02. He flew in an eastern direction, over Hamamatsu, Hakone, Tokorozawa, Sendai, then turned south, Tokyo, Shizuoka, Osaka, then continued until Takamatsu, and finally returned to Osaka where he landed at the Army parade grounds, at 18:25. He flew for 13h23min, a distance of 2,100km, a record flight. He wanted to fly for more and had enough fuel, but at that time night landings were extremely dangerous. So, basically he flew from early in the morning until darkness fell.

Here's a close-up on the tail marking.

Below are two photos from Model Art 420 and Nihon Koku-shi, showing the Ryan in its later overall scheme, which was, purpotedly, brown around the cowling with light blue fuselage.