IJN Cruiser "Myoko" by Jean Barby

As you probably know by now this blog is dedicated to the history of Imperial Japanese Aviation but we just couldn't resist featuring the truly spectacular IJN Heavy Cruiser "Myoko", Aoshima 1/350, that Jean Barby built in nearly a month!!!

ENJOY!

Mitsubishi B1M

A Navy Type 13 Carrier Attack-Bomber or Mitsubishi B1M1 of the Kasumigaura Ku. Marking is "カ-306" (KA-306), note how it is written under the bottom wing.
For more on the type, here.

Aikoku #6 & #7

  Aikoku #6 was a Type 88 Reconnaissance or Kawasaki KDA-2 that was donated by Nippon Keori KK (Nippon Woolen Co Ltd) (see also Hokoku #1, here) on March 13, 1932 during a ceremony that took place at 10:00 in the Joto Parade ground of Osaka. The ceremony was concluded with captain Hayashi taking the plane for a spin. He flew over Osaka, Kobe and Himeji but encountered heavy clouds on his way to Kakamigahara and returned to Osaka flying over lake Biwa.

  The plane saw action during the Pacification_of_Manchukuo and on a bombing mission on September 9, 1932 the engine cooler was hit by a/a fire. Pilot 1st Ltd Kinoshita and rear gunner Sgt Yamagi managed to safely land the plane west of Jinzhou but during the night a number of "bandits" completely destroyed the plane. No information exists regarding the fate of the crew.

     

Aikoku #7 was a Type 91 Fighter or Nakajima NC that was donated by citizens of Gunma prefecture during a ceremony that took place on March 8, 1932 in Takasaki. The serial number of the plane was "171".

Nakajima Ki-4 with twin floats by Richard Holak

Richard Holak built this excellent experimental Nakajima Ki-4 with twin floats in 1:48. The model is resin from Choroszy Modellbud. Dziękuję Richard!

 

 

J X-planes: Nakajima Ki-4 with floats

One of the very rare examples when a Japanese Army plane was tested for possible naval usage was when two Type 94 Reconnaissance or Nakajima Ki-4 were fitted with floats "to meet possible requirement for operations from rivers and lakes in mainland China". In the first example a Ki-4 Ko was fitted with one main float and two smaller under the lower wings while a Ki-4 Otsu (with engine exhaust collector ring) was fitted with twin floats as shown in the photos. Both examples were tested in Kasumigaura but were not adopted by the IJAAF or the IJNAF.

 

Visitors - The Italian Connection (take #2)

  On September 1925 pilot Francesco De Pinedo with engineer Ernesto Campanelli landed with their Savoia S.16 flying boat named "Gennariello" at the Navy base in Kasumigaura. They had started from Rome on April 20 and covered 55,000 miles in six months flying to Japan via Australia and back to Italy!

  After Australia they continued through the Philippines leaving Luzon on September 19 and reaching Tamsui in Taiwan the same day. On the 21st they departed early in the morning and reached shanghai at 14:00. Two days later departed from Shanghai and reached Mokpo in (South) Korea where they spent the night at a hotel and experienced the hospitality of Geisha for the very first time in their lives leaving the next day, September 24 at 12:40, with particularly fond memories. At 16:40 they had to make an emergency landing at Kushikino, Kagoshima prefecture but managed to reached Kagoshima on the 26th.

  During their stay in Japan they were invited to numerous celebration parties and were presented with a medal by the Teikoku Hiko Kyokai (Imperial Aeronautic Association). They Italian aviators left Kasumigaura on October 17 and reached Rome on November 7.

Some more details on THIS site.

Vintage magazine cover

Cover of September 6, 1939 issue of magazine "Shashin Shuho" (Photo Weekly News) featuring an Army Type 92 Fighter or Kawasaki KDA-5 belonging to the Rikugun Koku Shikan Gakko (Army Air Academy) with a most unusual paint-job on the wings. I believe the colour of the "saw teeth" is red but their exact purpose is unknown. Any ideas?

Mitsubishi A5M "Claude"

Two photos showing late production Type 96 Carrier Fighters Model 2-1 or Mitsubishi A5M2a belonging to the 12th Kokutai, which from September 5, 1937 was based in Kunda base in the suburbs of Shanghai where probably these photos were taken. The hump on the fuselage back became more prominent from the 47th production aircraft to protect the pilot in case the aircraft turned over. The plane in the foreground with the marking 3-138 was flown by LCDR Yoshitomi Shigema, commander of the 2nd Buntai. Note that the rear part of his aircraft spats are removed and that he has two red bands on the fuselage and one probably white with red surround.

 

Aikoku #3, #4, #5

A follow up of the previous posting, today we feature photos of the very first aircraft Obuse Shinzaburo (photo in the middle) donated to the IJAAF. These were a Type 91 Fighter or Nakajima NC which received the designation Aikoku #3, a Type 88 Light Bomber or Kawasaki KDA-2 which became Aikoku #4 and a Type 88 Reconnaissance Model 1 or Kawasaki KDA-2 which was named Aikoku #5. Their donation ceremony was held on March 6, 1932 at the Yoyogi parade ground.   

Vintage magazine cover



"Domei Graph", October 1943