Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #38 - revised

IJAAF ground crew uniforms pt.3
In this post, I will present the tropical and summer uniform of the IJAAF and the clothes the maintenance crews generally wore outside Japan's mainland.

Above is the official uniform worn by the Japanese Army in South East Asia and South Pacific. The trousers were either long or short. In these official illustrations puttees are shown but as we saw before these were very very rarely (if at all) worn by the maintenance crews.

Two versions of the long-sleeve IJA summer shirt. The shirt has lapels and two pockets but no buttons on the sleeves.

Two versions of the short-sleeve version of the IJA summer shirt.

The long summer trousers of the IJA.

The short summer trousers of the IJA. The short trousers were also of various types, some looser, some tighter, some with cloth straps at the end of the trousers and some without.

Two samples of the summer uniform.

And another complete original summer uniform at some guy's private collection. 

Attached are three photos of maintenance crews on airfields in Japan wearing summer uniforms.

And a collection of sample photos of maintenance crews outside Japan, such as in Malaysia, Burma, and China. Note the variety of the caps and the trousers.

The top photo featuring a Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" of the 14th Sentai, is a good example of the variety of clothes worn by IJAAF ground crews in Papua/New Guinea.

As you can see in the previous photos, the ground crews usually wore their two types of field caps we saw in the previous post, but IJA pith helmets like these shown here were not unusual especially if the units were based in Vietnam, Thailand or Burma.

Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #37 - revised

IJAAF ground crew uniforms pt.2
Various poses of ground crews of units based in Japan, often seen in photos (but rarely seen in dioramas).

Climbing on the cowling, the wings or a ladder to service the engine. All photos are from servicing "Hien" with the 244 Sentai. In the bottom right photo, an excessive number of ground crew members have climbed and are seen like they are working on only one aircraft. This is apparently a staged photo as normally no more than three mechanics would work on one aircraft (unless some major repair was needed).

The photos are from servicing "Hayabusa", showing also the kind of tools used.

These photos are from servicing "Hayate".

Ground crews from the Army Maintenance School are servicing the engine of a Mitsubishi Ki-51 "Sonia". The soldiers often unbuttoned the top of their one-piece uniform and wrapped it around their waist when the day was too hot, leaving themselves half-naked or wearing undershirts.

Refueling the aircraft.

Loading fresh ammunition, on a "Hien" on the left on a "Shoki" on the right.

Starting the aircraft with a starter truck or with a crank starter.

Prepping the engine before getting it started. Note the standard maintenance crew cap but also the "uniforms" and the "geta" worn by the guy on the left. The setting is important here. These ground crew members are working on a Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" of the Hamamatsu Bombing School. The particular school had a maintenance crew education unit but the actual maintenance of the bombers that were used to instruct the bombing crews, was done by civilians employed by the military. Therefore these guys in the photo are civilian employees and wear a mixture of civilian and military clothes.

Waiting to pull away the chocks.

A few words with the flight crew before taking off.  

Waiting on the sides while the aircraft are ready to start taxing, ready to give a hand if something unexpected happened.

Waving and wishing to the crew or running beside the aircraft to guide the pilot.

Taking a break.

Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #36 - revised

IJAAF ground crew uniforms pt.1
This part will not be about "airfields & equipment" but about the uniform of the Japanese Army ground maintenance crews.

The earliest uniforms of Japanese ground crews consisted of their full Type 45 standard foot soldier uniform and only a white shirt.

In the early 30s, the cap shown in the official regulations illustration on the left and in the photo on the right, was introduced.

The ground crews were eventually equipped with white trousers as well, but kept the puttees and only gradually changed their caps.

When more caps became available, the white shirt and trousers, the khaki cap and the puttees became official, as can be seen in the photo on the left and the colorised postcard on the right.

Around that time, a second kind of cap was introduced for the foot soldiers and became available to the crews as well. It started as a side cap in the early '30s but received a brim soon after. It was officially designated as "Type Otsu" in 1934, an experimental in 1936 with two holes on the side (far left) and the standard "simplified" in 1938 with three holes on the side (middle). Their shapes varied greatly and, with wear and tear, the same kind of caps would look completely different. 

This photo clearly illustrates the next stage in the evolution of the ground crew uniform. By the mid-30s, the two-piece white uniform was retained, the new field cap became more common, especially in combat units, and the puttees were discarded.

Note also, the three-pole crane and the "riyaka".

The most common uniform worn by the ground crews during WWII in the Japanese mainland was the "Type 2". It was a one-piece, with a cloth belt and cloth straps on the legs but buttons on the torso and sleeves. Attached are the official drawings (top) and photos of an original uniform I found on the net but unfortunately the link doesn't work anymore.

A replica of the same, standard ground crew uniform worn in IJAAF units based on Japan's mainland. Photos from the net. 

The maintenance crew wore at least two kinds of footwear. Very common were the "jika tabi" with or without split toe (top two photos) but also the classic Army short boots and their variations made from pig, cow, horse or even shark skin. 

Two very clear photos from the Arawasi collection featuring ground crews from the Army Aviation Maintenance School in Tokorozawa, in the early 40s. Note the one-piece uniform, the special cap worn only by ground crews, the absence of puttees, the standard Army boots and how dirty the uniforms have become. 

Again, it should be made clear that this uniform was mostly worn at the airfields in mainland Japan, the Japanese colonies at the time (Korea, Taiwan), in Manchuria and occasionally in China depending on the unit and the location. As you can see in the photos the uniform became easily very dirty. In the attached photos, note the different jika tabi, the Army boots and the different kinds of caps. In the bottom photo, note that the third guy from the right is holding the drop tank attachment of a Nakajima Ki-44 "Shoki". 

More photos of the standard uniform worn by ground crews in Japan. The soldier tied the bottom of his one-piece uniform, stuck them inside his white socks, and then tied the boots with the laces. Puttees were VERY rare for the ground crews except perhaps in the "Koku Shikan Gakko" (Army Officer's Academy) during official inspections.

Japanese Airfields, Equipment & more #35 - revised

Airfields - "Entai"
More common than the "entaigo", both in Japan mainland and overseas, were revetments, emplacements and bunkers, without a protecting roof, called "entai" ("entaigo"- domed bunker). These had various shapes, the most common had the shape of a staple or the Greek letter Π. Occasionally, but not always, tents, nets or tree branches were placed above them to hide the aircraft from enemy prying eyes.

A Zero found in an "entai" at Aslito Airfield, Saipan.

Another Zero inside an "entai" at Katakoka Base, Shumshu Island, Chishima rettō.

At Rabaul, "entai" were present all around the airfields. In this photo, taken on November 2, 1943, during a US raid against Lakunai Airfield, we can see a staple-shaped "entai" right next to the runway and various thatched huts. Note the 251 Kokutai Nakajima J1N1 "Gekko" (Irving), the Mitsubishi Ki-21 Model 2 Koh "Sally" bomber of the 3rd Chutai, 14 Sentai, that has often been mistaken for a Model 1 and another "Sally" under a camouflage net, we saw in a previous post, belonging to the 81 Sentai.

During another raid against Vukanau Airfield in Rabaul, parafrag bombs can be seen falling from US bombers. Note the differently shaped "entai" shielding Mitsubishi G4M bombers.

Another photo of "entai" in Rabaul, protecting Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers.

These more basic "entai" also in Vukanau airfield, include Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien" (Tony) fighters. Note the tent covering one of the "entai".

In Musashi Airfield, Paramushir Island, sandbags were used to form an "entai" to shield a Zero fighter. Note the tents and the huge hangars in the background. Hangars are called "kakunoko" in Japanese and have their own story, different from the "entai" and "entaigo".

The IJNAF occasionally used stacked fuel drums filled with earth to form blast walls as can be seen in this most interesting photo taken at an unidentified location. Note the cowling and the drop tank lying on the ground and the palm tree branches offering some camouflage.

In Lakunai airfield (Rabaul East), we can see again the fuel drums forming blast walls.

A short clip featuring Zeros taking off from Lakunai airfield (Rabaul East). We can see again the earth-filled stacked fuel drums forming blast walls. Turn on the sound!

But in Lae Airfield we can see that the fuel drums are part of a more complex "entai" with a revetment protecting the rear of the aircraft.

Here's another "entai" more complicated in different ways. First of all, Japanese sources don't agree as to the exact location. Second, they also don't agree as to what's inside these side walls. Some say it was stacks of bamboo, others say that the sides were made of bamboo and dirt filled the centre. 

A detail you probably didn't notice in the previous post is that all the airfields with "entaigo" were IJNAF. There are very few examples of "entaigo" in Army airfields in Japan. The IJAAF, in general, did not use complex "entai" even in mainland Japan, as the photo taken in Narimasu Airfield, Tokyo, featuring a 47 Sentai Nakajima Ki-84 "Hayate" (Frank) testifies. A simple earthen blast wall was deemed enough to protect the fighter. Note the "riyaka" and the tarps we saw in previous posts.

In Japan and overseas, sandbags were occasionally used to form "entai" at IJAAF bases. In this case, it shields a Kawasaki Ki-48 "Lily".

The "entai" found at Chofu Airfield, home of the famous 244 Sentai, were quite original, i.e. there are no known photos featuring similar "entai" in other airfields. The blast walls form Ts with open rears, some covered by bamboo roofs. These roofs were, of course, supposed to hide the aircraft not to work as hangars or offer any bomb protection.