Wednesday 12 June 2024

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.

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