Saturday, 27 June 2020

IJAAF & IJNAF wrecked aircraft #33 - Saipan Pt.5

Zero Group 3 is a lot clearer.

Zero11 is a A6M5 Model 52 and has tail number "8-36" with a kanji "" (Oka) above it.

Zero12 is another Model 52 with tail marking "61-131".
 

Zero13 is not very clear in most photos so it's time for the second video from here.

 

The video reveals that Zero13 has tail marking "8-03" with the kanji "" (Sen or Chi). Yet another Model 52.

At the end of the video we can see the following aircraft in the hangar.

It's not a Zero but a Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" tail marking "KEB-306" with radar.
 
It belonged to the 931 Kokutai same as the "Mavis" we saw in a previous post. Actually the existence of  the "Kate" confirms that this particular unit was active in the area and as a result confirms that the tail marking of the "Mavis" was a "KEB", not a "KEA" (901 Kokutai).
At some point the "Kate" was pushed out of the hangar and was loaded on a trailer to be shipped to the U.S.A.
 
 

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