Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #5 - revised

IJAAF jack stands

Four jack stands raise the second or third Nakajima Ki-44 "Shoki" prototype. These three-legged metal jack stands were the most commonly used by the IJAAF. The legs could collapse or be permanently attached.

Another "Shoki", this time of the Dokuritsu 47 Chutai, is raised by no less than four jack stands. Note the two raising the rear part of the fuselage.

These metal stands can be seen with most IJAAF units even at the front in the Pacific or in the CBI.

Wooden jack stands were less common with IJAAF combat units. These were used by aircraft manufacturers and are usually seen as supporting prototypes.

All stands had a wooden top and above that, they had some rubber or a piece of cloth for smoother attachment to the plane surface.

This wooden jack stand with extra metal fittings supporting the nose of Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" is of a completely different design than the rest.

A wooden jack stand lies abandoned at the end of the war. Again, the design is different than the rest. Note behind it another jack stand, of the same design, supporting the tail of a Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien" (Tony) and a small stand, also seen in the previous "Dinah" photo, supporting the belly.

This is a rarely-seen double metal jack stand found near a Ki-100.

Bigger aircraft like this Mitsubishi Ki-109 naturally needed bigger jack stands. The ones in the photo closeup, seem to be all metal with extra metal fittings for additional strength. But, again, these were not that common and were mostly found around the airfields of mainland Japan.

In this photo, a 244 Sentai "Hien" is having her guns calibrated. Note the special stand.

This complicated pneumatic(?) jack stand design is seen supporting a Kawasaki Ki-45 "Toryu" (Nick) at one of the Kawasaki factories. I have not found any other photos of this jack stand design.

Bellerophon commented:

The one under the Nick is hydraulic. The pump on one leg is pretty similar to grease guns, with a handle to pump the oil. Technically I guess you would call it a jack rather than a jackstand. There must be a jackstand out of view to hold up the plane if the jack fails.

An IJAAF Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" (Oscar) that had just been handed over to the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), is been inspected by members from both air forces. Note the classic IJAAF tripod jack stands under the wings and the stool lifting the tail. I've seen many Thai "Hayabusa" models, but none with jack stands. Anyone up to the task?

Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #4 - revised

IJNAF & IJAAF oil drums for maintenance

Although cumbersome, more popular than ladders and working platforms, were empty oil drums that presumably provided a more stable platform to work from. In this photo set, we can see various scenes of IJNAF ground crews servicing their aircraft, both in Japan mainland and at the front.

Likewise with the IJAAF, one or two oil drums provided quick access to the engines of single-engine fighters, top photos, or twin-engine aircraft.

And so, an oil drum or two placed near an aircraft wouldn't look as if the aircraft had been abandoned or something but simply that it waited for or was done with maintenance.

Often these oil drums were used to lift the tail of the aircraft, as seen in this photo.

Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #3 - revised

IJAAF ladders and more.

Unlike the IJNAF with its tier working platforms, IJAAF ground crews more commonly used 3-step wooden ladders to reach the engines of the single-seat fighters and shorter aircraft but needed taller ladders for aircraft like the Mitsubishi Ki-15 "Babs" or bombers like the Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally".

Kawasaki Ki-48 "Lily" bomber crews used a small three-step ladder most commonly made of metal but occasionally made of wood for the bombardier to enter the plane from the front hatch.

I was able to find only 2-3 photos of IJAAF ground crews using platforms similar to the IJNAF, like in this one which looks more like a table. Such equipment can be seen with Kawasaki Ki-45 "Toryu" (Nick) fighters.

Or in the background, on an airfield where a Nakajima Ki-44 "Shoki" unit operated from.

A more complex ladder/platform can be seen in this photo of a Mitsubishi Ki-46 III-Kai "Dinah" getting its nose armament calibrated and test-fired. It was not common, and I was only able to find photos featuring this "Dinah" with this kind of ladder.

In this movie still, Kawasaki Ki-45 "Toryu" (Nick) ground crew members are servicing the port engine. The work platform they use is unusual, made of metal.

A ladder with a flat top is used in this photo to service the engine of a Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate".

Finally, benches or shorter stools were not uncommon. In this case its the Army Aircraft Maintenance School in Tokorozawa.

Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #2 - revised

IJNAF work platforms, benches and ladders.
During WWII, the IJNAF used a variety of work platforms, benches and ladders to maintain its aircraft. Their availability was guaranteed at the main airfields of Japan's mainland but they weren't rare at the major airfields of South-East Asia and around the Pacific. At the front, it all came down to whether a woodshop was accessible to the airfield maintenance crews.

The most common type by far was the wooden 2-tier work platform, in various designs.

This was also available to front-line bases, as can be seen in this photo taken either at the Davao Airfield of Mindanao Island or the Manado Airfield of Celebes Island (present-day Sulawesi Island).

Occasionally, there was writing on these platforms. This one says: "錬戦" (rensen - training fighter).

For taller aircraft like the Nakajima B5N "Kate" or the Mitsubishi G3M "Nell", bigger 3-tier work platforms were put to use to access the engines of the aircraft.

Smaller benches were often available.

For two-engine aircraft like the Yokosuka P1Y "Ginga" (Frances) or the Nakajima J1N "Gekko" (Irving), occasionally, longer benches or 2-tier platforms were used for two or more mechanics to be able to gain access to both engines.

A different kind of bench filled with wrenches and a can.

The IJNAF wasn't too keen on ladders. There was the featured type with a flat top to gain access to the engines of taller aircraft types, but photographic evidence shows that it wasn't that common at IJNAF airfields.

On the other hand, ladders were more common to floatplane units, even on ships as the photo on the right taken aboard the battleship Mutsu.

Photographic evidence shows that flight and maintenance crews of the Nakajima J1N "Gekko" (Irving), used a peculiar metal ladder to access the cockpit or occasionally the engines of the aircraft. Of course, when this ladder wasn't available, a more common simple wooden ladder was used.

In this short clip, a Nakajima J1N1-Sa or Model 23 "Gekko" (Irving) night fighter is bringing back to base the remains of Cap Endo Sachio (pilot) & CPO Nishio Osamu (observer).

There are many interesting details but note the special ladder used only on "Gekko" night fighters, the chocks placed behind the wheels in a common IJNAF fashion and the rods that keep the canopy windows open.

The flight crew of the Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" also used a ladder, sometimes made of wood but more often made of metal to access the cockpit. The Mitsubishi G4M "Betty", especially the transport types, needed a metal ladder of unusual design to access the cabin from the fuselage door.

Here's a typical photo of maintenance crew members servicing a Zero, using different kinds of work platforms and benches.

A variety of benches, work platforms and ladders found at Oppama Airfield at the end of the War.

A very short clip featuring IJNAF maintenance crews servicing Mitsubishi B5M "Mabel" bombers inside a hangar. Note of course the work platforms.

Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #1 - revised

Back in 2018, we put up on this blog a series of posts regarding the Japanese airfields, equipment and more, focusing on the IJAAF. Since March we have been reposting this series on our Facebook page, expanded to include more material and the IJNAF. So here it is:

IJNAF chocks.

Photographic evidence shows that the chocks of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force (IJNAF) were of 3-4 different designs, some more solid, some more simple, some with numbers and markings, some without. All seem to be made of wood.

Chocks of pre-WWII IJNAF aircraft were of various designs. There was really no conformity.

This is a rather rough design that was found even until the end of the war.

This design is more box-like. Not solid mind you, it was hollow inside.

By far the most common was the cone/pyramid design with small variations.

That didn't mean that two different chock designs weren't placed at the wheels of the same aircraft.

I found many photos with the chocks placed behind the wheels. Build a small diorama and place the chocks behind the wheels and show them these photos if somebody told you you're wrong.

Ground crew members often stepped on the chocks to communicate with the pilot if the aircraft type was high, like the "Shiden" in the top left photo. The top right photo shows ground crew members ready to remove the chocks while the bottom left shows the ground crew removing the starboard chock of a Zero. In the middle, we can see a ground crew waving at the aircraft crew holding their chocks. Note that they are of different design. Finally, the bottom right photo shows another ground crew member waving and showing the bottom of the box-like chock.

Nohara Shigeru created illustrations of the various IJNAF chock design featured in the most useful book "Imperial Japanese Navy Air Units Battlefield photograph collection" by Dai Nippon Kaiga, 2013.

IJAAF chocks.

Photographic evidence shows that during WWII, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) used a rather large variety of chocks. A couple designs looked similar to the IJNAF but most of them were completely different. As with the IJNAF chocks, most seem to be made of wood but a couple could be made of metal and wood. 

A quite common design was the "2-step with sides".

There was also a "3-step with sides" design. The top photo shows the chocks on a Tachikawa Ki-9 "Spruce", bottom left is the port wheel of a Tachikawa Ki-55 "Ida" and bottom right is the wheel of a Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" bomber. So, it seems that the difference between the 2 and 3-step chock doesn't have to do with the size of the airplane.

From the available photos, it seems that the rather basic "2-step no side", more like a ladder, chock was the most popular.

Apart from the previous ones, there was a large variety of designs as can be seen in this and the next set of photos.

As we saw with the IJNAF, combining different chock designs on the same aircraft was not uncommon with the IJAAF. Contrary to the IJNAF, though, I could not find a single IJAAF photo with the chocks placed behind the wheels. Odd I guess.

Also, IJAAF had the occasional habit of placing the chock cords on the wheels or the spats, something I didn't notice on any IJNAF aircraft.

Model Art #329 featured artwork by Hasegawa Ichiro showing three types of chocks. The one on the right is a correct depiction of the "2-step with sides". The middle "4-step with sides" chock existed as we can see in at least one previous photo, but it wasn't that common. The one on the left is the most common IJNAF chock, with the "cone/pyramid-like" or "triangular prism" shape. I could not find any photos of IJAAF aircraft with this kind of chock, except...

...for the chocks of the Kawasaki Ki-78 / Ken3.

Last but not least, here's with a short clip from the NHK collection featuring Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" (Oscar) fighters, probably belonging to the 25th Sentai, taking off from an airfield in China. Note the color of the wheels, full of mud, and the chocks getting removed.

"Shamrock Hien" by Matteo Reich

I just built a model of the famous "Shamrock Hien" for a friend of mine. I tried to make it at least plausible, knowing that likely there was not a shamrock on the fuselage.
I used the Tamiya kit in 1/72nd scale, plus some masks I cut to paint on the markings.
Here is the result.